5 things to know about Love and Leashes star Lee Jun-young: the former U-Kiss K-pop idol plays the lead in Netflix’s racy new film alongside Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun

Feb 16 , 2022

U-Kiss’ Jun is starring in his most hotly anticipated on-screen project to date, Netflix film Love and Leashes. Photo: @real_2junyoung/Instagram

Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun plays Jung Ji-woo, a woman who discovers her colleague Jung Ji-hoo’s kinky secret by accident in Netflix’s new film, Love and Leashes

But can co-star Lee Jun-young hold his own in the film after his successes with Goodbye to Goodbye and Avengers Social Club? His awards suggest he can

A man with a secret love of BDSM (Jung Ji-hoo) and the female colleague who discovers his secret by accident (Jung Ji-woo) drive the storyline in Netflix’s hotly anticipated Korean film Love and Leashes, due for release on February 11.

Starring alongside Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun in the movie is Lee Jun-young – aka Jun – of U-Kiss and UNB. This is a big role for Jun, especially since he’s working alongside industry veteran Seohyun, who is six years his senior and has had leading roles in K-dramas such as Private Lives and Hello Dracula.

So what do we know about him?

He actually joined U-Kiss six years after the team launched

Jun didn’t join U-Kiss until several of the original group members started dropping out. Photo: Jflex

While he is most famous for being part of K-pop group U-Kiss, few realise that Jun was not part of the original line-up. The group, which originally debuted in 2008, started facing trouble when several members left in 2011 to 2013, citing health reasons, study commitments and other issues.

To help fill the gap, Jun was recruited and debuted with the group in 2014, making him the maknae (youngest) of the group. He eventually explained on The Unit that the move was “in hopes of helping the members” and that “a lot of people said things like, ‘Why did you join U-Kiss when you could’ve had a fresh start?’” However, the idol insisted he joined because he wanted to do it.

He won an idol reboot show to re-debut as a member of UNB

Jun got a second shot at K-pop stardom after appearing on The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project. Photo: @official_un_b/Instagram

To refresh his image, Jun joined a KBS survival show called The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project in 2017, in which K-pop idols that have already debuted compete to be part of a new idol group.

Boy group UNB were created on The Unit and released the album “Boyhood” before disbanding nine months later. Photo: @official_un_b/Instagram

Of 63 male contestants who took part in the programme, Jun won the highest number of votes, landing him a spot in new boy group UNB. The group debuted in 2018 with an album called “Boyhood”. However, as the group’s contract was only for a limited period, they disbanded less than a year later in 2019.