Lee Jung Ha: The ugliest male lead on Korean screen, gained 30kg to play Moving, special family situation

Gaining nearly 30kg to be able to match the "plus-size" shape in Moving, Lee Jung Ha has successfully conquered viewers with his acting and lovely bright smile.

Attracted attention when appearing 3 times on the Golden Bell Challenge program

The Golden Bell Challenge is a knowledge competition program for Korean high school students.

This program has been licensed by Vietnam, named Ring the Golden Bell and adjusted the contestants so that university students are allowed to participate.

In 2016, when he was still a boy at Seongji High School in Yongin, Lee Jung Ha appeared on the show twice. The guy attracted the attention of the public by his bright appearance, which was commented to look similar to Park Bo Gum and Beenzino.

At his first engagement in October with Seongji students, on the very first question, Jung Ha was chosen to conduct a short interview. Although he was eliminated soon after, his innocent, optimistic answer and smiling eyes still left an impression on the viewers watching the show.

At the end of each year, the Golden Bell Challenge will feature a special number that brings together 100 excellent students from different high schools. At the end of 2016, Jung Ha participated in this special issue and went to the 30th question, showing that he is a smart person and that the previous failure seemed to be deliberate to create atmosphere. Also after this airing, Jung Ha was noticed by entertainment companies, thereby becoming charmed with showbiz.

Then, on the 900th special episode aired in 2018, the Golden Bell Challenge invites all contestants who have won or become hot topics by appearing on the show. Jung Ha was one of those invited because he caused a fever in his first participation. Including this special episode, he has appeared 3 times on the Golden Bell Challenge. In the 3rd participation, Jung Ha excelled among the last 14 standers.

Special family circumstances

Also during the Golden Bell Challenge, Lee Jung Ha shared that he and his father had a rather distant relationship. Later, through the show, his father sent him a video message in which he apologized for not showing him his love for him for so long, making their relationship as awkward as it is now. Hearing these words, Jung Ha burst into tears.

Jung Ha once said his mother had stage 3 colon cancer. Jung Ha said through tears, "My mom is always sick, but she really wants to see you on TV."

In an interview with Cine21 in February 2023, when asked about 3 things that helped him on his path to becoming an actor, Jung Ha replied, "The first two things are my father and mother, who sacrificed to raise me. Another thing is what my mom has been saying to me ever since I was a kid, 'It's just that you're not blooming right now. But one day, you're sure to bloom beautifully." Every time I'm nervous or lose confidence, I'll remember those words."

Reaching your dream of being an idol

Lee Jung Ha was born in 1998, his real name is Lee Kwan Min. According to Jung Ha, since high school, he has had dreams of becoming an idol. After rising to prominence with the Golden Bell Challenge, he had the opportunity to intern at JYP Entertainment – one of the Big3 idol management companies. However, because he felt that he was too flawed compared to the other trainees, he quit and left JYP.

Not long after, Jung Ha joined his agency Namooactors and debuted with the webdrama "Heart Attack Warning" on his YouTube channel Dingo.

In the same year 2017, he appeared on The Unit – a survival show where the overall winning contestants will be debuting in an idol group. Jung Ha said he still doesn't want to give up his dream of being an idol and wants to work for it again. That's why he decided to join The Unit.

Right from the first episode, Jung Ha has attracted attention with his optimistic attitude and permanent smile on his face despite his weak skills, causing the mentors to "melt" because of cuteness. As a result, he finished 19th overall, being eliminated on the eve of the final.

Acting path

After failing on his journey to reach his idol dream, Jung Ha decided to focus on his work as an actor. In 2018 and 2019, he appeared in webdramas Want More 19 (as Ma Tae Hee), Travelogue (as Park Jun Yeol), and Freshman (as Cha Do Jin), respectively.

In July 2019, Jung Ha had his first mainstream drama, the historical drama Historian Apprentice Goo Hae Ryung aired on MBC. In the film, he plays the historical censor Kim Chi Guk – an honest, upright and lovely young talent.

In 2020, he transformed into track and field athlete Kim Woo Sik in Run On. This is a supporting character who comes from a poor background and is often bullied by his teammates, who is later helped by the male lead Ki Seon Gyeom (Im Si Wan). Through this role, Jung Ha made a mark in the hearts of viewers with his honest appearance and emotional acting.

In 2021, he appeared in Nevertheless as Kim Eun Han – a junior in the same department as lead actor Park Jae On (Song Kang).

Although he did not create a buzz, through the above works, Jung Ha was still able to hone more about acting and had the opportunity to learn from many seniors in the profession. Besides, although only taking on supporting roles, the characters that the rookie takes on have different settings, showing his effort to try a variety of roles.

Shine with blockbuster Moving

In August 2021, Jung Ha was chosen for the role of the male lead Kim Bong Seok of the blockbuster Moving and began the filming process with the actors. It took two years to complete production and post-production, and in August 2023, Moving is finally released to audiences.

Before the film, there were many comments that the main cast of students had a rather poor appearance compared to the seniors. All eyes on Moving seem to be on big names like Ryu Seung Ryong, Han Hyo Joo, Jo In Sung,... For the younger class of actors, the most popular name is also Go Yoon Jung, not many people have expressed their expectations for Lee Jung Ha.

However, when the drama officially aired, despite his chubby appearance far from the usual male lead image in Korean movies, Lee Jung Ha still successfully attracted the attention of the majority of viewers. Not only thanks to Bong-seok's well-established character, but his natural acting, combined with Lee Jung Ha's own innocence, bright smile, and lovely smiling eyes, helped him win the hearts of the public.

Thanks to the explosion of fame gained from Moving, Jung Ha received more interview invitations. He also had his first magazine shoot with Allure. Searches for his old information and video clips also increased rapidly. Although Jung Ha does not have a next movie schedule so far, he said he will continue to work hard and work hard as an actor, while also learning more knowledge and new talents to develop himself.

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