January has been a busy news month for Lee Yoo Bi, a relatively newbie actress that I’ve been keeping my eyes on since she made a decent turn in Nice Guy followed by a stunning performance in Gu Family Book. 2014 is starting off with a bang for her and in the last week alone she’s made the headlines in three different ways. The first is getting named one of the new co-MCs for the SBS music program Inkigayo along with EXO members Suho and Baekhyun. I expect EXOtics to flay her alive. If she makes it through hosting Inkigayo on the side, she’ll still have her acting career to build up and her first leading lady role may be right around the corner. MBC must’ve loved her performance in GFB as much as the viewers did because she’s in talks to be Lee Dong Wook‘s leading lady in the upcoming weekend family drama Hotel King. The age difference isn’t all that big with Lee Dong Wook being 32 and Lee Yoo Bi is 23, but visually she does look a lot younger then her age and can easily pass for late teens. Lastly comes the juiciest ondit in her busy week – the tabloid breaking story that Lee Yoo Bi is dating SHINee‘s Jonghyun (i.e. one of the SHINee guys I don’t have a clue about other than he is not Min Ho). Both side’s agencies have leaped forward to refute the news and claim they are just friends and hang out a lot with other friends. What’s making netizens chortle on both sides of the ocean is the fact that this dating news was broken by a well-known reporter Nam Hye Yeo who is credited with the following high profile dating breaking news: Seo Taiji and Lee Ji Ah, Honey Lee and Yoon Kye Sang, Lee Min Jung and Lee Byung Hun, Lee Hyori and Lee Sang Soon, Baek Ji Young and Jung Suk Won, and Ji Hyun Woo and Yoo In Ah. Heh, that’s an impressive breaking dating news list. So there you have it, and of course Shin Se Kyung‘s name is being bandied about simply because she once dated Jonghyun as if she doesn’t have her own life to live afterwards. I’m happy Lee Yoo Bi got the MC gig, curious if she accepts Hotel King and what her chemistry will be like with Lee Dong Wook, and can totally care less whether she is dating Jonghyun or not. I’d say she ought to be pleased with a buzzy month because even scandal news is better than no news.
Lee Dong Wook as the titular hotel king isn’t new territory for him at all since he played a hotel heir in My Girl though I don’t remember seeing him do much hotel management in the course of finding Lee Da Hae to be his fake sister and then falling in love with her. Hotel King is slated to follow Golden Rainbow and air for 32-episodes so it’s not a major commitment if she accepts but will definitely be a prime breakthrough opportunity to keep making a name for herself that doesn’t involve being known as Kyun Mi Ri‘s daughter.
I like her a lot but I hope they find some way to make her look a teensy weensy bit more mature… either way, it’s always refreshing to see new faces and pairings in dramas!
I hope she takes the role. I thought she looked plenty mature in GFB, much more than in Nice Guy where she still looked like a kid even after the timeskip. Though with Nice Guy it didn’t help that she didn’t have believable romantic chemistry with Kwang Soo while in GFB she had really great chemistry with Seunggi, so she came across as more adult. Though I’m not sure how she’ll look with a 32 year old man. She’s a good enough actress to pull it off anyway.
As for her dating, I believe it given the reporter who broke the story but I can see why they are denying it. Let’s just hope there is no proof.
yeah, if there end up being photographs or something this will follow her around for a while, and that is just not fair. Though I wish Sidus would take the same approach to her dating that they did with Kim Woobin, and just admit it (realistically, that won’t happen, though – she’s female and her alleged boyfriend is a celebrity in his own right)
also re: drama, I hope they change Lee Dong Wook’s hair, he looks like an ajusshi trying to be trendy, and paired with a young costar it’ll just age him more.
She made a fan out of me with GFB and I’m thrilled to hear she may be taking her rightful place in leading lady status (though not so sure about the drama’s premise) and finally moving forward with acting.
…and I’m not super thrilled about the scandal, simply because she deserves better than the dragging she will get from idol fans *sigh*. A lot like her sister’s recent drama special Twenty Years Old, too! But I hope she’s happy, it’s a little unfair that actors can’t date even in their twenties without it being a scandal.
Agree, I hope she doesn’t get mired down in scandal because she did a fabulous job – a much better actress than Suzy, LOL) and I would like to see more of her.
of course she would be better she spent years learning and studying acting to be an actress, meanwhile Suzy is younger and never studied acting and doesn’t have time to study even if she wants to because of her packed schedule…
Now I just imagine Lady Choi of Dae JangGeum scolding her lil’ daughter for adultery against the King. The King being the mighty FAN(boys and girls). (Lady Choi) Kyun Mi Ri is her mother.
In Korea the aftermath of a scandal is at the public’s whim. Sometimes is for the best, sometimes is for the worst. I think for Shin SeKyung was for the worst. SSK is meh to me, but at the time of the scandal she was on the wave, after Tree with deep roots. After that she did 2 not that successful movies and 2 fiasco dramas: Fashion Killer(ng) and The Man who Broods.
Lee Yu Bi name was in another scandal: the one of Suzy and Sung Joon(GFB and I Need Romance 3). The agencies buried the scandal in the same way… “Dear fans, they were just naturals, holding each other that close is what teens do” and so on.
After following the KEnt for a few years I think it is for the best to bury anything that resemble a public relationship. Yoo InNa and Ji Hyun Woo were asked if they split, true or not it must be hurtful to hear it, Sooyoung and Jung Kyung Ho were called names(liars) because they have been hiding it – c’mon at those reactions I would hide it too. Rain and Kim Tae Hee – he was the one cursed and she read online that she doesn’t know how to pick her guys. Lee Min Ho and Park Min Young. She received countless life threats. Fans yelled at him while he was on stage. Not a Lee Min Ho fan, but I wanted to see that relationship going to the altar just to prove that Korea isn’t a weird place to be for a celebrity couple. A few days ago was about Park Shin Hye and LMH.Choi Ji-woo and Lee Jin-wook split and she was blamed by fans. And the list can go on until tomorrow morning.
I remember what Kim Nam Gil said while filming Bad Guy: I prefer to act with married women because this way I would avoid a scandal.(Han Ga In- BG and Lee Yo Won – QSD). Guess what? Son Ye Jin isn’t married and already we heard rumors about them being a couple. It doesn’t matter if they are or not. Gossips are a fun way to spend a day, and because of that we blog or read blogs that much, however I don’t think it is as fun to be hit with rotten eggs just because you are in love.
Some actor even said “Take a chill pill. I would recognize an affair only if you kill me.” First of all she will be the one hurt in the whole ordeal. When the relationship ends her marriage is doomed because she would be “used” and she would be a paria for society. So Ji Sub and Lee Jun Ki are just a few who said that. On the other hand it is easier for gay people to hide from the public’s scrutiny: there is nothing wrong for a male celebrity being single and never had a “scandal” even in his 40s or 50s. Don’t forget that in Korea being gay is a sin.
One was false : Rain with Jeon Ji Hyun – she married with another guy. At the time of the scandal she was engaged with her future husband.
With this situation in Korea, outrageous scandals like the one of Park Shi Hoo go with less noise than would normally do in another country on Earth.
I’m curious about Do Min Joon’s planet… how would it be?
Ji Hyun Woo and Yoo In Ah……. This would truly be breaking news… Lol
wow the way you kept saying you couldnt give a shit whether she dated jonghyun or who he is, was a bit rude. not saying you have to care, just that u sounded ignorant imo
How is that being rude? Why should she care about who she is dating? She isn’t involved in the relationship.
I actually care; not because JH is a pretty good idol singer (true, though that’s kinda irrelevant), but for the fact he’s been thrown in with rising actresses at just the right moment that’s a bit weird (and probably entirely coincidental, actually). Some say JH/SSK was a publicity stunt. Others just hated on SSK.
It doesn’t matter who anyone dates, but I find this one interesting just because of the people involved.
Rude to WHOM?…and ignorant of WHAT? (just because she doesn’t know every member of Shinee?)
Yay another Oppa dongsaeng drama. We need more of that in kdramaland. It has been all about the noona-dongsaeng dramas for a few years now.
A lot of the generational issues seem to be finally smoothing over…
Why do korean actresses always look as white as paper? They need to tan themselves a little bit.
The girl looks kinda cute. That 1st photo of her remind me if the mini Park Shin Hye when she did “stairways to heaven”.
As for Lee Dong Wook, he’s the only Korean guy crush that I have on right now since Kim Bum and Won Bin are taken. It’s kinda a turn off when a guys has a girlfriend. So Lee Dong Wook is the only one left for me.
But that photo of him there just look really BAD and scary at the same time
Same here.. she look like PSH.. just a little touch of her nose… they really look similar… 😉
I’m happy for her, I hope she rocks her first leading role. I wish her mum would come back to k-dramas, I miss her.
Wasn’t her mom in Wonderful Mama last year? And i think she’s in a daily drama too. It’s not like she’s gone lol
She dose look younger than her age actually. She’s quite small but she’s a good actress I believe. She impressed me during GFB, I’m happy she’s getting an opportunity to get a lead role.
Dating? And from idol group. I hope she’s not getting any anti fans by now.
I really hope that if the dating rumors are true, I hope SHINee fans learn from the last time Jong Hyun dated, and DONT’T tear him and his girlfriend apart. He apparently fell apart on stage because of all the negative/cruel things going around. Whether someone is a fan or not, that’s just too depressing to hear about. If you’re an actual fan of the person’s work/personality/group, then wouldn’t you want that person to have the best and most fulfilling life they can?
Honestly, Lee Yoo Bi has impressed me with the way she’s handled being in the public eye and how she’s made her acting decisions. She is taking her time and picking roles not to satisfy public demand, but to actually act and gain experience/credibility.
Am a fan of Lee Yoobi! I think my favourite drama with her in it is Vampire Idol! Yoobi x WooBin!
I Like Lee Yoo Bi^^