LBH is really an actor with many faces. From humorous Jim Carrey-style facial expressions to gazes that exude masculinity and sincerity, he has charisma powerful enough to make one breathless. Among his many faces, the writer likes one of utmost filial piety that LBH displays towards his mother.

"Son, oh Byung Hun, your shirt today doesn't seem to suit you." As soon as his mother says those words, LBH changes his clothes. Within the entertainment circle and TV stations, he is already known for his filial piety in that he obeys his mother unconditionally whenever she says something for whatever reason. During the time his sister Lee Eun Hee (Miss Korea) was a CF model when she was growing up, LBH was the humble and respectful youth who used to visit this writer's office holding his little sister's hand.

Even now whenever he meets LBH who is already a big star, the writer smiles to himself when he recalls those days when the thoughtful and adorable youth would appear on filming locations to support his little sister. Perhaps LBH lives by the motto that everything starts from filial piety? Time passes by and LBH has now become a national actor who enjoys the love and support of many fans over the 10 years he has been acting.

LBH began his acting career through dramas when he played rare characters that were good, honest, while exuding masculine beauty at the same time, and captured the hearts of the TV audience. After receiving the Best Newcomer Award in 1992, his name and face gradually became recognized, so he finally made his movie debut in Who Drives Me Crazy in 1995. Starring in both dramas and movies, he built his acting experience steadily and grew from a young star to a genuine actor.

Applauded for his excellent portrayal of the humane and sensitive North Korean soldier character in JSA, LBH showed that he could very well be the main pillar supporting the Korean movie world. Recently he demonstrated characteristic acting in Director Park Chan Wook's Three Monster and received reviews that said this was another excellent example of LBH-style acting. Moreover, with the favorable reviews for Everybody Has a Secret where he captures the hearts and souls of three sisters with his irresistable charm, LBH has more than confirmed his status as an actor who can really act.

When analyzing LBH's face carefully, the writer feels the bright cheery warmth of a playful kindergarten child, instead of a high-spirited youth. LBH's looks are a dead giveway for the mischievous brat he was when he was little. It was common for him to break an arm while playing with his sister or to break someone's windows while playing baseball in the neighborhood. Despite all that, he was a little movie-crazy fan who says that he held his mother's hand while watching the movie Papillon and became an actor because he could not get over the movie.

In the movie Elegy of the Earth, one of LBH's lines from the script goes, "when I get the Academy Award for Best Actor, I will definitely show it to my father." This was a line that expressed his own thoughts precisely as he had decided to become such an excellent actor that he would not be embarrassed in front of his late father.

LBH has now risen to become a leading actor with an important position in the Korean movie world, but he has not become complacent or lazy. He builds up his physical strength with exercise and makes time for books and movies. All these show that he is working hard to carry out the promise he made to his father in the movie.

Now the day when LBH becomes an actor representing Korea at the Academy Award Ceremony and rules the world with his trademark cool peppermint smile doesn't seem too far away.

* Article No. 690 of Movie Entertainment News/Posted 2004-09-07 10:32

Credits: Neul Pulreun Namu of LBH.Com & Movie Entertainment News

Full translation by Splash *