Lee Ju-myoung Rises as Breakout Star of JTBC Drama 'Reborn Rookie'

Actor Lee Ju-myoung is making her mark on JTBC's weekend drama "Reborn Rookie" (Shinip Sawon Kang Hoejang). The show currently airs Saturdays at 10:40 p.m. and Sundays at 10:30 p.m. KST. Lee is also in a public relationship with actor Kim Ji-seok, who is 12 years her senior.

Lee plays Kang Bang-gul, the youngest daughter of the Choiseong Group family and one of the central figures in the show's succession battle. Her character teams up with Hwang Jun-hyeon, played by Lee Jun-young, whose body now houses the soul of Kang Yong-ho, played by Son Hyun-joo. Together they work to protect the family conglomerate. Kang Bang-gul carries the secret of being a hidden daughter, but her honest, bold personality gives the drama a fresh energy.

The attention around Lee keeps growing. She topped the drama search keyword rankings for the third week of June, released by Good Data Corporation's FUNdex, marking her second straight week at number one. The drama itself set a new personal-best rating of 11.1 percent and continues to climb.

Several scenes have highlighted Kang Bang-gul's presence on the show. In one storyline, she moved to block the Taeha Group's lithium mining venture, working alongside Hwang Jun-hyeon and Park Bong-gi, played by Lee Sung-wook. Using Smile Investment as a front, she pushed through a deal with the government of Yulivia. She acquired a U.S. mining firm and offered to hand it over to Yulivia as part of the terms, closing the negotiation. Lee played the sequence with a calm, steady touch that pulled viewers deeper into the story.

Later, Kang Bang-gul went public as Chairman Kang Yong-ho's youngest daughter and walked into the board meeting as head of the strategic planning team. A new unit reporting directly to the chairman's office was formed, with Hwang Jun-hyeon and Park Bong-gi as her team members, shifting the balance of the succession fight. Lee tracked her character's jump from intern to power player with quiet confidence and a steady gaze.

Lee has moved through the many sides of Kang Bang-gul with ease, carrying a real share of the drama on her shoulders. Viewers are now watching to see what choices Kang Bang-gul will make at the center of the succession war, and what Lee will bring to the later stretch of the story.