Consider me in the minority of not being a Lee Je Hoon fangirl. I can’t help it, the first time I ever laid eyes on him was in Fashion King. I had a lot of movies he was in banked but most are on the dark and gritty side and one needs to be in the mood to tackle that. Encountering an actor or actress for the first time via Fashion King is one of those surreal experiences in showing what NOT to do in acting. I know he has lots of fans and is critically acclaimed as a rising star in Chungmuro with Bleak Night, The Front Line, My Paparotti, and Architecture 101. I fully believe he’s a good and probably even great actor, but having not yet watched performances from him that impress me I’m going to have to believe the praise heaped on him but not personally buy into it. Lee Je Hoon was released from the army this week in a very low key and media-free way that also echoes his very normal and understated enlistment experience. There was basically no entertainment news about him because he was just an army soldier like any other. Lee Je Hoon is reportedly fielding a drama return via the upcoming SBS sageuk Secret Door already confirmed to star Han Seok Kyu. It is slated for a November premiere and Lee Je Hoon is still considering it but his first confirmed post-military project might end up having a filming conflict with the drama. Lee Je Hoon has accepted the leading man role in the upcoming movie Detective Hong Gil Dong, and it’s set in the 90’s and transplants the folk tale hero Hong Gil Dong into a Robin Hook detective character investigating crime in modern Seoul. I’m guessing Hong Gil Dong trades criminal thievery for a legit job as a detective? Sounds intriguing enough to me.

The movie comes from the director of the box office hit Song Joong Ki movie A Werewolf Boy and is currently in talks with Go Ara as the leading lady. Visually I think Lee Je Hoon and Go Ara would be gorgeous together and if his acting is as good as most folks claim and knowing how much improved she’s become, this is definitely a movie to keep an eye out for.