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| Lee Sun-bin in a file photo provided by her agency, Wellmade Yedang / Courtesy of Wellmade Yedang |
By Kim Ji-soo
Over summer, a surprise hit drama aired on cable channel OCN that had fans glued to the screen. The drama, "38 Revenue Collection Unit," about city tax officials teaming up with con artists to recoup unpaid taxes from those refusing to pay up, was all but 16 episodes.
But with actors such as Ma Dong-seok and Seo In-guk involved, the drama eventually recorded the cable channel's highest ratings of 6.4 percent. From the drama also emerged a rising star, an Asian star, it seems, as foreign watchers began asking about Lee Sun-bin, 23. She played Jo Mi-joo, who used her beauty to help the tax officials-con artists team collect the hidden taxes.
Since then, Lee, 23, has been actively appearing in "SNL Korea," "Running Man" and other variety shows. The former trainee singer surprised fans by appearing on shows including "King of Masked Singer." Last week she disclosed on "I Live Alone" her simple living quarters and how her earlier years enabled her to develop thrifty habits. She is very active on Instagram and her account has fans from all over Asia following.
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| Lee Sun-bin, 23, in an episode of "38 Revenue Collection Unit' |
At 166 centimeters tall, pretty and sophisticated-looking, Lee has an inkling that she may well grow into being a part of the next generation of K-drama stars.
Her previous dramas include "Madame Antoine" (2016). Asked if her role in "38 Revenue Collection Unit" was a game-changer, she said she was really just starting out.
"I've enjoyed my role in ‘Madame Antoine' as well, but the '38 Revenue Collection Unit' was special in that I was able to act in diverse roles, as a con artist playing a real estate agent, or employee at golf courses and a pyramid scheme company," Lee wrote in an email interview with The Korea Times. The drama also starred "of-the-moment" actors Ma Dong-seok and Seo In-guk, and others. Asked to name which actor or actress she most learned from or had good chemistry with, she said: "The actors for ‘38 Revenue Collection Unit' had great chemistry as a team, and because I was the youngest, I learned a lot from my senior actors," she said.
She added that: "To be honest, I also realize that that the drama made my name known."
The "38 Revenue Collection Unit" is about how city tax officials, led by Ma Dong-seok, join with the con artist team of Seo In-guk's character, which includes Lee's character Jo Mi-joo, to collect unpaid taxes from the unscrupulous taxpayers.
Lee, born in 1994 and who came to Seoul as a teen from Cheonan, South Chungcheong, spent three years as a girl-group singer trainee from when she was 19. She debuted as an actress in the 2015 Chinese drama "Saint Wang Xizhi," before making her Korean drama debut.
Lee is busy and in demand these days — she was filming her next MBC drama, "Missing 9," when interviewed.
The actress, who talked about her singer-training days and earlier days in acting, said she is not complaining about the heavy schedule.
"I don't mind the schedule these days, because this is the moment that I have been waiting for," Lee said.
Of her new drama role, Lee said fans can expect to see more of her bright and outgoing personality. In fact, the slender Lee has shown that she is open and easy-going during recent TV appearances.
Lee talked openly about her earlier hardships during the appearance on "I Live Alone" that aired on Oct. 14. As many teens harbor dreams of becoming K-stars these days, Lee said when she came to Seoul on her own she had to live at a sauna or sleep in the agency training rooms. Now, she lives in a small studio-type unit. She said she had a range of part-time jobs — as a fitting model, working at a cafeand in ice cream and clothing stores — to support herself.
Asked whether she thinks her difficulties were significant, Lee said: "I don't think my hardships stand out more than others; there are other actors who undergo more difficulties."She said she just happened to be honest about the personal, emotional burden she had felt during the training days.
Looking back, yes at 23, she said those experiences were "invaluable" to her acting career.
Asked if she has plans to re-enter the Chinese market, Lee said, "Of course," mentioning how she appeared in the Chinese drama and on Chinese entertainment shows. "China has its distinctive culture and how its broadcasts work, and I found it engaging and interesting and I look forward to going back to it," she said.
Two of her favorite pastimes to release stress are singing and dancing.
"I love singing and dancing," Lee said. "When I have time, I use the company's training room, singing and dancing, to relieve stress and gain new energy." Of her beauty secrets, she says she tries to maintain an optimistic and positive mindset to avoid stress and accompanying skincare problems.
These days, even though Lee is a little scared of the all the attention, she says she is grateful and happy.
