Lee Chae-Min: 10 Things To Know About the Bon Appetit, Your Majesty Star

You’re probably knee-deep into the K-drama that is Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, and let’s be real — King Yi Heon has caught your attention. Sure, the time-slip Korean series has us drooling over the food that Yoon-A’s character Ji-yeong whips up, but the eye candy that is Lee Chae-min, who plays the king, is also hard to ignore. On-screen, he has a temper and is difficult to please, but is also undeniably charismatic. In behind-the-scenes videos, he is humorous and at times, goofy.

In case you haven’t started watching Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, which is a historical drama about a French-trained chef who went back in time to the Joseon dynasty, and becomes the personal chef of a tyrant king, let this be your sign to start watching.

So, just who is Lee Chae-min, who has gotten the whole of South Korea and Netflix viewers crazy over him? Need to know everything about the actor? We got you. We scoured the Internet to find out some fun facts about him, including how he prepared for the role and his real-life love interest.

1. Lee Chae-min’s shows, including a cameo role in Alchemy of Souls

Lee Chae-min made his TV debut in 2021 with a supporting role in High Class. He went on to take on minor roles in various dramas, including a cameo in Alchemy of Souls, before becoming one of the lead actors in Crushology 101 earlier this year. Bon Appetit, Your Majesty marks his second lead role — in the same year, no less. He landed the role after Park Sung-hoon withdrew from the project due to a controversy where he accidentally posted an explicit Instagram story.

2. He also hosted a music show

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K-pop fans might already have found him a familiar face. That’s because he hosted K-pop music chart show Music Bank for almost two years, alongside Ive’s Jang Won-young and Le Sserafim’s Hong Eun-chae. In fact, he and Eunchae are known for their tagline “chae chae check”, which alludes to their names. If you’re not a K-pop fan and are wondering why an actor is hosting a music show, it’s actually common to pair an idol with an actor or actress for such programmes. In fact, actress Song Ji-hyo was also an emcee for a music show in 2007.

3. Yes, Lee Chae-min has a girlfriend — and they met on a drama set

Yes, he is taken — by his former co-star. Chae-min is currently dating Ryu Da-in, whom he met on the set of Crash Course in Romance (2023). The pair acted as friends and classmates in the drama, and confirmed their relationship in March 2024, after photos of them on a date spread on social media. Da-in said in an interview, “My personality is free-spirited and I don’t hide things, so you might not believe me, but I really tried to hide it. I didn’t expect such attention. If I weren’t hiding it, I wouldn’t have worn a mask. I wore a mask and glasses, but the sighting still came out. Thank you for your support, and I will meet him prettily and well.” They were recently spotted wearing what looked like couple rings.

4. He is a fan of Yoon-a

Imagine working with your celebrity crush. Or better, she acts as your love interest. Chae-min lived that dream on behalf of all fans when he worked with Yoon-a on Bon Appetit, Your Majesty. He revealed during a press conference for the Netflix drama that he told the Girls’ Generation member during a table read that he is a fan of hers. Kudos to him for being able to remember and deliver his lines even when his idol is right in front of him!

5. He watched mukbangs to prepare for his role

King Yi Heon is a foodie who takes his food very seriously. To immerse himself in the character, Chae-min watched mukbangs to see how the content creators react when they eat good food. He then tried to mimic their facial expressions in front of the mirror. And we must say he did a good job since he made us hungry watching him eat. While he watched mukbang creators for inspo, we now find ourselves watching him eat with the same obsession.

6. He is TALL

There are tall people, and there are insanely tall people. From a 156cm woman’s perspective, he is the latter, towering at 189cm. According to the 2022 Korean Agency for Technology and Standards survey, the average height of a Korean male is 172.5cm, so he is definitely above average. See the photo for comparison (the average height of K-pop group Le Sserafim’s members is 167.8cm). We reckon his height and consequently, his long fingers are the reason why he plays the piano so well. The actor sometimes posts Instagram videos of himself on the piano.

7. He sweats a lot

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He said in a previous interview that he sweats so much that even the people he worked with were surprised. He recalled the first shoot of Crushology 101, during which he had to act in the middle of a hot summer. He said, “There’s even a scene where my sweat is visible in the actual footage — that episode definitely stuck with me.” To be fair, Seoul’s summer can be unforgiving — you literally sweat even when standing still — so we don’t blame him.

8. He loves sports

Given his height alone, you would probably assume that he enjoys playing basketball — and you are right. In a video interview with Singles magazine, he shares that he enjoys shooting baskets and working out, and you’d probably spot him on basketball courts or in the gym. But the external aspect of health is not the only thing he cares about, because he takes good care of his general health too. He said in the same interview that he bought a nose washer because he had been filming in a dust pit for his drama. So much dedication to self-care!

9. He’s very smart

Chae-min graduated from Korea National University of Arts, where he majored in acting. While that alone might already seem impressive, he actually passed the entrance exams to some of the top universities in South Korea in 2019, namely Sejong University, Dongguk University, Sungkyunkwan University, and Korea National University of Arts. The irony is, he initially wanted to be a primary school teacher. However, he decided to try acting in his second year of high school to make memories. He enrolled in acting classes, and was initially criticised for his lack of skills, but that only spurred him on, even sleeping two to three hours a day to devote his time to practise.

10. Lee Chae-min is under the same agency as Byeon Woo-seok

Did you know that Chae-min and Byeon Woo-seok (of Lovely Runner fame) are now agency mates? The former joined VARO Entertainment, which houses Woo-seok and Gong Seung-yeon, in August this year. He previously signed on with Gold Medalist, co-founded by actor Kim Soo-hyun, on his 20th birthday. The company recently came under scrutiny for alleged questionable financial practices. With a new company backing his newfound fame, we can’t wait to see Chae-min soar to greater heights!