This is a Korean name; the family name is Lee.

Lee Si-yeon
Born	Lee Dae-hak 24 July 1979 (1979-07-24) (age 30) South Korea
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	2001–present

Korean name
Hangul	이시연
Birth name
Hangul	이대학

Lee Si-yeon (born Lee Dae-hak, 24 July 1979) is a South Korean transsexual actress and model.

Lee debuted as a male model under her birth name Dae-hak, becoming known for her feminine appearance and wearing women's clothing on the catwalk, but ultimately wished to pursue a career as an actor. She appeared in the films My Boss, My Hero (2001) and Sex Is Zero (2002), providing comic relief in effeminate male roles, but felt pressured into cutting her hair and building up muscle. Lee recalled that, "once I entered showbiz, I was forced to live a life I didn't like", and growing increasingly unhappy, made several attempts at suicide before deciding to become a woman.^[1]

Adopting the given name Si-yeon, Lee underwent sex reassignment surgery in 2007, and admitted to having doubts over her sexuality since being in secondary school.^[1] She returned to acting later that year in the sequel Sex Is Zero 2, with her character from the original film now also a transsexual.^[2] Lee publicly announced her sex change prior to the release of the film, but was apprehensive about the reaction from audiences.^[3] Co-star Shin-ee observed that surgery hadn't changed her image much, and stated that she had always regarded Lee as a "kid sister".^[2]

[edit] Filmography

• My Boss, My Hero (2001)
• Sex Is Zero (2002)
• Sex Is Zero 2 (2007)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Lee Si-yeon at HanCinema
• Lee Si-yeon (Lee Dae-hak) at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
NAME	Lee Si-yeon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Lee Dae-hak (birth name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actress
DATE OF BIRTH	24 July 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH	South Korea
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH