Lee Mi-sook (; born April 2, 1960) is a South Korean actress. One of the best-known actresses of 1980s Korean cinema, Lee's most famous films from this era include Bae Chang-ho's Whale Hunting and The Winter That Year Was Warm, Lee Doo-yong's Mulberry and Eunuch, and Kwak Ji-kyoon's Wanderer in Winter. She retired from film after getting married in 1987, though she still appeared on television in dramas such as How's Your Husband? (1993). Then a decade later, Lee made her comeback with an award-winning leading role in E J-yong's feature debut An Affair (1998). She has since remained active in film and television, notably in the May–December romance Solitude (2002), the Dangerous Liaisons adaptation Untold Scandal (2003), the mockumentary Actresses (2009), the family dramas Smile, Mom (2010), and Queen of Tears (2024).
Career Lee Mi-sook debuted in film at the age of twenty in Thoughtless Momo in 1979. By the mid-1980s she had become one of the best-known actresses of her era. Together with Lee Bo-hee and Won Mi-kyung, they dominated the screen and were referred to as the "Troika of the 1980s." Her most famous films from this era include Bae Chang-ho's Whale Hunting and The Winter That Year Was Warm, Lee Doo-yong's Mulberry and Eunuch, and Kwak Ji-kyoon's Wanderer in Winter. Her early career lasted until the film Love Triangle in 1987, and then she retired from the cinema after getting married.
Over ten years later, in 1998, Lee returned with a widely praised role in E J-yong's award-winning film An Affair, about a woman who falls in love with her sister's fiancé. Using this film as a springboard, she re-launched her career.
In 2000, Lee was cast in the high-profile project The Legend of Gingko, which was considered to be production company Kang Je-gyu Film's followup to the successful Shiri (even though Kang himself was not directing). However the film proved to be a critical and commercial disappointment. Lee's next two films, Kiss Me Much and Oh! Lala Sisters, were also more or less ignored by audiences. In contrast, her appearances in TV dramas such as Solitude (2002) were more successful.
In 2003, Lee appeared in E J-yong's Untold Scandal, a retelling of the novel Dangerous Liaisons set in the Joseon period, and portrayed a single mother in Lee Eon-hee's melodrama ...ing.
Lee next starred in Hellcats, a 2008 romantic comedy that traces the lives and loves of three characters at different stages of womanhood. Then in 2009 Lee reunited with E J-yong in Actresses, a semi-improvisational mockumentary featuring six actresses each playing themselves.Lee, Hyo-won (17 November 2009). "Actresses to Present Off-Screen Personas Onscreen" . The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
In 2011, Lee launched her own lingerie line Starit, which was sold on home shopping channels. This would've been virtually unheard of in previous years with the fashion industry's historically narrow focus on young women. But since 2008 the sophisticated and stylish image of actresses such as Lee, Choi Myung-gil and Kim Hee-ae became aspirational for middle-aged women in Korea, and brands specifically targeting women in their 40s and 50s have increased. Lee remains a favorite in editorial spreads in fashion magazines, notably a 2010 Elle Korea feature opposite pop star TOP.
Lee continued to act on television, giving a vulgar, selfish, but human spin to her role as the stepmother in Cinderella's Sister, a ratings hit in 2010. 2012's Love Rain, a Yoon Seok-ho melodrama that jumps between the 1970s and the present, inked overseas distribution deals, but was unsuccessful domestically.
After a judging stint on reality acting talent program Miracle Audition, Lee hosted the cable talk show Bad Scene, which featured celebrities who reveal bad or embarrassing scenes from their past.
In August 2022, she left SidusHQ and signed with new agency Hunus Entertainment.
Lawsuit In 2012, Lee was embroiled in a controversy when she was sued by her former agency, The Contents Media, after she moved to a new agency, Hoya Spotainment. The Seoul High Court ruled that Lee was guilty of breach of contract and ordered her to pay () in damages. However, The Contents Media filed an appeal, stating that the agency was owed at least double the amount. They alleged that Lee had been involved in a romantic relationship with a man 17 years her junior in 2006, whom they claimed to have paid off in millions of won to keep him from talking to the press and tarnishing Lee's image. Lee counter-sued The Contents Media and the two reporters who broke the story for defamation. Lee lost her appeal in February 2013, and the Seoul High Court ruled for her to pay the amount in the original ruling.
In August 2013, she signed with another agency, SidusHQ.
Personal life In 2007, Lee and her husband Hong Sung-ho, a plastic surgeon, divorced after 20 years of marriage. They have a son and a daughter.
Filmography *Note; the whole list is referenced.
Film Year Title Role1980Flame BirdEun-youngThoughtless Momo (aka An Innocent College Student)Mal-ja1981Is There a Girl Like Her?Yun Su-jinWith Passion and HeatDoh Do-haeAn Embrace in the Dark Night1982I LovedWild HorseLucia1983Strange RelationshipX1984The Winter That Year Was WarmOh-mok / Soo-inThe Broken NightWhale HuntingChun-jaWomen Wet Men Like RainSleeping Out1985Graduation JourneyMi-seonWhen Tears Run DryCity of Fast1986EunuchJa-okAutumn After LoveWanderer in WinterDa-hyeMulberryAn-hyeop1987The Home of Two WomenYoo-kyungAffectionA Street MusicianSeo-ha1998An AffairSeo-hyun2000The Legend of GingkoSoo2001Kiss Me MuchYoung-hee2002Oh! LaLa SistersJo Eun-ja2003...ingMi-sookUntold ScandalLady Cho2008HellcatsKim Young-mi2009ActressesLee Mi-sook2013Horny FamilyHye-kyung2015The Exclusive: Beat the Devil's TattooNews bureau head Baek2018Ode to the GooseDental clinic director2024The PlotJackie
Television series Year Title Role Notes1979A Lonely RelationshipMapo Harbor1980A Sweet Neighborhood1981Women's History:"Jang Hui-bin"Jang Hui-binEmbraceHelloSecond daughter-in-law Eun-hee1982Annals of Renunciation:"Yi Yong-ik"Lingering AttachmentKang Yeon-heeWomen's History:"Hwang Jin-yi"Hwang Jini1983Sunflower in WinterThat Star is My Star1984I Miss500 Years of Joseon:"The Ume Tree in the Midst of the Snow"Jang Nok-suSprayJang-hee1985That's Right, You BetOk-som1987FirebirdHyun-joo 1988The Land of GraceEun-hye1989WoundHa-young1990EmmyMother1991Humble MenBaek Jung-ran1992Women's RoomNa Kyung-sun 1993How's Your Husband?Ahn Jung-sook1994The Goblin is ComingMin Kang-ji1995ElegyMin Ji-sook1997SnailYoon-joo 1998CrushYoung-ja1999You Don't Know My MindJeon Nam-jaQueenHwang Choon-bokSpringtime2002SolitudeJo Kyung-min2005Love and SympathyKang Hee-soo2006Great InheritanceGo Ah-ra2009Ja Myung GoWang Ja-shilEast of EdenYang Choon-hee2010Smile, MomJo Bok-heeCinderella's StepsisterSong Kang-sook2011A Thousand Days' PromiseOh Hyun-ah 2012Can We Get Married? Deul-jaLove RainKim Yoon-hee (2012)2013Shining RomanceJung Soon-ok Miss KoreaMa Ae-riYou Are the Best!Song Mi-ryung/Kim Kyung-sook2014Rosy LoversJung Shi-naeBlade ManMadam Yoon2016Don't Dare to DreamKye Sung-sook2017Money FlowerJung Mal-ranTemperature of LoveYoo Yeong-mi 2018Let Me Introduce HerMin Ja-youngWok of LoveJin Jung-hye / Kim Su-nyeo2022 The Law Cafe Lee Yeon-jooCameo The Empire Ham Kwang-jeon 2023Perfect Marriage RevengeCha Yeon-hwaFamily: The Unbreakable Bond Butterfly2024Queen of TearsMo Seul-hee 2026 Tempest
Variety shows YearTitleRole2011Miracle AuditionJudge2011–2012Lee Mi-sook's Bad SceneHost2013Miracle KoreaHost2017Guesthouse DaughtersPermanent cast (Mom)
Book Lee Mi-sook's Diary: Dreaming of Deviation (이미숙의 DIARY 일탈을 꿈꾸며) (2003)
Awards YearAwardCategoryNominated work 2017 MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Weekend Drama Money Flower 2014 MBC Drama Awards Golden Acting Award, Actress Miss Korea, Shining Romance, Rosy Lovers 2013 KBS Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama You Are the Best! 2011 SBS Drama Awards Special Award, Actress in a Special Planning Drama A Thousand Days' Promise 2008 MBC Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actress East of Eden 2003 23rd Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Best Actress Untold Scandal 2001 37th Baeksang Arts Awards Most Popular Actress, Film category The Legend of Gingko1999 7th Chunsa Film Art Awards Best Actress An Affair 19th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 1998 34th Baeksang Arts Awards Most Popular Actress, TV category Snail 1993 SBS Drama Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) How's Your Husband?1987 32nd Asia Pacific Film Festival Best Actress Love Triangle 26h Grand Bell Awards Special Jury Award 1986 31st Asia Pacific Film Festival Best Actress Mulberry 6th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards 1984 4th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards The Winter That Year Was Warm 23rd Grand Bell Awards 21st Baeksang Arts Awards 1982 MBC Drama Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Jang Hui-bin 1980 17th Baeksang Arts Awards Best New Actress Flame Bird 1979 TBC Drama Awards Best Newcomer Mapo Harbor 1978 3rd Miss Lotte Pageant Popularity Award
Notes
References
External links
Lee Mi-sook at SidusHQ