Lee Mi Yeon in Queen Myeongseong

I’m not so sure if Lee Mi Yeon is known internationally. I don’t know if any of her dramas or movies had been on Philippine air. Anyway, she is an A-lister in Korea. One of the most respected actresses of her generation, definitely not a one-hit-wonder. The other night, we (my husband and I) were reading an article about her. They said that she started at 18 yet now that she’s in her 30’s, her beauty hasn’t faded and she has not changed physically (read: no obvious evidence of plastic surgery). I so agree!
Lee Mi Yeon has acted in movies with several Hallyu stars like Jang Dong Gun (Typhoon), Lee Byung Hun (Addicted AND Harmonium in My Memory) and Park Shin Yang (Indian Summer). I like her most, though, in her drama “Queen Myeongseong” (Myeongseong Hwanghu – read more about her in this wikipedia article) which was aired a few years ago. Honestly, I didn’t see the whole drama. I just saw a couple of episodes when it was replayed early last year on KBS. The drama also stars Moon Geun Young as the young Myeongseong and Jung Junho (love him here!). It’s a historical drama about the intelligent and strong-willed queen of Chosun who was assassinated prior to the colonization of Korea by the Japanese. Here’s an MV of the drama. Watching the MV alone is enough to get an idea of what the drama is all about. The song is titled “If I Leave” sung by the famous Jo Su Mi. Of course, it’s not expected that the drama is 100% accurate. Like all other historical dramas, some scenarios were added for commercial effect.
The musical play of “Queen Myeongseong” is one of the most successful theatre acts in Korea. It has been reported that more than a million people have seen the play.