Kdrama actors can't make everyone happy. While Lee Seung Gi is really good at pleasing his fans, he has long disappointed the paparazzi.
Reporters love to stalk kdrama and kpop celebrities hoping for an exclusive. The most obvious recent examples were the "Se7en-Sangchu" visits to an adult massage parlor or the Won Bin and Lee Na Young's relationship being publicized after reporters stalked them for days.
Reporters can be persistent in their stalking but sometimes they just give up on certain actors.
Lee Seung Gi has been described as "the actor the paparazzi gave up on" and he's fine with that. During the ten years he has been a celebrity, he has given reporters very little to write about. It's not that he is good at hiding his secrets. He just doesn't have many.
"I'm not the type that gets stressed out easily. I don't smoke and drink only a little bit but I gave up drinking completely while filming "Gu Family Book," said Lee Seung Gi. "I hardly drank this year so my physical stamina has improved. As to girlfriends, I've been a celebrity for ten years and while I've had moments that made my heart flutter, I've never experienced a lasting love. Some dating scandals have received a lot of attention lately but I've never had a relationship that was worthy of an inside scoop."
Early on in his career the press noted his manners and professional attitude. He was described as "um chin ah," your mother's best friend's son, the one you may be compared to if you're a boy, or the one your mom wants you to date if you're a girl.
His lifestyle and image also earned him the title, the "nation's younger brother." When he co-starred with Suzy in "Gu Family Book," he could see that she was being treated in a similar way, being called the "nation's younger sister," and perhaps that was why viewers could relate to their onscreen chemistry.
"I had a time in my life when I was loved as the 'nation's younger brother,'" he said. "It's similar to the way the public views Suzy now."
Suzy, his co-star in "Gu Family Book," did say that their kisses on that drama made her heart flutter.
He admits their kiss scene was very strong and can see why that has caused some comments from Suzy's fans.
"When I shot my first kiss scene, I got some enthusiastic responses from women fans who went wild at the idea of the 'nation's younger brother' filming a kissing scene. But then I also was cursed out by a lot of male fans."
So far the only Lee Seung Gi kisses that fans have been able to talk about happened onscreen. He admits that some people might consider his life dull but it does make it easier to avoid scandal.
"I don't feel the pressure to. I am just acting naturally," he said.