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Actor Lee Jung Jae's drama appearances are drawing significant attention both in Korea and internationally. Following his global rise to stardom with the Netflix original series 'Squid Game', his past works are being re-examined, and recent evaluations of his drama 'Hateful Love' are also emerging.
Lee Jung Jae made his return to television after six years with the tvN Monday-Tuesday drama 'Hateful Love', which aired in 2025, generating high expectations. Despite being a major project co-produced by Studio Dragon, Studio&New, and Artist Company, its viewership declined from an initial 5.5% to 4.8% by the final episode. In contrast, Netflix's 'Squid Game Season 1', released in 2021, depicted debt-ridden individuals entering a death game for a 45.6 billion won prize. It achieved Netflix's highest-ever viewership and became the first non-English series to win major Emmy Awards, solidifying Lee Jung Jae's status as a global star. Additionally, there's a backstory to the 2004 drama 'Full House', where the role of Lee Young Jae was initially offered to Jung Woo Sung and then Lee Jung Jae, but Lee Jung Jae declined due to preparations for the film 'Typhoon', leading to Rain taking the role and the drama achieving over 40% viewership.
Bloggers commented that while Lee Jung Jae and Im Ji Yeon's acting in 'Hateful Love' was praised, the predictable romantic comedy plot and their 18-year age difference hindered immersion. Conversely, 'Squid Game' was cited for its critique of capitalist inequality, powerful visual elements, and the unpredictable, brutal survival game as key factors that sparked its global phenomenon.
