Lee Hye-ri

The Stigma of the Stage and the Military Success

Lee Hye-ri was not the first choice to star in the series that defined her career. In 2015, Korean critics doubted her ability to lead a period drama because her image was tied exclusively to the pop group Girl's Day. But the industry overlooked the fact that audiences had already connected with her in a far less glamorous setting.

In 2014, she appeared in the reality show Real Men. During a military farewell, a spontaneous gesture of tiredness and affection went viral within hours. That short clip immediately increased requests for advertising deals from her agency. And the bet paid off.

Before that moment, her career was limited to tight choreography and variety shows. Her breakthrough came with an audition for the Reply saga. Director Shin Won-ho was looking for someone who wasn't afraid to look unattractive on screen or to eat messily in front of the camera.

Hye-ri landed the role of Sung Deok-sun after showing that her real personality fit the character's awkwardness. She earned a 18.8% rating in her final episode. It was the highest figure for cable television in South Korea up to that point.

Deok-sun and the Weight of Audience Ratings

The problem with reaching the top so soon is the shadow success casts. For years, every role she accepted was compared to her work in Reply 1988. In 2016, she tried to move away from comedy with Entertainer, but the results were lukewarm. The press began to question whether she could only play herself.

But she chose to ignore the noise and diversify her income through live television. Between 2018 and 2020, she was a key part of the show Amazing Saturday. Her exit from the show after 140 episodes reflected her need to focus on genre films.

Pero el cine es distinto.

In 2018, she made her big-screen debut in Monstrum. It was a period horror production that failed to meet box office expectations. Critics noted that her move into action roles required more physical maturity. So she returned to stories where dialogue carries more weight than the sword.

In 2021, she starred in My Roommate is a Gumiho. The series performed well on international platforms and won back younger audiences. By then, she was no longer chasing constant approval from critics but focusing on the profitability of her projects.

The Search for an Adult Record

The year 2022 marked a shift in her choice of scripts with May I Help You?. In this story, she played a funeral director who talks with the dead. It was a restrained, dry performance that moved away from the screaming and exaggerated gestures of her early work.

And then came the physical risk.

In 2024, she filmed Victory. For this cheerleading film set in 1999, she had to learn hip-hop choreography and the regional dialects of the Geoje area. The production had a budget of 8,000 million won and focused on sports nostalgia.

In early 2025, her participation in Friendly Rivalry was confirmed. This psychological suspense thriller follows toxic competition at an elite high school. It is her first leading role in a series rated for adults due to its violence and dark tone.

Filming of her movie Tropical Night wrapped in Thailand after 28 night shooting sessions at locations in Bangkok.