Lee Seol

At a Glance

Lee Seol is an actress who began to gain recognition through a music video in 2016, then made an unusual start for a rookie by receiving different acting awards in the same year for the 2018 KBS Chuseok Special Drama Okranmyeonok and MBC's Less than Evil. Since then, she has built up her filmography, playing both significant supporting and lead roles in various works. In the summer of 2026, she took on the role of Go Se-yoon, opposite Namgoong Min, in the KBS 2TV Saturday-Sunday mini-series The Completion of Marriage, once again rising to a prominent lead role 10 years after her debut.

The Completion of Marriage - Role of 'Go Se-yoon'

In The Completion of Marriage, Go Se-yoon, played by Lee Seol, is set up as the wife of Kang Tae-joo (Namgoong Min), a neurosurgeon and director of 'Urihamkke Hospital,' and she herself is the chairperson of the same hospital. Although she met her husband as a medical school classmate and they became a couple, their relationship is already broken to the point where divorce is being discussed when the drama begins. She is portrayed as a workaholic who cannot let go of either work or family. Then, one day, a drunken remark by her husband triggers her kidnapping by an unidentified person, placing Se-yoon at the center of an incident that permeates the entire drama.

For this role, Lee Seol boldly cut her long hair into a short bob, which garnered attention. This was interpreted not just as a simple image change but as a visual device to show the character's emotional transformation. In the early parts of the drama, scenes show Se-yoon, trapped in extreme fear situations like being confined in a tank, wailing and attempting to escape. Lee Seol expressed these emotions with a restrained tone, earning praise for "stably portraying extreme emotions in a horror performance." Notably, this marks her reunion with Namgoong Min after SBS's Our Movie (2025), and the fact that they are colleagues from the same agency (935 Entertainment) also became a topic of discussion. For Lee Seol, who despite being 10 years into her career had no distinct signature work, this project is considered a crucial test for her career. Indeed, with rising viewership ratings as episodes air, her acting is also being re-evaluated.

Filmography

Drama

Film

Lee Seol's debut was in Park Jae-beom and Giriboy's 'CITY BREEZE' music video in 2016, and she subsequently gained recognition by appearing in music videos for various artists. Her full-fledged acting career began in 2018. In the KBS Chuseok Special Drama Okranmyeonok, she played Yoon Young-ran, a North Korean defector, realistically portraying the Northwestern dialect, which earned her praise for not acting like a rookie. In the same year, she was cast as the psychopath character Eun Seon-jae in MBC's Less than Evil after beating a 300-to-1 competition ratio in the audition, for which she received a New Actress Award. In 2021, she made a brief appearance as Shin Hye-yeon, the sister of a deserter, in Netflix's D.P. Season 1, and in 2023, she rejoined for Season 2 in the same role, portraying a character who represents the perspective of those who have not experienced military service.

Actor's Characteristics and Evaluation

Lee Seol started as a sensational rookie, receiving two acting awards in one year for Okranmyeonok and Less than Evil early in her career. However, after subsequent lead roles failed to achieve box office success, her scope of activity was for a time assessed as having narrowed, focusing mainly on supporting roles. From 2023-2024, she regained lead roles with Channel A's Man and Woman, and has consistently challenged herself with lead characters through SBS's Our Movie in 2025 and The Completion of Marriage in 2026. Within the industry, there are coexisting views: one criticizes her for "having no distinct signature work despite being 10 years into her debut," while another sees her as an actress who embodies diverse characters regardless of genre in each project. Her restrained emotional expression in the horror and confinement situations shown in The Completion of Marriage is evaluated as an opportunity that opened up the possibility of a new signature work for her.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q. What role does Lee Seol play in The Completion of Marriage? A. She plays Go Se-yoon, the wife of Kang Tae-joo (Namgoong Min) and the chairperson of 'Urihamkke Hospital.' She is a character who is kidnapped by an unidentified person while on the verge of divorce.

Q. What was Lee Seol's debut work? A. She first gained recognition in 2016 with Park Jae-beom and Giriboy's music video 'CITY BREEZE,' and her official acting debut was in the 2018 KBS Chuseok Special Drama Okranmyeonok.

Q. What are some of Lee Seol's notable works? A. These include MBC's Less than Evil (2018~2019), for which she received a New Actress Award; KBS's Okranmyeonok (2018), for which she received a KBS Drama Award; her role as Shin Hye-yeon in Netflix's D.P. Season 1 and 2; and Channel A's Man and Woman (2023~2024). She is once again drawing attention with The Completion of Marriage in 2026.

Q. What is the connection between Lee Seol and Namgoong Min? A. They are colleagues from the same agency (935 Entertainment). After co-starring in SBS's Our Movie in 2025, they reunited as a married couple in The Completion of Marriage.

Q. Is it true that she actually cut her hair for the role of Go Se-yoon? A. Yes, it's true. Lee Seol boldly cut her long hair into a short bob for filming to express the character.