Actor Lee Jong-suk is on a roll. After reaching a social media milestone recently, the actor has beaten the likes of Gong Yoo and Lee Jae-hoon to claim the top spot in September's brand reputation rankings of South Korean actors.
As noted by websites Soompi and Allkpop, the Korean Business Research Institute analyzed 119,034,743 sources of data from August 28 to September 29 in the categories of participation, media coverage, communication and community awareness.
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As per their results, Lee Jong-suk came out as number one in brand rankings with a total score of 8,620,701. 'Train to Busan' and 'Goblin' star Gong Yoo got pushed to second place with 5,508,147. 'Signal' and 'Tomorrow With You' actor Lee Je-hoon got third place with a score of 5,454,665.
Gong Yoo hasn't taken on any acting projects since 'Goblin' wrapped up. He toured Asia for his fan meet and has modelled for a few fashion magazines. But overall, he has maintained a low profile. Gong Yoo's co-stars, Kim Go-eun, Lee dong-wook and Yoo In-na have also kept a low profile after their fantasy-romance drama finished. So, it is understandable why he'd be pushed to second place.
The ones that followed Lee Je-hoon in the September ranking order are Kim Nam-gil, Ryu Jun-yeol, Song Joong-ki, Kim Soo-hyun, Sol Kyung-gu, Lee Byung-hun, Kim Joo-hyuk, Go Soo, Park Seo-joon, Jun Ji-hyun, Jo Jin-woong, Na Moon-hee, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo, Im Siwan, Choi Min-sik, Lee Jung-hyun, Kim Yun-seok, Kang Ha-neul, Yeo Jin-goo, Park Hae-il, Lee Kyung-young, Jung Woo-sung, Song Kang-ho, Jo In-sung, Kim Ok-bin and lastly So Ji-sub.
Recently, Lee Jong-suk's Instagram handle reached 10 million followers. He is the first Korean actor to have reached this milestone. Jong-suk keeps his Instagram profile updated with selfies and other photos from his travels across the world and from the sets of his dramas and movies.
In addition to this, Lee Jong-suk has been repeatedly praised for his dedication to his acting roles. Even though the thriller movie, 'V.I.P.' was heavily criticised for its misogynistic portrayal of women, Lee Jong-suk's co-star Kim Myung-min praised his dedication to his role.
Netizens also praised Lee Jong-suk's ability in picking good projects as well as his acting in the latest SBS drama 'While You Were Sleeping,' which co-stars Suzy Bae as the female lead. The drama airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 10.00 p.m. KST. Episodes 5 and 6 will air on October 4.
