'Kim Soo-hyun's Agency's Rising Star' Lee Jong-hyun, stamps his presence as Ji Sung's younger self... opens the drama 'Apartment'

*This content was translated by AI.

Actor Lee Jong-hyun appeared as the younger version of Ji Sung in the drama 'Apartment', leaving a deep impression with his stable acting skills.

In JTBC's new Saturday-Sunday drama 'Apartment' (script by Kim Yoon-young, directed by Cho Yong-won), which premiered on the 11th, Lee Jong-hyun portrayed Park Hae-gang (played by Ji Sung) in his childhood. Park Hae-gang is a former boss of the Oasis faction who ran for president of the residents' representative council to claim hidden money within the apartment complex.

'Apartment' is a work that tells the story of former gang boss Park Hae-gang, who runs for president of the residents' representative council to seize hidden funds in an apartment building and uncovers various corrupt practices alongside the residents. The viewership ratings for episodes 1 and 2, which aired on the 11th and 12th, recorded 4.6% and 5.4%, respectively, based on Nielsen Korea's paid platform national household standards, signaling a smooth start.

Lee Jong-hyun, who portrayed the younger version of Park Hae-gang in the drama, heightened the persuasiveness of the narrative by expressing the character's wounds and difficult growth process through restrained eyes and delicate emotional lines. He did not merely reproduce the childhood of the adult Hae-gang but connected the relationship with Yong-man (played by Jung Jin-young), who is like a father figure, to the background of choices that Hae-gang would later make, completing the character's narrative in a more three-dimensional manner.

In particular, Lee Jong-hyun's acting, which built up the character's inner world calmly rather than exaggerating emotions, left a strong lingering impression despite his brief appearance. He was praised for raising the immersion at the beginning of the work by delicately expressing the roots of emotion that connect to the present-day Park Hae-gang played by Ji Sung.

On the 16th, Lee Jong-hyun shared his thoughts through his agency Gold Medalist: "It was an honor to appear as the younger version of my senior, whom I have long admired, Ji Sung," and added, "I prepared diligently while watching my senior's works, and I am grateful that he warmly looked upon even my shortcomings."

Lee Jong-hyun is being noted as a rising star at Gold Medalist, an agency representing top-tier actors such as Kim Soo-hyun, Choi Hyun-wook, and Seol In-a.

Debuting in the lead role of Kim Se-hyeon in the TVING drama 'Study Group' (2025), Lee Jong-hyun proved his potential with stable acting skills and delicate eye acting despite it being his first work. Following that, in the tvN drama 'Shin (President) Project' (2025), he played Baek Seung-moo, a perpetrator of illegal subletting fraud who was driven into a corner, expressing the complex inner world of a character mixed with anxiety and guilt in a dense manner, thereby making his presence felt.

Lee Jong-hyun is currently filming 'Study Group 2'.

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*This content was translated by AI.