The Flower of Evil star Lee Joon-gi: get to know South Korean drama’s only ‘King of Sageuk’ – also a K-pop singer, martial arts master and actor in Resident Evil

Sep 16 , 2020

Lee Joon-gi playing the leading role of Baek Hee-sung in K-drama The Flower of Evil. Photo: TVN

As well as starring in historical dramas Iljimae, Gunman in Joseon and Arang and the Magistrate, the South Korean actor has donned many hats over the course of his 15-year career – releasing numerous albums as a singer, practising taekwondo and multiple martial arts, and crossing over to Hollywood with a role in zombie finale Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

K-drama die-hards will recognise South Korean star Lee Joon-gi from his leading roles in period and legal shows like Iljimae and Lawless Lawyer. Or perhaps you know the award-winning actor and model as the face of the South Korean “flower boy” trend of the mid-2000s, which saw celebrities revolutionising masculine attractiveness by donning make-up and cultivating a keen eye for style. The close friend of actress Park Min-young, Exo’s Baekhyun and IU currently stars as protagonist Baek Hee-sung in TVN’s highly rated drama The Flower of Evil alongside fellow Criminal Minds co-star Moon Chae-won.

While Lee continues to take the K-drama world by storm, don’t miss these must-know facts about the Busan-born actor.

The ‘King of Sageuk’

Lee is the only actor in South Korea who boasts the title “King of Sageuk”, which translates to “king of historical dramas”. His role as a Joseon dynasty court jester in The King and the Clown was his claim to fame in 2005, and over the course of his 15-year career he has been cast in starring roles in countless historical dramas such as Iljimae, Gunman in Joseon, Arang and the Magistrate and The Scholar Who Walks the Night.

A martial arts master

Lee loves learning and practising a variety of martial arts in his free time, becoming so proficient that he rarely uses stunt doubles. The actor has a fourth dan taekwondo black belt, a first dan hapkido black belt, and a first dan taekkyeon black belt. He even learned the Russian martial art system for his role in the Korean remake of Criminal Minds and Thai kick-boxing for Time Between Dog and Wolf. Fans can check out his training sessions on his Instagram.

An accomplished singer