The past few years have seen the rise of many notable young actors on the small-screen in K-dramas. Many appear in coming-of-age dramas like All of Us Are Dead. In 2023, fans praised TVing’s newest hit based on a webtoon, Duty After School. The storyline’s popularity and casting have led to a spotlight on one actor in particular, Lee Yeon. Besides Duty After School, Lee Yeon has appeared in some of the most recognized K-dramas and a hit movie.
Lee Yeon stars as the timid No Ae-seol in ‘Duty After School’
While 3rd-year students prepare for the CSATs and enjoy their youth, Duty After School flips the script. The webtoon K-drama focuses on sphere aliens that have inhabited South Korea. But they remained dormant in the sky since their arrival, and everyone has learned to live with them. But behind closed doors, the military made a fatal mistake and angered the spheres.
Duty After School focuses on one specific 3rd-year class whose lives are changed forever. They are informed that the CSATs are postponed as they will undergo military training in school. While believing they are only training for a short period and will receive college credit, it is a lie. As the alien spheres pose a deadly threat and military soldiers are killed, high schoolers become soldiers. It is a fight for survival.
Actor Lee Yeon stars as one of the high schoolers in Duty After School named No Ae-seol. The character is shy and takes care of her ill grandmother. At school, she is bullied by some of her female peers, but not the extreme that fans see in The Glory.
As the characters face peril, Ae-seol has a hard time adjusting to the gravity of the situation and developing fight-or-flight survival tactics. She is seen as a weakling, still facing scrutiny from her bully. In a Naver article, the K-drama director praised Lee Yeon’s acting. While initially concerned, her acting proved she was the perfect fit for Ae-seol. “Actor Lee Yeon-nim was very good at it,” said the director.
Lee Yeon appeared as supporting characters in ‘Weak Hero Class 1’ and ‘Crash Course in Romance’
While still a rising actor, Lee Yeon’s on-screen credits are impressive. Since her debut in 2018, she has appeared in some of the most acclaimed K-dramas to date. She gained praise from netizens for playing a transgender delinquent named Baek Seong-woo in Juvenile Justice, headlined by Kim Hye-soo.
Fans may not easily recognize her as she had a buzz cut and a sinister smile as her character is accused of murder. She also played a small role in Netflix’s military K-drama D.P. At the end of 2022 into 2023, Lee Yeon gained fame for her role in the dark K-drama Weak Hero Class 1.
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She starred as Young-yi, the cousin of one of the head thugs that hurts Si-eun (Park Ji-hoon). Her character breaks away from the group after they are arrested and develops friendships with Si-eun and the others. Due to her hairstyle, fans may notice that Lee Yeon is often unrecognizable in many of her K-drama roles. In Weak Hero Class 1, she wore a shoulder-length black wig with purple streaks.
In 2023, Lee Yeon appeared as the young version of Nam Haeng-sun in Netflix’s comedy Crash Course in Romance. The K-drama has Lee Yeon as the young version of the female lead when she becomes the guardian of her niece and gives up her dream to raise her. One of Lee Yeon’s acclaimed roles of 2023 besides Duty After School is the Netflix original Korean movie Kill Boksoon.
The actor starred as a rookie assassin in training in ‘Kill Boksoon’
Besides K-dramas, Netflix has ventured into original Korean movies. One of its grand successes for the year was Kill Boksoon, starring Crash Course in Romance star Jeon Do-yeon. Kill Boksoon was a reunion between Lee Yeon and the actor. Lee Yeon starred in the supporting role of Kim Yeong-ji.
Yeong-ji is a recruit and trainee at MK. ENT hoping to become a skilled assassin. Her idol is Bok-soon (Jeon), and she gets the opportunity to show her skillset in a controlled fight at the company. When Boksoon goes on a mission, Yeong-ji becomes her apprentice and accomplice when the mission goes south.
According to Soompi, Lee Yeon’s growing fame has paid off. She is nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her role in Kill Boksoon at the 59th Baeksang Arts Awards. Despite her youthful appearance, Lee Yeon is 28 years old.
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