Lee Jong-suk stood at the age of 15 on the Seoul Collection catwalks, becoming the youngest male model in 2005.[5] During those years he worked as a model, he was praised by many as "a model who had the image of a boy and a grown man coexisting inside him".[6] Before debuting as an actor, he prepared to debut as an idol group member. He stated that he prepared as an idol group member for three months and had signed with the agency because it said it would help him act, but it didn’t keep its promise so he quit.[7]
Lee Jong-suk, who majored in Professional Motion Pictures Art at South Korean Konkuk University, took part in a selection for actors at SBS TV station when he was currently in middle school. He participated in acting activities as one of the SBS 7th open recruiting actors