# Lee Hyun-woo (actor, born 1993)
**Lee Hyun-woo** (이현우; also rendered 李贤宇) is a South Korean actor who began working as a child performer in the late 1990s and later moved into leading film roles, known for *Secretly Greatly* (2013), *The Con Artists* (2014), and *Northern Limit Line* (2015)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3674008/bio/). He belongs to the cohort of South Korean actors born in 1993 who rose to prominence together in the early 2010s, alongside [Yoo Seung-ho](https://www.edgepedia.org/yoo-seung-ho), Park Bo-gum, and [Seo Kang-joon](https://www.edgepedia.org/seo-kang-joon)[3](https://www.dispatch.co.kr/435808). His agency is keyeast[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1993, Anyang, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3674008/bio/) |
| Debut | 1998, SBS drama *White Nights 3.98*[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526) |
| Breakthrough film | *Secretly Greatly* (2013), his first major part, opposite Kim Soo-hyun and Park Ki-woong[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526) |
| Signature role | Medic Park Dong-hyeok in *Northern Limit Line* (2015), which won him Best Supporting Actor at the 2016 WorldFest-Houston festival[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526) |
| Television | Cha Eun-Gyeol in *To the Beautiful You* (2012); Rio in *Money Heist: Korea* (2022)[4](https://asianwiki.com/Hyeon-woo_Lee_%2803/23/1993%29) |
| Awards | Male Teenage Actor Award, 2008 KBS Drama Awards; New Star Award, 2012 SBS Drama Awards[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526) • [4](https://asianwiki.com/Hyeon-woo_Lee_%2803/23/1993%29) |
| Profile | Height 172 cm, weight 55 kg, blood type B; Pyung-Chon High School; hobbies include playing games[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526) |
## Child actor years
Lee debuted as a child in the 1998 SBS drama *White Nights 3.98*[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526). Through the 2000s he built a career as a specialist in younger versions of adult characters: he played the young Kim Yu-shin in MBC's *Queen Seondeok* (2009), the young king in KBS2's *King Sejong the Great* (2008), and the young Cheo-ro in MBC's *[The Legend](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-legend-tv-series)* (2007), as well as younger versions of characters in the films *Hwang Jin Yi* (2007) and *A Dirty Carnival* (2006)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526). The Korean Film Council's profile notes that this work gave him a fanbase at an early age[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526).
His first widely noticed own role was Hong Chan-doo, a music-obsessed student from a wealthy family, in the KBS2 school drama *Master of Study* (2009–2010)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526) • [5](https://host.cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=71321). In 2008 he received the Male Teenage Actor Award at the KBS Drama Awards[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526).
## Breakthrough, 2012–2015
**Television stardom.** In 2012 Lee played Cha Eun-Gyeol in the SBS series *[To the Beautiful You](https://www.edgepedia.org/to-the-beautiful-you)*, for which he received a New Star Award at the 2012 [SBS Drama Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/sbs-drama-awards)[4](https://asianwiki.com/Hyeon-woo_Lee_%2803/23/1993%29). Korean entertainment press at the time grouped him with [Lee Min-ho](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-min-ho) and Yoo Seung-ho as the most visible actors of the 1993 birth cohort[6](https://news.tf.co.kr/read/entertain/1154941.htm).
**First major film role.** After a supporting role in Kang Woo-suk's *GLOVE* (2011), Lee took his first major film part as North Korean agent Ri Hae-jin in the 2013 hit *Secretly Greatly*, which paired him with [Kim Soo-hyun](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-soo-hyun) and [Park Ki-woong](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-ki-woong)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526). The film raised his profile in China as well: in January 2013 he received the Youth Energy Award at the QiYi Positive Energy gala in Beijing, where he greeted the audience in Chinese[7](https://www.osen.co.kr/article/G1109523601).
Lee followed with the crime caper *The Con Artists* (2014), playing the hacker Jong-bae opposite [Kim Woo-bin](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-woo-bin), and then joined [Jin Goo](https://www.edgepedia.org/jin-goo) and [Kim Mu-yeol](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-mu-yeol) in the naval war film *Northern Limit Line* (2015), based on the 2002 battle, as the medic Park Dong-hyeok[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526) • [4](https://asianwiki.com/Hyeon-woo_Lee_%2803/23/1993%29). *Northern Limit Line* became the first Korean film released that year to surpass 5 million admissions[8](https://news.nate.com/view/20150719n01789), and at the 49th WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in 2016 Lee won the Best Supporting Actor prize for the role, while the film took a Special Jury Award in the Action/Adventure section[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526).
The same 2013–2015 run placed him firmly in the 1993 cohort: a 2015 Dispatch feature grouped him with Yoo Seung-ho, Park Bo-gum, and Seo Kang-joon as the generation's leading young actors[3](https://www.dispatch.co.kr/435808), and that same year he played Crown Prince Junghyun in the opening episode of MBC's *Scholar Who Walks the Night* and appeared in the romance film *The Beauty Inside* as Woo-jin[4](https://asianwiki.com/Hyeon-woo_Lee_%2803/23/1993%29).
## Later television and film
Lee led the KBS2 youth drama *Moorim School* (2016) as Yoon Shi-woo and the tvN series *[The Liar and His Lover](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-liar-and-his-lover-tv-series)* (2017) as music producer Kang Han-kyeol[4](https://asianwiki.com/Hyeon-woo_Lee_%2803/23/1993%29). In 2022 he played Rio in both parts of the Netflix Korean adaptation *Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area*, and he appeared as Yoo Dong-ha in the musical film *Hero* (2022)[4](https://asianwiki.com/Hyeon-woo_Lee_%2803/23/1993%29).
**Recent screen work.** In Lee Byoung-heon's sports comedy *Dream* (2023), alongside Park Seo-jun and IU in her first feature film role, Lee played Kim In-sun[4](https://asianwiki.com/Hyeon-woo_Lee_%2803/23/1993%29) • [1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526). His 2024 releases include *Dog Days*, playing Hyun, and *The Unrighteous*, playing Joo-hyeon, and he made a guest appearance as Lee Seong-min in *Cinderella at 2AM* (2024)[4](https://asianwiki.com/Hyeon-woo_Lee_%2803/23/1993%29). In 2023 he played Lee Bo-gyeom, the Mountain God, in MBC's *[A Good Day to Be a Dog](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-good-day-to-be-a-dog)*[4](https://asianwiki.com/Hyeon-woo_Lee_%2803/23/1993%29).
## Stage career
Lee has also worked steadily in theater. Reported stage credits include the android surgeon Robis in *Record of Bone*, following earlier runs of *Sound Inside* and *Anna X*[9](https://v.daum.net/v/3q6TYcwatp). Earlier, he appeared in productions including *Wuthering Heights* (2022, as Edgar Linton) and *Human, Human!* (2019)[10](https://dark.namu.moe/w/%EC%9D%B4%EC%9C%A0%ED%98%84%28%EB%B0%B0%EC%9A%B0%29).
## The 1993 cohort in context
South Korean entertainment media repeatedly framed Lee's career within a generation. Features in 2013 and 2015 highlighted the wave of actors born in 1993, including Yoo Seung-ho, Park Bo-gum, Seo Kang-joon, and Doh Kyung-soo, who reached adult stardom in the same years[3](https://www.dispatch.co.kr/435808) • [6](https://news.tf.co.kr/read/entertain/1154941.htm) • [8](https://news.nate.com/view/20150719n01789). Lee marked his coming of age in May 2013 along with other entertainers of the same birth year, a milestone Korean media treated as the cohort's formal transition to adult careers[11](https://news.nate.com/view/20130520n07995).
## References
1. [LEE Hyun-woo, Korean Film Council (KOFIC) People Database](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/peopleView.jsp?peopleCd=20111526)
2. [Lee Hyun-woo – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3674008/bio/)
3. ["승호·보검·강준·현우"…1993년생 미남스타, Dispatch (2015)](https://www.dispatch.co.kr/435808)
4. [Lee Hyun-Woo (1993), AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/Hyeon-woo_Lee_%2803/23/1993%29)
5. [이현우 (LEE Hyun-woo), Cine21 인물 정보](https://host.cine21.com/db/person/info/?person_id=71321)
6. ["'93라인이 대세" 이민호·유승호·이현우, The Fact (2013)](https://news.tf.co.kr/read/entertain/1154941.htm)
7. [이현우, 中 시상식 청춘에너지상 수상, OSEN (2013)](https://www.osen.co.kr/article/G1109523601)
8. [유승호·이현우·박보검·도경수…93년생 男배우 전성시대, XportsNews via Nate (2015)](https://news.nate.com/view/20150719n01789)
9. [박보검 닮은 이현우, 연극계 활약, Ten Asia via Daum (2026)](https://v.daum.net/v/3q6TYcwatp)
10. [이유현(배우), theater and screen credits listing](https://dark.namu.moe/w/%EC%9D%B4%EC%9C%A0%ED%98%84%28%EB%B0%B0%EC%9A%B0%29)
11. ["행복·부담·뿌듣"…올해 성년된 93·94년생 ★들, Nate 연예 (2013)](https://news.nate.com/view/20130520n07995)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of East and Southeast Asia › South Korean actors, 2000s onward › Surnames L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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