Lee Young Ae

born January 31, 1971 in Seoul, is a famous South Korean actress who has a great fan base in numerous countries, particularly in the East and Southeast Asian countries which have been hit by the Korean Wave. She earned a title as 'Oxygen Lady' when she made her debut as TV model. Recently years, she captured the hearts of many fans as a sweetheart of Asia due to her cherubic beauty. (see 2005 NHK Documentary in exterior link below)

Her popularity among East Asian countries has grown in an exponential manner due to her poignant performance in the popular Korean drama Dae Jang Geum. The drama was such a success that several countries had re-runs of the drama shortly after the last episode had ended. In Hong Kong, the last episode had almost half of the Hong Kong population staying at home just to watch it. In China, hundreds of million viewers watched the drama even it was shown at late nights.

Since then, Lee Young-Ae has been invited to visit Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Japan. The fan crowds were phenomenal; in the first time in 12 years, NHK had to use NHK Hall to host the show. Her recent trip was the 2007 Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in China as an Image Ambassador. Many fans came from around the world and spent hours waiting for her under the temperature of -20 degrees Celsius. She flew in an Asiana airplane with four of her Dae Jang Geum portraits painted on the side of the plane.

Beside her acting career, she is also involved in many charity events. In 1997 she went to Ethiopia as a NGO Goodwill Ambassador and experienced the poverty and illness of African children. She went to Thar Desert in 1999 doing a TV show of the lowest caste people in India (see 1999 KBS2 Journey to Thar Desert in exterior link below). Later in 2001, she published these experiences in her autobiography “A Most Special Love” and donated all the income from the sale of the book to charity.

She was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador in 2004 by UNICEF and held several charity functions from that time on. She made many donations to schools and hospitals, which include an elementary school in China such that the school was renamed Lee Young-Ae Elementary School and the Chosun First Middle School in Harbin.

From her 2006 autobiography “Young-Ae’s Vow” , she talked about how she became an actress. She recalled what made her go into show business was working with Andy Lau in a 1991 chocolate advertisement. In 1995, she made a decision to go to graduate school to learn theory of acting. Since then, she has not changed to challenge various kinds of acting roles, like that in Dae Jang Geum and later a very different role in Sympathy For Lady Vengeance. One thing she never wants to lose it, she said, is to act from her heart.

She was awarded Best Actress awards in the Blue Dragon Film Festival (青龍電影節) in 2005 and Baeksang Art Awards (百想藝術大賞) in 2006 for the film Sympathy For Lady Vengeance.

Lee Young-ae has become very popular in CF’s (commercial films) of advertisements since her first debut. Her beauty in CF’s is loved by many fans around the world and a compiled CF’s shot before 2006 can be seen by clicking here. In 2007, she was voted the most trustable product spokesperson in Korea.

Her major contract in 2006 and 2007 is with LG Group, a large South Korean conglomerate. She became the spokesmodel (Pan-Asia) for all LG Electronics' products. In January of 2007, she received a gratitude frame from LG Electronics for her successful promotion of their products.

Drama

• 2003: Dae Jang Geum (Jewel in the Palace 대장금 大長今 宮廷女官 チャングムの誓い)(MBC)
• 2001: Fireworks (불꽃 (Bulkkot) 火花)(SBS)
• 2000: Romance (로맨스 羅曼史)) (MBC)
• 1999: Invitation (초대 (Chodae) 只愛陌生人)
• 1999: Pado (파도 波濤)
• 1998: Advocate (애드버킷 法庭風雲)
• 1997: The Reason I Live (내가 사는 이유 (Naega saneun iyu) 我生存的理由)
• 1996: Papa (파파 爸爸) (KBS)
• 1995: Chanpumdanja (찬품단자 饌品單子)
• 1995: Asphalt Man (아스팔트 사나이 (Aseubalteu sanai) 車神傳說)
• 1995: Seogung (서궁 西宮)
• 1994: Dash (질주 (Jilju) 奔馳)
• 1993: How about your husband (댁의 남편은 어떠십니까 (Daegui nampyeoneun eotteoshimnikka) 妳家的老公如何)

Filmography

• 2005: Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (친절한 금자씨 (Chinjeolhan Geumja-ssi) 親切的金子)
• 2001: One Fine Spring Day (봄날은 간다 (Bomnareun kanda) 春逝)
• 2001: Last Present (선물 (Seonmul) 禮物)
• 2000: Joint Security Area (공동경비구역JSA (Kongdong Kyeongbi Kuyeok JSA) 共同警備區JSA) Picture
• 1996: Insh Allah (인샬라 情陷撒哈拉)

Profile

• Date of Birth: January 31, 1971 (1971-01-31) (age 36)
• Height: 165 cm/5'4"
• Weight: 48 kg
• Blood Type: AB
• Hobbies: Singing, Swimming, Horse riding, Playing the piano
• Academic Status: Master - Chung-Ang University (중앙대학교 中央大學校)

  Bachelor - Hanyang University(한양대학 漢陽大學校).

• Languages: Korean, English, German.
• Religion: Undeclared by Ms. Lee Young Ae.