# Lee Sun-bin (이선빈)
**Lee Sun-bin** (이선빈) is a South Korean actress and singer whose screen career runs from 2016 television debuts through leading roles in streaming series such as *[Work Later, Drink Now](https://www.edgepedia.org/work-later-drink-now)* and *[The Potato Lab](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-potato-lab)* and films including *Rampant* and *Mission: Possible*. Her birth name is Lee Jin-Kyung (이진경), and she was born in 1994 in South Korea[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin). She trained for three years as an idol before turning to acting, and she has won MBC Drama Awards honors in both 2017 and 2025[2](https://v.daum.net/v/g9HF4DfDHO) • [1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Lee Jin-Kyung (이진경); born 1994 in South Korea[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin) |
| Birthplace | Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province; attended Cheonan Ssangyong High School[3](https://k-calc.com/celeb/p/lee-sun-bin) |
| Height | 166 cm[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin) |
| Debut | 2016, JTBC drama *Madame Antoine: The Love Therapist*[4](https://www.marieclairekorea.com/tag/%EC%9D%B4%EC%84%A0%EB%B9%88/) |
| Breakout role | Ha Ji-A in *Missing Nine* (MBC, 2017); Best New Actress at the 2017 MBC Drama Awards[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin) |
| Signature series | An So-Hee in *Work Later, Drink Now* (TVING, 2021–2023)[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin) |
| Awards | Best New Actress (2017); Excellent Actress for *To The Moon* at the 2025 MBC Drama Awards[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin) |
## Early life and idol training
Lee Sun-bin was born Lee Jin-Kyung in 1994 in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province[3](https://k-calc.com/celeb/p/lee-sun-bin). She began performing in high school, saying in a 2018 interview that she first did musical theater through a children's play in her first year and started singing and acting together at that point[2](https://v.daum.net/v/g9HF4DfDHO).
Her path into entertainment ran through the idol system. She spent three years as a trainee, living at a practice room in Sinsa-dong while preparing for a debut that did not happen[2](https://v.daum.net/v/g9HF4DfDHO) • [5](https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20260128_0003493051). A Japanese-language profile lists her as a former member of the girl group JQT (2011–2012)[6](https://koreanmania.com/km-page/single-person.php?id=486), while her own account in the 2018 interview is that the idol debut fell through; she said she had no regrets about it, adding that "there was a reason things did not go well"[2](https://v.daum.net/v/g9HF4DfDHO). She moved to acting instead, debuting in 2016[4](https://www.marieclairekorea.com/tag/%EC%9D%B4%EC%84%A0%EB%B9%88/).
## Television career
**2016–2018: debut and rise.** Her first year on television was busy: *Madame Antoine: The Love Therapist* (JTBC), a guest spot on *Another Miss Oh* (tvN), Jo Mi-Joo in the OCN caper *Squad 38*, and a role in tvN's *Entourage*[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin) • [4](https://www.marieclairekorea.com/tag/%EC%9D%B4%EC%84%A0%EB%B9%88/). The 2017 MBC survival drama *Missing Nine*, in which she played top star Ha Ji-A, brought her the Best New Actress prize at that year's MBC Drama Awards[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin). She followed with Yoo Min-Young in tvN's *Criminal Minds* (2017) and detective Yoo Shi-Hyun in JTBC's *Sketch* (2018)[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin).
**2019–2023: range across genres.** She played Jung Soo-Hyun in *The Great Show* (tvN, 2019) and led the OCN procedural *Team Bulldog: Off-duty Investigation* (2020) as Kang Moo-Young[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin). In 2021 she took the role that reviewers treat as her breakthrough in tone, the easygoing variety writer An So-Hee in TVING's *Work Later, Drink Now*, a part she reprised in the 2022–2023 second season[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin) • [4](https://www.marieclairekorea.com/tag/%EC%9D%B4%EC%84%A0%EB%B9%88/). A *Women's Donga* profile described the character as the moment her accumulated broadcast experience "fully bloomed"[7](https://woman.donga.com/people/article/all/12/4068055/1). In 2023 she played Park Ji-Yeong, a local fighter in 1980s Chungcheong Province, in Coupang Play's *[Boyhood](https://www.edgepedia.org/boyhood)* opposite [Im Si-wan](https://www.edgepedia.org/im-si-wan); the production noted that she, a Cheonan native, said she had finally met a work where she could show the regional dialect[8](https://news.coupang.com/archives/32378/?print=pdf).
**2025 onward.** She led two 2025 series, Kim Mi-Kyung in tvN's *The Potato Lab* and Jung Da-Hae in MBC's *To The Moon*[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin). *To The Moon* brought her the Excellent Actress award at the 2025 MBC Drama Awards, presented on December 30, 2025[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin).
## Film career
Her film work began with a small part in *Familyhood* (2016) and grew through the zombie-era Joseon action film *Rampant* (2018), in which she played the archer Deok-Hee, sister of Jo Woo-jin's character[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin) • [2](https://v.daum.net/v/g9HF4DfDHO). She played a mysterious passenger in the comedy *OK! Madam* (2020), the con artist Yoo Da-Hee in *Mission: Possible* (2021), and prosecutor Han Young-Ju in the environmental crime film *Toxic* (2022)[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin) • [9](https://www.fnnews.com/news/202102091218261846). She starred as Joo-Young in the film *Nois* (2025)[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin).
Her 2026 film *College Entrance Exam: The Secret of Setting Questions*, opposite [Choi Si-won](https://www.edgepedia.org/choi-si-won), was officially invited to the "Korean Cinema Today – Panorama" section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival and was set for nationwide release on October 28, 2026[10](https://www.topstarnews.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=16240679). She also attended an open talk for the film at the festival's Busan venue on October 9[3](https://k-calc.com/celeb/p/lee-sun-bin). Upcoming projects listed on her filmography include *[The Sword: Rebirth of the Red Wolf](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-sword-rebirth-of-the-red-wolf)* (2027), in which she plays Maya[1](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin).
## Music and variety
The singing and dancing skills from her trainee years have surfaced in her acting work and beyond. She has recorded original soundtrack tracks for dramas she appeared in: "Apeun Bam" for *The Great Show* (released September 17, 2019), "Savage Killer" for *Team Bulldog: Off-duty Investigation* (June 5, 2020), and "Dreamer" for *Work Later, Drink Now* (November 5, 2021)[4](https://www.marieclairekorea.com/tag/%EC%9D%B4%EC%84%A0%EB%B9%88/).
She has also been a frequent variety presence, appearing on *I Live Alone* as early as 2016[11](https://m.seoul.co.kr/news/2016/10/15/20161015500014), and as a guest on the Coupang Play talk show *Kang Ho-dong's Neighborhood Bookstore* in 2026, where she discussed her trainee years and her approach to acting[12](https://news.coupang.com/archives/60250/).
## References
1. [Lee Sun-Bin, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/Lee_Sun-Bin)
2. [Lee Sun-bin interview on Rampant, Sports Chosun via Daum (2018)](https://v.daum.net/v/g9HF4DfDHO)
3. [이선빈 프로필, K-Calculator](https://k-calc.com/celeb/p/lee-sun-bin)
4. [이선빈 태그 페이지, Marie Claire Korea](https://www.marieclairekorea.com/tag/%EC%9D%B4%EC%84%A0%EB%B9%88/)
5. [이선빈 "아이돌 연습생 출신…신사동 연습실서 살아", Newsis (2026)](https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20260128_0003493051)
6. [イ・ソンビン プロフィール, Koreanmania](https://koreanmania.com/km-page/single-person.php?id=486)
7. [매력부자 이선빈, Women's Donga (2023)](https://woman.donga.com/people/article/all/12/4068055/1)
8. [쿠팡플레이 '소년시대' 보도자료, Coupang Newsroom](https://news.coupang.com/archives/32378/?print=pdf)
9. [이선빈 인터뷰, Financial News (2021)](https://www.fnnews.com/news/202102091218261846)
10. [이선빈, BIFF 화이트 드레스 눈길…'수능, 출제의 비밀'로 극장 간다, Top Star News (2026)](https://www.topstarnews.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=16240679)
11. [나 혼자 산다 이선빈 기사, Seoul.co.kr (2016)](https://m.seoul.co.kr/news/2016/10/15/20161015500014)
12. [쿠팡플레이 예능 '강호동네서점' 보도자료, Coupang Newsroom (2026)](https://news.coupang.com/archives/60250/)
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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 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
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