Lee Yeon-hee, should she take off the label of controversy over her terrible acting skills?
As actress Lee Yeon-hee returns to the small screen with an office drama, attention is being paid to whether she will be able to completely shed the label of controversy over her acting skills that has been following her.

Lee Yeon-hee will appear in Disney+'s original series 'Race', which will be released on the 10th. 'Race' depicts the story of Park Yoon-jo, who has no qualifications but joins a contract position at a large company due to his passion, and struggles to survive at work after being embroiled in a hiring scandal. The role he plays is Park Yoon-jo.

As this is a work that focuses on the character Park Yoon-jo, Lee Yeon-hee's role is important. At the 'Race' production presentation held on the 8th, Lee Yeon-hee explained, "Through this work, I tried hard to show my easy-going and authentic self." He also looked for books about the lives of office workers, especially public relations people.

Lee Yeon-hee, should she take off the label of controversy over her terrible acting skills?
The ‘Race’ team we worked with also gave favorable reviews. Director Lee Dong-yoon said, “He is very courageous and strong,” and added, “Park Yoon-jo is a character who has experience in social life at the level of an assistant manager rather than someone who is just starting out in society, and has self-judgment, so I thought he would be a perfect fit.” Co-star Moon So-ri said, "The image I had before was soft, feminine, and infinitely clear, just like a cosmos," but added, "When I met her in person, she was confident and her voice was full of passion. I wondered if Lee Yeon-hee was this kind of person originally, and the character of Yoon Jo came into the picture. “I don’t know if it worked,” he said, raising expectations.

However, Lee Yeon-hee has been embroiled in controversy over her acting skills in several works, so there are quite a few concerns. Lee Yeon-hee, who played the female protagonist Gook Guk-ran in MBC's 'East of Eden' in 2008, was criticized for acting with an awkward and rigid facial expression. Even now, quite a bit of time has passed, this work remains as a dark piece of history for Lee Yeon-hee.

Afterwards, even in 2011's 'Paradise Ranch', he could not escape controversy over his acting skills due to his exaggerated tone of voice and facial expressions. Lee Yeon-hee, who is considered one of the top visual artists in the entertainment industry, has shown weakness in her acting skills.

Lee Yeon-hee, should she take off the label of controversy over her terrible acting skills?


Of course, there are some works that have received favorable reviews for their stable acting. She erased some of the controversy over her acting skills with her first title role in 2013, 'Miss Korea'. The acting skills shown in the 2017 drama ‘The Package’ also dispelled many of the concerns. Lee Yeon-hee, who got married in 2020, performed a performance that aroused sympathy from viewers in Kakao TV's 'Marriage White Paper', a work that returned after two years.

However, since Lee Yeon-hee is a mid-career actress who entered the entertainment industry in 2001 and has been in the entertainment industry for over 20 years, expectations are high for her to show acting skills commensurate with that. There are many fans who expect his deep acting beyond his natural acting.

Lee Yeon-hee boldly changed to a short cut for this work 'Race'. Lee Bo-young from the drama 'Agency', which became popular earlier this year, is a style that comes to mind. 'Agency' is also an office drama that depicts Go Ah-in (Lee Bo-young), who started as a copywriter and became the first female executive, to create the best career.

There are several works depicting office workers and set in companies. Most of them were successful at the box office, including ‘Misaeng’, ‘Chief Kim’, and ‘Agency’. Attention is being paid to whether Lee Yeon-hee can wash away the controversy over her acting ability and be called the Lee Yeon-hee of Race, like Im Si-wan of Incomplete Life and Lee Bo-young of The Agency.


Ten Asia Reporter Kim Seo-yoon seogugu@tenasia.co.kr
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