Lee Jun-young
Lee Jun-young, also known as Jun, is a South Korean singer, rapper and actor who debuted as a member of the boy band U-KISS in 2014. He joined the survival program The Unit and won to become the center and main vocalist of the project group UNB. As an actor, he has achieved wider recognition for his roles in the Netflix series D.P., Mask Girl, When Life Gives You Tangerines and Weak Hero Class 2.
Lee has been noted for his diverse and unique role selections, earning him descriptions such as ‘the groundbreaking’ or ‘the most unconventional’ among actors of his generation. Beyond his work in music and acting, he has participated in musical theatre, dance battle, variety programs, art exhibitions, and hosting activities, which has led some to describe him as a ‘hexagonal trendsetter’ for his versatility across multiple fields.
Career
2014–2016: Career beginnings with U-KISS
On May 15, 2014, NH Media announced, via U-KISS's official Korean website, new member Jun to the public. On June 2, 2014, Jun made his debut with U-KISS and the group released its ninth mini album Mono Scandal along with the 19+ rated music video of the album's title track "Quit Playing."2017–2021: UNB and acting breakthrough
In 2017, he debuted as an actor in the television series Avengers Social Club. On October 28, 2017, Lee joined survival program The Unit. He made it to the final Top 9 and was voted number one. He promoted with UNB, which consisted of finalists from the show, from April 7, 2018, to January 27, 2019.From April to May, Lee appeared as "Compass" on MBC's TV program King of Mask Singer. In the first round, he performed a duet with Lee Sang-hoon of "It Was Like That Then". For the second round, he performed a solo cover version of "Eraser". In May 2018, he made his second acting appearance as Han Min-soo in the MBC television series Goodbye to Goodbye and received a new actor award at the 2018 MBC Drama Awards. On April 10, 2019, Lee released his first Japanese solo single "Phenomenal World," which explored the futurepop genre. He performed his first solo showcase in Tokyo on February 4. Prior to the release, he also held a series of concerts on April 6 in Osaka and April 8 in Tokyo. Tower Records Japan ranked "Phenomenal World" as the #7 best-selling Japanese single by a Korean artist for the first half of 2019. He starred in the OCN television series Class of Lies, which aired from July 17 to September 5. On November 6, he released both a Korean and Japanese version of his solo single "My Way”, for which he wrote the lyrics. The single featured rapper Reddy and was produced by Sway D, accompanied by two music videos. After a digital download was released on October 30, the Japanese version ranked #2 on the dwango.jp K-POP Life Weekly Singles Chart. On November 28, he released his first Korean solo single "TELL" composed by himself as a pre-release for his album Gallery. On December 5, he made his solo debut in Korea with the title track "Curious About U" and the single album Gallery.
On January 22, 2020, Lee released his first Japanese album 22 which featured the title track "Come Alive". In 2020, he acted in the musical Swag Age: Shout out, Chosun! and received a new actor award at the fifth Korea Musical Awards. In April 2020, he played Kang Woo-won in the SBS television series Good Casting, which was entirely pre-produced. In June 2020, he made a special appearance in the SBS drama Backstreet Rookie as a student who stole a college student's overcoat and bought cigarettes. In October 2020, he acted in the MBC Every 1 drama Please Don't Date Him. He participated in the soundtrack for the drama with the single "To you who will be tired". On October 7, he released a new Korean single "Amen", which explored his interest in rap and hip hop.
In May 2021, he starred in the KBS2 drama Imitation as Kwon Ryok, a talented idol-actor and center of a fictional idol group SHAX. As a SHAX member, he participated in the song "MALO", "AMEN", and "Your Sign ". In the first two mentioned songs, he mainly took over the rap. As Kwon Ryok, he participated in the song "Your Sign" with the cast and "My Old Story" sung in duet with Jiyeon T-ARA, a remake of the original. All the songs are available on various music streaming services.
After departing NH Media in August, he announced in November that he co-founded a new company J-flex, which will serve as his current agency for his acting projects. In August 2021, he appeared in the third episode of Netflix series D.P. as deserter Jung Hyun-Min. In order to digest the intense action scenes, he learned boxing with actor Jung Hae-in, who plays Ahn Jun-ho in the series, for a few months at an action school before filming. As the action scenes were shot without a stunt double, he received praise for his swift and accurate movements. In November 2021, he starred in SBS drama Let Me Be Your Knight as Yoon Tae-in, a songwriter and vocalist of fictional band LUNA. As a member of LUNA, he sang several songs: "Beautiful Breakup", "Midnight Fantasy", "Let Me Be Your Knight", "Love Paranoia", and "Rock & Roll Tonight". He also sang a song titled "Love One Day" by himself.
2022–2024: Rising popularity
In February 2022, he starred in Netflix movie Love and Leashes, an adaptation of webtoon titled "Moral Sense", on the topic of BDSM. He starred alongside Seohyun as Jung Ji-hoo, a new transferred assistant manager from business team. Outwardly, he is a nice and popular superior, but inwardly he hides secret desires. In October 2022, he starred in MBC drama May I Help You, alongside Hyeri. The drama was filmed from June 1, 2022, to December 9, 2022, and aired every Wednesday-Thursday at 21.50 KST. He plays the role Kim Tae-hee, who calls himself 100-won butler and can do any kind of errand as long as you pay him. He also sang an OST titled "A Fine Day" for this drama.In 2023, he starred in movie Brave Citizen, based on the webtoon of the same name. He starred alongside Shin Hye-sun as Han Su-gang, a high-school bully that's described as a vicious villain that has never seen before. The filming started from December 30, 2021 – April 5, 2022 and the movie became available on theater starting from October 25, 2023. In August 2023, he appeared as the villain in the fourth episode of Netflix series Mask Girl. His acting as villain in Brave Citizen and Mask Girl earned him Best Acting Performance Award from 2023 Asia Artist Award.
In January 2024, he starred in Netflix movie Badland Hunters, alongside Ma Dong-seok, Lee Hee-joon, and Roh Jeong-eui. In February 2024, he starred in Disney+ series The Impossible Heir alongside Lee Jae-wook. In May 2024, he starred in TVING series Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale alongside Pyo Ye-jin.
2025-present: Breakthrough to mainstream and music comeback
In February 2025, Lee made a cameo appearance on tvN and TVING historical drama The Queen Who Crowns. He was praised for his wonderful portrayal of King Sejong in his first historical drama role. In the same month, he starred in the Netflix series Melo Movie as Hong Si-jun, an aspiring musician who met again with his ex-girlfriend of 7 years Son Ju-a. He showcased his singing skills by performing the OST titled "Under Sunset," entirely in English.In March 2025, Lee starred in a supporting role as Park Young-beom, the first love of IU's character Yang Geum-myeong, in the Netflix series When Life Gives You Tangerines. He was recognized in the buzz-worthy drama performer category by Good Data Corporation, ranking fourth in the third week of March and eighth in the fourth week. He also appeared in another Netflix series Weak Hero Class 2 as an antagonist character, Seong-je, which aired in Netflix on April 25.
He received praise for his role in the romance series, earning him the title of "Romance Master." His ability to seamlessly transition between genres and roles, including villainous characters in recent years, showcased his versatility as an actor. Critics hailed his performance as a "rediscovery" of Lee Jun-young's talent. Due to his frequent appearances in OTT series, he is sometimes referred to as "OTT Prince", "OTT Son", or "OTT Civil Servant".
Lee then starred in KBS2 drama Pump Up The Healthy Love alongside Jung Eun-ji as Do Hyeon-jeong, a gym manager who transforms his life through exercise despite being born smaller than the size of a 1.5-kilogram dumbbell. For this role, he won the Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries from the 2025 KBS Drama Awards. He also won the Popularity Award and Best Couple Award along with receiving a nomination for the Top Excellence Award for Actor.
On September 22th, Lee made a comeback as a singer with his first mini album “Last Dance”. The album consists of various genres such as dance, ballad, and hip-hop, proving Lee’s broad musical spectrum and ability as an all-rounder.