Lee Wan and Park Shin-hye’s First Meeting
Lee Wan, the brother of reputable actress Kim Tae-hee, first made his debut by starring in a music video alongside his sister. After starting his acting career at 2003, he played a supporting role in the drama Stairway to Heaven as Han Tae-hwa. At the same time, Park Shin-hye was making her own debut and acted in the same drama. Moreover, she had to act as Han Tae-hwa’s stepsister, Han Jung-suh. People started to notice their presence in this drama even though they only played supporting roles. After Stairway to Heaven finished, they acted together again in Tree of Heaven. Though, this time, they played the lead roles. Somehow, they had to act as step-siblings again with a similar background story as the previous drama where they fall in love but are held back by the taboo of their love. Their wonderful acting grabbed the attention and sympathy of viewers who watched this drama. They succeeded in showing a heartbreaking story about the unrequited romance between two siblings. Their drama even succeeded in gaining popularity both in Korea and Japan even when Korean dramas were losing popularity after many failures. Additionally, Park Shin-hye was praised by critics for her acting despite being a 16-year-old teenager at the time. Lee Wan also received many compliments because his acting skills were even better than before. Even though the drama got some harsh criticism due to having way too many “Japanese feels,” they still received much love from both countries. This was proven by how many ‘love-calls’ the two actors were getting from both filmmakers and producers after playing in Tree of Heaven
Their Friendship in Real Life
Not so different from their closeness in the dramas, Lee Wan and Park Shin-hye have great chemistry in real life. In one of the interviews by No Cut News, Park Shin-hye said that Lee Wan has always taken care of her during shootings. Among the actors and staff, she was the youngest, and it was hard because there was no one who was the same age as her. She said that having Lee Wan by her side really made her feel safe, and they often shared laughs because Lee Wan often joked with her. She really feels thankful to him because he managed to give her strength while shooting. Meanwhile, Lee Wan also said in an SBS interview that Park Shin-hye is a nice dongsaeng. Their close relationship made their fans speculate that they were dating. In addition, Park Shin-hye also revealed that she has been dating in secret while working which added to the suspicion. But, this rumor was never proven to be true because of a lack of evidence. Right now, Lee Wan is still enjoying his bachelor life and celebrating his sister’s marriage with the famous singer Rain while Park Shin-hye has been confirmed to be dating fellow actor Choi Tae-joon. What do you think about Lee Wan and Park Shin-hye’s relationship?
