[Lee Hong-ki's SNS]
[Lee Hong-ki's SNS]

FT Island vocalist Lee Hong-ki, who previously revealed he had lost 14 kilograms, has shared a striking new look featuring a completely different hairstyle — one so dramatic that fans wondered whether he was wearing a wig.

Lee posted several photos on his SNS on Wednesday with the caption "Not a wig — Caution."

In the photos, Lee sports an intense red hairstyle with long hair covering much of his face, giving him a noticeably different look from his usual appearance. He also wears a white-and-navy track jacket paired with jeans, striking relaxed poses — leaning against a chair or crouching barefoot on the floor.

In other shots, Lee gazes casually at the camera from a room lined with stacks of books and comic books, and takes a mirror selfie to show off the new style.

Fans flooded the comments with reactions such as "He looks like an anime character," "Did he dye his hair again?" and "I thought it was a wig."

Particularly notable was how much slimmer Lee's face appeared — his sharper jawline making him look even more defined than at his peak.

Lee had shed the weight earlier this year for the musical "Sugar," in which he played Joe, a saxophone player who cross-dresses to survive, a role that required an intense diet.

He credited cutting out flour-based foods as the key to his weight loss. "I realized I had been eating quite a lot of unnecessary foods like flour," he said.

Lee made his entertainment debut as a child actor in 2001 before launching his music career in 2007 as the lead vocalist of FT Island.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com