Lee Eun-ju (Korean: 이은주; December 22, 1980 – February 22, 2005) was a South Korean actress. She was best known for the films Oh! Soo-jung (2000), Bungee Jumping of Their Own (2001), Lovers' Concerto (2002), Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War (2004) and The Scarlet Letter (2004) and for the television series KAIST (1999) and Phoenix (2004). Despite a brief career spanning six to eight years, she amassed a filmography of acclaimed performances, quickly becoming one of South Korea's most promising and celebrated young talents. Highly regarded by filmmakers, Lee was considered as a leading actress of the next generation of Chungmuro. Renowned for her emotional depth, versatile acting range and distinctively mysterious aura, she was one of the defining actresses of early-to-mid 2000s South Korean cinema and television. She died by suicide at age 24.
Early life and beginnings Lee was born in Gunsan, North Jeolla, South Korea, as the younger of two children. Raised in relative affluence, she engaged in various extracurricular activities from a young age, including dance, violin, swimming, bowling, and piano. Lee primarily studied music in her youth, without giving much thought to becoming an actress. Her childhood dream was to become a professional pianist, a path she pursued diligently for 14 years, starting from when she was five years old. She would later contribute a piano track to the soundtrack of the 2002 film Lovers' Concerto.
In July 1996, while attending Gunsan Yeonggwang Girls' High School, Lee entered the Sunkyung Smart Uniform Model Contest. Her path to the contest was largely accidental; while shopping for school uniforms with her mother, the store owner suggested she enter. According to Lee, she had little interest in modeling and entered only after her mother secretly submitted her application accompanied by a photograph. Lee passed the preliminary rounds and advanced to the finals. Expecting only to attend as a spectator to see invited celebrities, she was surprised to win the Silver Prize. Notable fellow contestants include future actress Song Hye-kyo and Ahn Mi-jung (later of the hip-hop group O-24). Shortly after winning, Lee appeared in her first television commercial for Smart Uniforms in late 1996."I went into the competition with absolutely no expectations and felt completely relaxed. About 2,500 people applied, 50 made it to the finals, and they were choosing seven winners. They asked me to introduce myself, so I did. Then they told me to dance, so I danced. After that, I was backstage watching the singers perform. Thinking it was time to go home, I had already taken off the sash I was wearing when suddenly I heard them call my name. I walked up looking completely bewildered, and received my award. I won the Silver Prize, and the person who won the Gold Prize was Hye-kyo—Song Hye-kyo. After that, I filmed a school uniform commercial and went back to Gunsan, where I returned to studying and playing the piano. Then I received an offer to appear in a drama. Little by little, I found myself getting deeper into acting, and before I knew it, here I am."
Career
1997-1999: Early television roles and breakthrough After finding work as a model, Lee officially made her debut in January 1997 on the KBS comedy show Comedy Outlook (코미디 전망대). Later that year, she entered standard broadcast drama acting with the KBS2 TV youth series Start, as class president Jeong Nam-young. Unlike her later serious image, her early television appearances featured her playing lively, typical high school characters. In August 1998, she appeared briefly in the SBS horror anthology Horror Special 8-Part Series (납량특선 8부작) in the two episodes of One Day Suddenly (어느날 갑자기), followed by a notable supporting performance in the SBS drama White Nights 3.98 (백야 3.98), playing the younger counterpart of Shim Eun-ha's character.
Her public breakthrough came in 1999 with the hit SBS drama KAIST by famed screenwriter Song Ji-na. The series followed the lives of engineering students at the prestigious university. Lee played Gu Ji-won, a cold, pragmatic student who balances her harsh exterior with deep loyalty to her team. Although it became one of her most recognizable early performances, Lee later admitted in interviews that she initially disliked playing Ji-won due to the sharp contrast between the character's personality and her own. Ji-won's detached demeanor and sharp wit earned her the nickname "Ice Princess" and the image continued to be associated with Lee even after her successful transition to film. The series became a commercial success and her character's immense popularity significantly raised Lee's public profile. Lee, who was still in high school when filming started, was the youngest member of the main cast despite portraying a senior university student. Following KAIST, she was frequently cast in roles depicting women older than her actual age. This trend stemmed from a level of artistic maturity and compelling screen presence rarely seen among peers in her generation. Her nuanced performances at a young age earned her widespread acclaim and established her public image as a mature, sophisticated actress.
1999–2002: Rise in Korean cinema and critical acclaim While filming KAIST, Lee transitioned to film. Her film debut was in 1999, when she played the younger sister Se-hwa in Park Jong-won's award-winning feature Rainbow Trout. This proved to be a turning point in her career, leading her to pursue acting professionally. Until then, Lee had intended to attend a music conservatory and become a concert pianist. After initially rejecting the role six months prior citing difficulties in balancing acting with her studies, Lee accepted upon the director's offer while expressing her enthusiasm in working alongside actress Kang Soo-yeon. She managed a demanding schedule during the early stages of production, traveling between the Rainbow Trout set in Gangwon, her work on KAIST in Daejeon, and her final year of high school in Gunsan, while continuing her piano practice at a music academy. Ultimately, this prompted her to pivot her academic focus from music to acting. She later enrolled in the Department of Theatre and Film at Dankook University. Lee earned praise for holding her own alongside veteran actors."When I played Shim Eun-ha sunbaenim’s younger self in White Nights 3.98, I thought it would simply become a memory from my high school years. I was planning to major in piano and attend a music college. But at some point while working on KAIST and Rainbow Trout, I came to think that acting was the path meant for me.”Her performance in Rainbow Trout caught the attention of acclaimed director Hong Sang-soo, who cast her as the lead in his art house feature Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors [Oh! Soo-jung] (2000). The english title references an artwork by Marcel Duchamp. Lee delivered one of the most memorable performances in all of Hong's films and in what was South Korea's first black-and-white film in 30 years. She portrayed the titular Soo-jung, a TV screenwriter in her late twenties—significantly older than Lee herself. Caught between two men, Soo-jung presents an image that is at once innocent and subtly calculating, and Lee was praised for her rare composure as a newcomer and capturing the character's emotional ambiguity. Anthony Leong writes that she "delivers the standout performance" and that her charisma is one of the highlights of the film. The film received widespread critical acclaim. It won Best Film at the Busan Film Critics Association, received the Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival, and won Best Screenplay at the 45th Asia-Pacific Film Festival. It also served as the opening film of the inaugural Jeonju International Film Festival. Lee attended the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, where the film was selected for the Un Certain Regard. Her performance also earned her the Best New Actress award at the 38th Grand Bell Awards in 2001.
In film, Lee quickly established herself as a leading actress. In late 2000 she was cast in director Kim Dae-sung's directorial debut, the hit film Bungee Jumping of Their Own (2001) where she starred opposite actor Lee Byung-hun. Her portrayal of In Tae-hee—an art student whose tragic destiny spans lifetimes—solidified her as a Chungmuro leading lady. Critics regarded her portrayal of the wistful yet poignant first love as central to the emotional impact of the story. The film won the Audience Award at the 10th Hamburg Film Festival in the feature debut competition. Bungee Jumping of Their Own remains one of the defining romantic films in Korean cinema and has spawned multiple adaptations even decades after its release. Its enduring popularity has kept it in the public consciousness, leading to theatrical re-releases in 2017 and 2021. The sunset waltz scene between Lee and Lee Byung-hun is considered one of the most iconic moments in Korean romance film history. Lee later described Tae-hee as the role to which she felt the strongest personal attachment among all of her film performances.
In 2002, Lee starred alongside Cha Tae-hyun and Son Ye-jin in the melodrama Lovers' Concerto. Playing the outgoing, tomboyish Kim Kyung-hee, Lee was able to portray a persona closer to her real-life self. Having frequently expressed a desire to move away from the cold, quiet, and mature image associated with her performances following KAIST, Lee regarded Lovers' Concerto as a successful departure from the serious characters she had previously been known for. Lee also noted that the film marked her first opportunity to work comfortably with co-stars of a similar age, after previously appearing primarily opposite older actors. Lively and warm-hearted Kyung-hee later displays a more tragic side, and Lee's performance was positively received by critics. She personally performed the film's main theme "Kyung-hee's Theme" on the piano after production staff watched her play on set and suggested she record the track herself. The film was a commercial success, and earned Lee her first nomination for Best Actress at the 23rd Blue Dragon Film Awards.
2003–2004: Taegukgi, Phoenix, and The Scarlet Letter In 2003, Lee was cast in the melodrama film Garden of Heaven alongside Ahn Jae-wook in what would be Ahn's return to the big screen after five years. This also marked Lee's second collaboration with film director and screenwriter Lee Han, after Lovers' Concerto (2002). Later that year, Lee was cast alongside Han Suk-kyu in the thriller film Salt Doll (소금인형). However, internal conflicts between the production crew and director led to severe production delays. In early 2004, investor CJ Entertainment halted production indefinitely after only about 20% of the movie had been shot, leaving it permanently unreleased. During this period, Lee starred in Au Revoir, UFO (2004) as a visually impaired woman. She reportedly prepared for the role by observing the daily lives of blind individuals and practicing everyday tasks with her eyes closed. Her performance received praise, though the film itself will be overshadowed by her later works.