Five Fun Facts About Lee Si Young

Her role in "Valid Love" takes her character from a schoolgirl crush to an adulterous affair. And she's an actress who has had a varied career. She has appeared in dramas such as "Becoming a Billionaire" and in films such as "How To Use Guys With Secret Tips."

What else should you know about this appealing actress? Here are some fun facts.

1.     She's an amateur boxer who has earned titles. She began to box in preparation for a role but decided she really liked it. She kept training and competing.

 "People always ask me why an actress like me started in the ring," she said after making the finals round for the 48kg category at the 2013 National Athlete Contest. "When I do have boxing matches, I am nervous but I was able to endure it, not caring whether I win or lose. Now I feel like I have nothing to be scared of. Boxing has become another dream of mine."

She has accumulated a few battle scars, including a slipped disc and a knee injury.

2.     She majored in fashion design when she attended Dongduk Women's University, but decided she wanted to act. Her breakout role was playing Oh Min Ji, Geum Jan Di's only friend in school in "Boys Over Flowers."

3.     She was paired with singer Jay Park on the 2012 reality music show "Music and Lyrics." He surprised her with a cake when she had a birthday during the show and gave her the gag gift of 100 pairs of socks.

4.     She's not afraid to go natural for a part. She cut her hair short, made it frizzy and did not wear any makeup for scenes in "Wild Romance."

"At first, our director opposed my idea of having completely disheveled hair, but I insisted that I wanted to have that tangled hair in the scene," she said in a KBS interview. "I finally came to have the hair that I wanted to present, and my appearance produced a huge laugh."

5.     She made a rather late debut for an actress, winning her first role at 26. But then she had a late start even watching dramas. She never saw television before she was nine years old.

"Before I moved to Seoul, I had never had a chance to watch TV as there was no TV in the rural area where I used to live, so I was very shocked at first," she said. "I came to think that I would like to appear on TV from that moment. But my parents opposed the idea of me being an entertainer. I just entered university as an ordinary student, and began to participate in acting auditions right after I graduated. But I continuously failed at the auditions."

Fortunately, she did not give up.