Why Lee Jae-wook's Post-'Alchemy of Souls' Run Has K-Drama Fans Worried

Actor Lee Jae-wook is still looking for a defining role to match his 2022 breakout in "Alchemy of Souls." He has stayed busy as a leading man, but none of his recent projects have matched that show in ratings or buzz, and questions are growing about the roles he is choosing.

The ENA drama "Dr. Some Boy," starring Lee and Shin Ye-eun, opened on the 1st of last month with a 4.0% rating. It rose to 5.0% in episode two and has held in the 4% to 5% range since. For an ENA drama, that is a respectable showing. But industry watchers had expected more heat from the pairing of Lee and Shin, both born in 1998, and the online conversation around the series has stayed modest.

Individual buzz has not carried the show either. In the fourth week of June, data firm Good Data Corporation's ranking of TV and OTT drama cast members placed Ji Seob at No. 1, followed by Choi Hyun-wook and Choi Min-sik at Nos. 2 and 3, and Lee Jun-young and Seo In-guk at Nos. 4 and 5. Leads from other currently airing dramas dominated the list. Lee, the lead of "Dr. Some Boy," did not make the top 10. His ratings did not translate into personal fan attention.

Lee debuted in 2018 with "Memories of the Alhambra" and built his profile through "Search: WWW" and "Extraordinary You." He took his first lead role in 2020's "Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol," then broke through in 2022 as Jang Uk in "Alchemy of Souls." The fantasy romance was both a critical and commercial hit and is still cited as his signature work.

What came next has been harder to sell. Starting with "Royal Loader" (Royal Loader) in 2024, followed by "Tangeum" (Tangeum), "The Last Summer" (Majimak Sseomeo), and now "Dr. Some Boy," his leading roles have kept coming without breaking through the way "Alchemy of Souls" did. Last year's KBS drama "The Last Summer" (Majimak Sseomeo) drew attention as Lee's first major-network romance lead, but it ended at 1.7%. Even in a rough stretch for KBS dramas overall, the number stung.

Part of the challenge is how firmly "Alchemy of Souls" is stamped on his image. Jang Uk played directly to Lee's strengths, and the show itself became a cultural moment. Every project he has done since has been measured against it. Without a new signature role, there is a growing sense that his story needs a fresh chapter after "Alchemy of Souls."

The pressure grows when you look at his peers. Actors around the same age are stacking hits across different genres while building strong personal fan bases. In today's Korean TV market, an actor's own buzz can matter as much as a show's ratings. Landing a new career-defining role has become that much more important.

Lee entered the military in May and is currently serving. "Dr. Some Boy" is the first project to air since he enlisted, and his next title, the Netflix series "Honey Job" (Kkul Alba), has already wrapped filming. With a service-related break ahead, how these two projects land will carry more weight than his recent releases.

Since "Alchemy of Souls," Lee has anchored four straight dramas as the main lead. He has not stopped working. He just has not yet found the follow-up hit that reshapes his career. With his hiatus already underway, "Honey Job" (Kkul Alba) now carries the question of whether it can be the project that adds a new headline to his résumé.