Lee Dong Wook movies you need to watch at least once in this lifetime: A Year End Medley, Heartbreak Library and more

Lee Dong Wook’s movies are a treat to watch as much as his K-dramas. Start watching these gems now.

Updated on Apr 29, 2024  |  08:11 PM IST |  156.9K
A Year End Medley (CJ Entertainment), Single in Seoul (Lotte Entertainment)
A Year End Medley (CJ Entertainment), Single in Seoul (Lotte Entertainment)

Lee Dong Wook has successfully established himself as one of the most followed South Korean actors with his work in movies and K-dramas. The actor has won millions of hearts with his irresistible charm and striking visuals and continues to do so. Whether you are his fan or a Korean industry fanatic, these Lee Dong Wook movies are a must-watch.

With a surge in K-dramas and K-movies, fans are always on the hunt for new and interesting titles from the industry, and here are Lee Dong Wook's best movies to check out next. Lee Dong Wook is one of the most sought-after actors in South Korea and unsurprisingly his work extends the boundaries of genres and styles. 

Lee Dong Wook gained an unseen surge of popularity with his role as Grim Reaper in Guardian: The Lonely and Great God. Since that day, the actor has been proving his acting caliber with roles in romance, fantasy, action, and more. Other than K-dramas like Tale of The Nine Tailed, Goblin, Touch Your Heart, A Shop for Killers, and more Lee Dong Wook has amazed audiences with his charisma in movies as well. 

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Must-watch Lee Dong Wook movies: Single in Seoul, Arang, and more

7. The Perfect Couple

The Perfect Couple is a cute romantic movie that begins with an awkward first meeting. Lee Dong Wook takes the lead role of a rigid, workaholic detective Kang Jae Hyuk who takes catching criminals as the only thing that matters to him. 

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While chasing a criminal Kang Jae Hyuk is impaled by a tempura skewer by Choi Soi Joon, a newbie reporter who is enjoying a treat after a day filled with hard work. After meeting in such a clumsy way, Kang Jae Hyuk and Choi Soi Joon start off on the wrong foot but slowly they begin to ease up to each other. Together, they embark to catch a crime lord all the while falling in love.

  • Release Date: January 25, 2007
  • Director: Kim Jung Woo
  • Cast: Lee Dong Wook, Hyun Young
  • Runtime: 109 minutes

6. The Recipe 

The Recipe is a movie dense with mystery and heartbreak following a reporter on his quest to find the best-tasting doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) demanded by a prisoner on death row. 

The search for this mysterious doenjang jjigae leads reporter Choi Yoo Jin (Ryu Seung Ryong) to Jang Hye Jin (Lee Yo Won). Lee Yo Won makes a doenjang jjigae which has the power to ensnare the eaters in heaven but only some have tasted it. When on a quest to find Lee Yo Won and her miraculous recipe, Choi Yoo Jin comes to know her heartbreaking search for her beloved Kim Hyun Soo (Lee Dong Wook). 

  • Release Date: October 21, 2010
  • Director: Anna Lee
  • Cast: Ryu Seung Ryong, Lee Yo Won, Lee Dong Wook
  • Runtime: 107 minutes

5. Arang 

Coming into the horror genre, we get to see Lee Dong Wook as a rookie detective, Hyun Ki. He works with the veteran detective So Young played by Song Yoon Ah. Together they start investigating a series of mysterious deaths related to a girl who died years ago. 

This Lee Dong Wook horror movie is based on the folklore of the same name Arang and follows the lore of a vengeful spirit of a girl who was raped and killed. She kills her perpetrators and exacts her revenge. In the modern time, a similar story seems to unfold.

  • Release Date: June 28, 2006
  • Director: Ahn Sang Hoon
  • Cast: Lee Dong Wook, Song Yoon Ah
  • Runtime: 97 minutes

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4. The Beauty Inside

The Beauty Inside follows an 18-year-old boy who is plagued by a mysterious and never-seen-before condition which leads him to wake up in a new body every day. Sometimes he is a man, a woman, an old man, even a foreigner. No one knows whose body he might take home the next day. 

One day, he meets a girl who he can’t get out of his mind. He decides to approach her when he takes home a handsome guy’s body. But it soon gets out of hand as he changes every day. But there still might be hope for love to find a way.


3. A Year End Medley

A Year-End Medley brings home the miracle of the new year with stories unraveling in Hotel Emross. The CEO of the hotel, Yong Jin, and the poised hotel manager, So Jin find themselves in a big rush as the hotel is filled up with guests looking for something magical. 

In this romantic comedy, find love, magic, and meaning in your life before the years ends. Laced beautifully with beautiful characters and their different stories, this movie became a big hit and was later released as a mini-series.

  • Release Date: December 29, 2021
  • Director: Kwak Jae Yong
  • Cast: Lee Dong Wook, Han Ji Min, Kang Ha Neul, Im Yoon Ah, Won Jin Ah, Lee Jin Wook
  • Runtime: 138 minutes


2. Single in Seoul

Lee Dong Wook’s latest movie Single in Seoul is a sweet romantic comedy waiting to win your heart. This follows the story of two people who have different takes on life and loneliness, who begin to come close when they collaborate on a project on being single. 

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Lee Dong Wook plays the aloof influencer and essay instructor Park Yeong Ho alongside Im Soo Jung who portrays Joo Hyeon Jin. Joo Hyeon Jin is the editor-in-chief of an essay series Single in The City which later connects them. 

  • Release Date: November 29, 2023
  • Director: Park Beom Soo 
  • Cast: Lee Dong Wook, Im Soo Jung
  • Runtime: 103 minutes


1. Heartbreak Library

One of the most loved movies starring Lee Dong Wook, Heartbreak Library follows a boy, Kim Joon Oh, who is heartbroken when his girlfriend suddenly leaves him. She leaves behind nothing but a cryptic message to look up page 198 but does not mention the book.

When Kim Joon Oh daily tears a page of a book, the librarian Jo Eun Soo first reports him but when she finds out the reason behind his act, she decides to help him. The movie was based on a short story of the same name by Yoon Sung Hee.

  • Release Date: October 23, 2008
  • Director: Kim Jung Kwon
  • Cast: Lee Dong Wook, Eugene
  • Runtime: 97 minutes

This is your signal to get your screens on and running and binge Lee Dong Wook movies back to back. Indulge in his charismatic presence on the big screen with these movies.

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About The Author

Tanya, on this side of the screen, probably with a Bangtan Bomb and my K-pop playlist on the play.

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Credits: CJ Entertainment, Lotte Entertainment
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