Lee Do Hyun As an award-winning actor who had delivered
beautiful performances in famous series like ‘18 Again’ and ‘Youth of May’, it’s
hard to imagine Lee Do Hyun as any role other than the male lead.
But the actor’s career was no flower path.
Before achieving the status that we see today, Lee Do Hyun had played super minor roles in
multiple series.
At first, he played the younger version of a major character in ‘Prison Playbook’,
basically played ‘Friend A’ in ‘Still 17’, before appearing as the younger brother
of the female lead in ‘Clean With Passion For Now’.
Even with the limited screen time he had, Lee Do Hyun had still managed to show his
natural acting skills and was completely immersed in both bright and distraught characters.
But it was not until he appeared in ‘Hotel del Luna’ with a minor yet important role
that the actor’s talents were finally discovered.
In particular, Lee Do Hyun had transformed into the conflicting ex-lover of IU, who made
himself a villain in order to protect the person he loves.
Here, his charming smile had won the hearts of many, and his torn expression stuck around
in the viewers’ memories long after the series ended.
Do Hyun’s filmography showed that he tried his best even with minimal screen time, and
that the actor can basically nail any genre.
Natural expressions, a wide range of emotions, and constant effort had landed the actor in
the high position of today.
Shin Hye Sun Compared to other beautiful actresses, Shin
Hye Sun is considered a “late bloomer” in terms of career.
Having dreamt of becoming an actress way back in elementary school, Hye Sun finally joined
the entertainment industry in 2012 with a minor role in ‘School 2013’.
With the limited screen time, the actress never got to shine, and so her career began
with humble beginnings.
Shin Hye Sun is one of the primary examples of actresses who started off with minor roles
and successfully ended up landing bigger roles.
The first few years, Shin Hye Sun could only land supporting roles.
She appeared as the male lead’s sister in ‘Oh My Ghost’, as a minor colleague in
‘She Was Pretty’, and her role was at all too important in ‘Legend of the Blue
Sea’.
In total, the actress had played 9 minor roles and 2 second lead roles before finally nailing
a main character in 2017’s ‘My Golden Life’, after actress UEE rejected the role.
And this was where Hye Sun’s effort finally paid off.
‘My Golden Life’ was one of the highest-rated TV series of all time - and with her talents,
Hye Sun had charmed her way into the heart of the public.
Shin Hye Sun never shied away from different genres and different characters.
She can play the blind but strong woman in ‘Angel’s Last Mission’, the tragic singer
in ‘Hymn of Death’, and the man-in-a-woman body of ‘Mr.Queen’.
She was also extremely hardworking, and never mind looking less than stellar for her roles.
While she’s not exactly at the “top actress” status in Korea at the moment, everyone just
has to acknowledge that Hye Sun is an actress of real talents.
Song Joong Ki We all thought that his handsome looks would
make Song Joong Ki popular from the get-go.
However, that’s not the case, and the actor had risen himself up through many minor roles.
In particular, Song Joong Ki made his debut as a bodyguard in the 2008 K-drama ‘A Frozen
Flower’, with a total screen time of less than 1 minute.
Then, he appeared just as briefly as a housekeeper in ‘My Fair Lady’, before playing an intern
in ``Obstetric and Gynecology Doctors".
It was not until the end of 2010 that his supporting role as the mischievous Goo Yong
Ha of ‘Sungkyunkwan Scandal’ shot the actor to fame.
And we can’t help but applaud the actor for this choice - Goo Yong Ha was the right
mix of playful and tragic, of flashy and mysterious - just enough to land in the audience’s
heart.
But even then, the actor’s acting abilities was not highly regarded, and he set out to
further prove himself.
And Joong Ki was successful - his acting abilities are no longer a debatable topic after the
success of ‘Deep Rooted Tree’, ‘A Werewolf Boy’, and ‘The Innocent Man’.
Finally, in 2016, the actor starred in ‘Descendants of The Sun’, and we know the rest of the
story.
He still continued to renew himself with different roles even today - from a double role in ‘Arthdal
Chronicles’ to the more flashy yet tragic ‘Vincenzo’.
Kim Ji Won Talented and beautiful, but Kim Ji Won was
also not so fortunate in her way to fame.
She debuted in 2010, but took 6 years to finally gain recognition.
At the beginning of her career, Kim Ji Won only participated in music videos and acted
in commercials.
Once, the actress even shared that because she wanted to find a chance to be famous,
she joined a street performance band.
In the following years, Kim Ji Won took on supporting roles in a number of dramas but
still did not have the opportunity to shine.
Her roles as the wealthy gymnast Seol Han Na in "To The Beautiful You", and the arrogant
heiress Yoo Rachel in "The Heirs" managed to attract some attention, but they just were
not enough to bring her to stardom.
But everything changed with the appearance of "Descendants of the Sun", and despite only
playing the second female lead, Kim Ji Won’s career promptly took off.
Ever since, the actress was not afraid to tackle a wide range of different roles, from
the poor but cute Choi Aera of ‘Fight For My Way’, to the more challenging Tanya of
‘Arthdal Chronicles’, and most recently, a hurt yet positive Seon Ah of ‘Lovestruck
in the City’.
It can be said that finally, Ji Won got the popularity worthy of her skills.
Park Seo Joon Park Seo Joon is now the star of super famous
K-dramas, but his acting career was not exactly a bed of roses.
If you squint while watching Dream High 2, you may notice the handsome actor in a super
minor.
And it was just his first in many many more, with little screen time and little recognition.
But in 2015, after 3 years in the industry, the actor finally found his footing when he
landed a role as the younger brother of the female lead in ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’.
With a resounding bromance, good comedy, and a meaningful plot, ‘Kill Me Heal Me’ went
on to become the most famous series of the year, and along with it, Park Seo Joon’s
popularity also surged.
The actor nailed a leading role in ‘She Was Pretty’ in the same year, and basically
exploded with fame.
Ever since, his career has been on a constant rise: none of his dramas went unnoticed, with
"Fight For My Way", "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim", and most recently, "Itaewon Class" all
gaining huge reception.
Park Seo Jun has come a long way in his acting career and has slowly but surely made it to
where he is now.
Moon Ga Young Young as she is, the beautiful actress Moon
Ga Young has actually been in the field for a whopping 14 years!
However, she mostly played supporting roles, and the list of her works can overwhelm a
lot of actors.
After 8 years, the actress finally landed a leading role in ‘Mimi’, a web series
produced by Mnet.
She then joined EXO (read as axe-oh) Next Door, and became Park Chan Yeol’s on-screen
lover.
But all these main appearances were not enough to make the actress known to the public eye,
and the actress was back to supporting roles in famous series like ‘Mirror of the Witch’
and ‘Live Up To Your Name’.
It was not until 2018 that Ga Young’s fame actually started to rise.
Her role as the second female lead of the drama ‘Tempted’ had outshone the female
lead, and her chic fashion style in the drama had highlighted her beauty.
She then nailed another leading role in ‘Welcome to Waikiki 2’ - but the series wasn’t
gaining recognition.
But just as we thought that Moon Ga Young was running out of luck, she made a grand
comeback in the 2020 series ‘True Beauty’, and the rest is history.
Now, international fans all know her face, and she even nailed a commercial deal for
the clothing brand ‘NAU’.
And that’s our list.
Of course, there are so many more actors and actresses that have started from the bottom
and worked their way up with immense talents.
Notable mentions include Lee Jong Suk, Jung Hae In, and many, many more.
Share with us your favorite actors and actresses that would fit in the list!