Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi is taking off again.

Last year, he had no significant connection with the public due to his marriage and legal dispute with his former agency, but this year, he is attracting attention by being active in all directions and gaining popularity.

In particular, as he celebrates the 20th anniversary of his debut this year, he is determined to expand his presence in various fields such as singing, entertainment programs, and movies.

To this end, Lee Seung-gi is attempting a unique change by breaking away from the image and appearance he has built up so far.

He is currently showing off his ‘strong man’ charms in the TV Chosun entertainment program ‘Survival King: Tribal War’ (Survival King).

In the survival wild entertainment program set in the Malaysian jungle, Lee Seung Gi is the leader of the ‘soldier team’ and is engaged in a fierce battle with Kim Byung Man and Choo Sung Hoon, who are called the ‘kings of the jungle’.

Before the broadcast, there were speculations that he would appear as the ‘fool’ character from the wild entertainment program ‘2 Days ’, which is considered Lee Seung Gi‘s representative work, but he leads the team members with charisma and leadership, as expected from someone from the special forces.

Thanks to this, the program recently became a hot topic, ranking 2nd among Netflix’s top 10 series in Korea.

His ‘acting transformation’, which is almost unconventional, is also catching attention. He will show off his shaved head in the movie ‘Big Family’, which will be released in December.

The movie tells the story of what happens when cute grandchildren visit the owner of a dumpling restaurant, Pyeong Man-ok, whose family lineage was cut off because his son became a monk.

In the movie, which marks his return after 6 years, Lee Seung-gi appears as the son of Ham Mu-ok (Kim Yoon-seok), a monk and owner of Pyeong Man-ok. In a teaser video recently released by the production team ahead of the release, Lee Seung-gi shows off his shaved head and wearing monk‘s attire.

He doesn’t stop there, and will reignite the ‘Korean Wave’ through a new entertainment program on iQIYI, which is called the Chinese version of Netflix. Lee Seung-gi will be passing on all of his know-how in the global idol audition program ‘Starlight Boys’.


Reporter Lee Jeong-yeon annjoy@donga.com