Lee Chae-min achieved a turnaround in his career with Bon Appetit, Your Majesty.
Bon Appetit, Your Majesty is a survival fantasy romantic comedy drama about chef Yeon Ji-young (played by Lim Yoon-a), who time-slips to the past at her best moment, and the worst tyrant and owner of absolute taste, King Leeheon (played by Lee Chae-min), and it is concluding amid strong weekly reactions. Lee Chae-min plays Leeheon, a mad tyrant and owner of absolute taste, taking on the role of King Leeheon who changes after meeting chef Yeon Ji-young, who has excellent cooking skills and a resolute personality.
Lee Chae-min was not originally chosen for the male lead in Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, but he was brought in to replace Park Sung-hoon, who voluntarily left amid an AV controversy. He had little time to prepare due to the sudden casting, and he had relatively less acting experience compared with Park Sung-hoon, but his perfect character portrayal has won viewers' affection.
Lee Chae-min cheerfully portrayed even somewhat cheesy moments in which Leeheon makes an ecstatic expression after tasting delicious food, and in contrast, his tyrant acting conveys delicate emotions without feeling burdensome, delivering nuanced performances to viewers.
Thanks to these acting achievements, Bon Appetit, Your Majesty has been setting new record ratings day by day. In episode 10, broadcast on the 21st, which featured the deepening relationship between acquitted Yeon Ji-young and Leeheon along with romance scenes, it posted 15.9% in the Seoul metropolitan area average and a peak of 17.6%, and 15.8% nationwide average and a peak of 17.3%, ranking first among all channels in the same time slot including terrestrial broadcasters. (Nielsen Korea)
This is the highest rating among miniseries broadcast this year. In addition, it has repeatedly ranked No. 1 on Netflix, which offers a catch-up service. According to Netflix's official viewing rank aggregation site TUDUM, Bon Appetit, Your Majesty ranked No. 1 in the global top 10 TV (non-English) category for the Sept. 8–14 period.
Matching its top OTT rankings and high buzz, Bon Appetit, Your Majesty has tremendous topicality. According to K-content analysis firm Good Data Corporation, Bon Appetit, Your Majesty ranked first in TV and OTT drama buzz for four consecutive weeks. Lee Chae-min and Lim Yoon-a also boast high rankings in cast buzz.
In addition, in the brand reputation big data analysis for September 2025 released on the 23rd, Lee Chae-min had the honor of ranking first. Analyzing big data for 100 actors who appeared in dramas, films and OTT from Aug. 23 to Sept. 23, Lee Chae-min ranked highest.
Following Lee Chae-min were Lee Byung-hun, Choo Young-Woo, Lee Jin-wook and Ma Dong-seok, among others. Koren Corporate Reputation Research Institute director Koo Chang-hwan said the Lee Chae-min brand, which drew consumer attention with meticulous emotional acting in Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, was analyzed as No. 1.
Having seized the opportunity that came to him, Lee Chae-min ultimately made the character completely his own and succeeded in a life turnaround.
[Photo] OSEN DB, tvN
[OSEN]