Lee Joo-young (이주영) is a South Korean actress born on February 14, 1992. A theater graduate of Kyung Hee University, she began her career in independent film before gaining recognition from a wider audience through TV dramas.
She really caught people's attention in 2016 with Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo, in which she plays Lee Seon-ok, one of the heroine’s best friends. This supporting role greatly boosted her profile. She followed that up in 2017 with the lead role of Gong Seul-gi in Hip Hop Teacher, and then appears in People You May Know. In 2018, she expanded her range of characters with Something in the Rain, playing the role of Lee Ye-eun, and the fantasy drama The Ghost Detective, in which she plays Gil Chae-won.
Its popularity rose significantly in 2020 thanks to Itaewon Class. In it, she plays Ma Hyun-yi, the head chef at DanBam restaurant, a character who becomes one of the series' most memorable. The following year, she landed the lead role of Seo Jung-in in the time-travel thriller Times.
After spending a few more years focusing on film, she returned to several television productions, including Georae in 2023. In 2025, she appears as a police officer in the thriller Nine Puzzle and plays the lead role of Han So-min in Conviction.
At the same time, Lee Joo-young has had a distinguished career in independent film. She has notably distinguished herself in A Quiet Dream, Jane, Maggie and above all Baseball Girl, in which she plays a young player determined to turn pro. She also appears in The Negotiation, Broker, Green Night and Tales of Horror. Several of these performances have earned her awards and nominations at South Korean film festivals, confirming her reputation as an actress closely associated with auteur cinema.
