[Lily's Weekly Highlights] Lee Bo-young

If I am given a choice to choose just one actress that I'd like to switch places with for even one day, I'd choose Lee Bo-young. I would be thrilled to be her, a woman with such a beautiful face, extraordinary acting skills, wealth, adorable daughter, and happily married to not just anybody, but Ji Sung! Even though I may never be able to switch places with this graceful actress, I sure hope that I can be as happy and accomplished as her when I'm almost forty.

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Today, we are looking at actress Lee Bo-young's trivia and some profile facts because since "Mother - Drama" ended, I'm having Lee Bo-young withdrawals. I hope I'm not alone in this withdrawal, and if you are suffering the same symptoms as me, you are in the right place. Welcome to this week's star highlight!

Before we get into some trivia, you should read her story behind how she became one of the most recognized actresses in the K-drama industry.

Lee Bo-young may have debuted as the green tea brand advertisement model in 2002, but she made a name for herself in 2000, when she won Miss Korea Daejeon. Though she won the gold crown (Jin) in the Daejeon area, unfortunately, she was eliminated from the main competition and that year's Miss Korea crown was given to now-actress Kim Sa-rang.

At first, her dream job was to become a news anchorwoman. When she was preparing for the job, she actually passed multiple interviews and was invited to the final interview for MBC station, but did not get the job at the end.

In the beginning of her acting career, she was selected as the advertisement model for Asiana Airlines, which became her biggest opportunity to make her face known. It was a bit ironic for her to be the representing model of the Asiana Airlines because she originally applied to the rival company, Korean Airlines, and landed a job. However, she was in the process of being interviewed by the MBC station for a news anchorwoman, so she did not show up to the orientation and declined the job.

Since she hadn't wanted to be an actress in the first place, she had a hard time adjusting to the difficult showbiz industry in the beginning of her career. From her personality to lifestyle, nothing seemed to fit her. Her manager at the time emphasized the importance of stamina for the actress and made her run around a track with sandbags on her. Also, her agency made this innocent young actress work hard without properly informing her about the work she would be doing. Though she wasn't properly trained in acting, she was put in three shows at once, including "Seodongyo" and "A Dirty Carnival". When she recalled this exhausting time, she said it was hard, but that it was a good experience.

As she was burnt out from all the works, she wanted to take a long break after filming the drama "Mr. Good-Bye", but couldn't when she was casted for the drama "Queen of the Game". Though she did not have physical nor emotional capability to go on anymore, she accepted the role because the director was someone who trusted Lee Bo-young's skills and she was thankful for that. While she was shooting this drama, she was hospitalized for exhaustion in the process.

Afterward, her contract with the agency came to an end and she decided to leave showbiz permanently. She was pushed to the point of bad depression and did not step out of her room, shutting the blinds and locking the door. Her family also suffered as they couldn't do anything but to watch her in such a state.

Her life started to change when she met her now-husband Ji Sung. Though her emotional state was unstable, Ji Sung was there to help and comfort her. Ji Sung also had a positive influence on Lee Bo-young as he was full of passion for acting. Watching his enthusiasm, Lee Bo-young decided to return and start working little by little.

She was hesitant, but there was one script she got interested in, which was the movie "Once Upon a Time". Through this movie, she wanted to re-learn acting, starting from scratch. After filming "Once Upon a Time", she chose an independent movie called "I Am Happy".

The director of this movie was the strictest one yet, and the actress was scolded every hour for being a mediocre actress in his eyes. Filming the movie was exhausting as she lost tons of weight and her lips chapped. Though, she calls this movie the blossoming moment of her career.

After "I Am Happy", the rest is history. She challenged herself in many movies and dramas and finally received the viewer's recognition as an outstanding actress with the drama "The Equator Man".

Lee Bo-young and Ji Sung first met through the drama "Save the Last Dance for Me" in 2004 and started dating when Ji Sung returned from his military duty. On August 2^nd, 2013, she finally announced that they would be getting married after 6 years of dating. Above photo is one of my favorite photo of this stellar couple, it looks like a fairytale dream come true, the definition of happily ever after.

For some reason, she has a bad character-relationship with veteran actor Cheon Ho-jin, in the dramas "Hooray for Love", "My Daughter Seo-yeong", and the movie "A Dirty Carnival". However, she says that she actually has a good relationship with the actor in real life and grateful for all the learning opportunities she has had with him.

She was nominated as the "No.1 wanna-be star among youths" in Uzbekistan. It's random, but the netizens assumed it's probably because of the success "Seodongyo" had in Uzbekistan.

Lee Bo-young and Ji Sung is one of the most popular celebrity couples among Koreans because both are respected for their splendid acting skills. Both have received the grand prize from different drama awards ceremonies.

Her biggest charm is her graceful, sophisticated look, resulting in many intelligent roles being offered to her. She has played a lawyer three times already in "My Daughter Seo-yeong", "I Hear Your Voice", and "Whisper". The fans say that she would also play a doctor character well, too. (wink wink, nudge nudge, dear k-drama producers out there.)

This hardworking actress has gone through her fair share of trials and hardships early on and I'm glad to see that she has finally found her well-deserving happiness. I hope to see her more in the upcoming years with many different roles but along with her much needed rest and spending quality time with her precious family.

 

Let us know if there are any other facts or stories you know about Lee Bo-young in the comments!

By. Lily Lee