Lee Un (이언)

It was in 2007, when I first began watching the phenomenon that was "Coffee Prince (커피프린스 1호점)." That was the first time I ever saw Lee Un (sometimes spelled Lee Eon, 이언). He had previously been a model, which was quite apparent. In a society where even the men should be lean and slender, he was unabashedly muscular.

In "Coffee Prince," belying his muscles and the pigeon-holing that comes about from having said muscles, he played the comic relief. He was a big, strong guy that was naive, innocent, and not bright at all. His character was sweet, silly, and very puppy-dog-like, following around the girl of his dreams with single-minded determination to the exclusion of all else.

Maybe not the best actor, but he certainly seemed to be enthusiastic and seemed like he would have been fun to work with.

Lee Un was killed in a motorcycle accident on August 21, 2008, after the wrap party for what would be his last project, "Strongest Chil Woo (최강칠우)."

If he had lived through the accident, he would be 28 today (29 in Korea). Happy birthday, wherever you are! Thanks for all the laughs.