Lee Min Ho is still the top actor in South Korea. Recently, he played Heo Joon Jae in "The Legend of the Blue Sea" opposite Jun Ji Hyun as Shim Chung.
At the 12th Annual Soompi Awards, Lee was declared the Actor of the Year. Voted by hallyu fans from 139 countries across the globe, the winners of the annual survey were announced on March 2, Thursday, by Soompi.
With Fuse and ZANYBROS as partners, the United States-based online news provider specializing in Korean pop culture received almost 100 million votes from Dec. 19, 2016 to Jan. 16. There were 29 categories in the survey.
Before winner the Actor of the Year award at the 12th Annual Soompi Awards, Lee was awarded the grand prize at the 2017 National Brand Awards. The actor attended the awarding ceremony at the National Assembly Hall in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 22, Wednesday.
"I traveled around the globe so many times over the past few years. I was so touched to see people (overseas) trying to write or speak Korean to me," Korea Herald quoted Lee as saying during his acceptance speech. "I will further try to contribute to Korea's brand image."
Lee was given the 2017 National Brand Awards recognition for his contribution to the international promotion of the Korean Wave. "The Legend of the Blue Sea" actor is also a goodwill ambassador for the 2016-18 Visit Korea Year promotion.
Before starring in "The Legend of the Blue Sea," Lee appeared as himself in "Seven First Kisses." On the big screen, he played Li San in "Bounty Hounters," which also starred Wallace Chung, Yan Tang, Jones Xu, Karena Ng and Siu-Wong Fan.
In 2015, Lee starred in "Gangnam Blues" with Kim Rae Won and Kim Ji Su. It was written and directed by Ha Yoo.
Watch a video of 12th Annual Soompi Awards here: