Not-quite-child-actor Lee Hyun-woo (God of Study, Kye Baek) is featured in a fashion spread for Elle Girl magazine, reminding us again how quickly they grow up. One day they’re cherub-cheeked, precocious young stars, and the next day they’re wearing eyeliner and leather.
Some are calling Lee Hyun-woo the next Yoo Seung-ho, by which they mean in terms of career trajectory rather than age (since they’re the same age, with Lee actually beating out Yoo by a couple months). I’d say that’s a pretty solid prediction, if Lee picks well as he starts transitioning from child-actor status to adult roles. Aside from his role in last year’s high school-set God of Study, most of Lee’s projects have been in the child actor realm, so he hasn’t really branched out into mature characters yet.
(Lee is what the industry calls a “premium child actor,” which refers to that select group of young faces who manage to steal scenes and show strong talent at a young age. The term doesn’t only refer to young children; you could be considered a child actor for quite a while if you continue acting as childhood counterparts to adult stars. That’s why Kim Soo-hyun had a child-actor reputation even past the age of 20, whereas Yoo Seung-ho’s been cultivating a more mature image despite his youth. It also means that a child actor often builds up a pretty hefty sageuk resumé, as in the case of Lee, Yoo, and others like Nam Ji-hyun and Shim Eun-kyung.)
Next thing we know, Lee Hyun-woo’ll be zipping around on motorcycles, dressing up in suits, and advertising beer.
Lee Hyun-woo then:
Legend
Great King Se-jong
Return of Iljimae
Lee Hyun-woo now:
Kye Baek
Via TV Report
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he was great in god of stady
sorry study:P
It’s ok. I’m kind of distracted too… reciting the ICOMYM motto:
don’t. think. about. that. he’s. too. young. for. you.
*sigh*
Here’s the deal with the ICOMYM. As long as they’re legal, they can be claimed. “MINED”, if you will. Legal is legal, after all. Lust away at will.
If they are…ahem…underage, but you can’t control your thoughts because of confusing pictorials such as this (Is he a boy? A man? ARGH), then you get The Bucket, which can be (and IS, quite often) used to quell those urges until such time as the required age limit is reached.
The first word of ICOMYM is, after all, “inappropriate”. No judgment here.
Interesting… so there are loopholes to the definition of ICOMYM?
I want to write a law for that.
He was SO. CUTE. !!!!! I can’t BElieeve he’s only a year younger than me. He’s like, a kid!
LOL, he is TOO CUTE!! and since he is one year older than me..it means him and Yoo Seung Ho (<3) are perfectly legal!! mwahahahahhaha!! its the 1st time i find an actor/singer where there is that kind of age difference, usually they are too old!!
And can i just say, he looks smokin' in black!! <3
Awwwww how cute~
Hey… that kid is THAT kid?!!! Loved him in ROI.
I loved him in Hong Gil Dong as well^^
OMO what a transition…
And he is advertising a Beer.
3rd picture: he needs to go to bathroom?
“3rd picture: he needs to go to bathroom?”
^^ LOL
that’s what I said! lol!
i really love him… he has great onscreen presence. I loved watching him in The Return of Iljimae.
My gosh what in the what??? Wasn’t ROI just in 2009?? It looks like he’s aged 5 years at least.
Boys grow up *fast* at least in terms of appearance.
He was one of the best things in ROI.
He’s Cha-dol??? wow!
What’s he wearing on his head in the 1st picture? Fashion is weird. Good actor though.
omg, he’s the little dragon boy from Legend!! I never realized!
he looks exactly the same as he did when he was a kid!
)) he has nice skin. i’m jealous..
This kid has great potential. He has on screen presence and is also really attractive.
He’s most definitely a “premium” child actor. He’s managed by KeyEast Entertainment which is Bae Yong Joon’s company.
That last Elle Girl pic…it looks like he really, really has to go, but doesn’t know who to tell.
LMAO! Now that you mention it……..
I tried watching God of Study for Yoo and Lee, but failed… Maybe I’ll get back to it when I feel like watching something with high schoolers?
He’s adorable
Oooo………Time flies by! O__O
I can’t believe that this actor Lee Hyun Woo is already growing up now!!
I always thought he was adorabbbleeee. Even though he’s just a year younger, I feel like a pedo.
But I’m glad that he’s getting more recognition
So cute.
I loved him before and i Love him Now.
Oh my god , Aigo Aigo Aigo ; it feels so cute and lovely to see a namdongsaeng to grow and grow and grow … and start to look a little bit more mature and mature and mature , even with these Elle Girl Concepts i feel that he has become much more man like since 2 years ago , maybe it’s because i’m his noona ;
whatever ” I <3 ed *eat " ;P
Hot, AND age-appropriate. Yay
CHADORIIIIII. I haven’t seen him in anything else since RoI, but I have so much affection for him in that drama. Stealing scenes, he does!
I’ve seen Lee Hyun-woo in Return of Iljimae and he was superb.
I’m watching Legend now; I see that Yoo Seung-ho is in Legend playing young Dam deok, but who does Lee Hyun-woo play?
I’m sure Lee’s family must be proud of him. Now, I’ll have to add God of Study to my list of dramas to watch.
Thanks for the article!
he’s the little boy whose father stabbed him in the heart w/ that thingie … i forgot what it was called lmao
He’s baby Cheoro, with the scary eyes! Here’s the recap where he showed up: http://www.dramabeans.com/2007/09/impressions-on-legend-episode-2/
javabeans, thank you. I was really curious about this. I’m so glad it was recapped, I’ll enjoy reading those as I watch the drama. I’m happy it’s not coming across as the usual sageuk, not that I dislike sageuks, but this has a very interesting blend of elements that make it very interesting and splitting the action between two different eras keeps the story more engaging.
lambayyx, thank you. Just watched that episode yesterday. I’m happy to see that DB recapped the series, so I can watch and read the recaps too XD
he looks a lot older O.O!
btw I LOVE YOO SEUNG HO
just thought I’d throw that in there since he was mentioned XD
OHHH. he’s the kye baek kid. ha.
He was so adorable in God of Study that I kinda really wished that he and Na Hyun Jung (Jiyeon) ended up together. They two of them were made of cuteness ide…
In that legend screen cap he looks like a child version of kang-ah.
he’s cute in Queen Seon Duk too!!
OMG HE WAS CHA-DOL IN THE RETURN OF ILJIMAE????? Love him now <3
I would say he’s more of a child actor a la Jang Geun Seok.
CUTE! When was he born?
He turned 18 in March ’11. He’s just a year and a half younger than my ‘baby’.
Here’s a link that’s great, take a look http://www.hancinema.net/korean_Lee_Hyun-woo.php
i remember him in The Legend and God of Study of course. he’s really cute in God of Study but my baby, Yoo Seungho is the cutest. keke. he’s a young actor to look out for. hope he’ll pick good projects. good luck to him.
and kim soohyun aka samdong really did well as child actor. his brilliant acting in WISFC really caught my attention.
I love this kid!! so cute and extremely talented! Been a fan of his ever since I caught him in Return Of Iljimae. And I thought he was the best thing about Man Of Equator. Am watching To The Beautiful You right now and I am enjoying just watching him. I look forward to seeing him in many, many more dramas over the years. This kid can ACT!
Holy Smokes, I totally did not notice that he was in “The Legend”. I just figured it out.