Portrait of Ma Dong-seok

Birthday profile

Ma Dong-seok

South Korean-American actor

Born
March 1, 1971
Age in 2026
55
Zodiac sign
Pisces
Birth year
1971

About Ma Dong-seok

Lee Dong-seok (Korean: 이동석; born March 1, 1971), better known by the stage names Ma Dong-seok (마동석) and Don Lee, is a South Korean and American actor and film producer based in South Korea. He gained early recognition for his supporting roles in Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time (2012) and The Neighbor (2012). Ma rose to prominence with his breakout performance in Train to Busan (2016), where he played a tough yet compassionate survivor, earning widespread acclaim. He cemented his status as a leading action star with The Outlaws (2017), in which he portrayed the relentless detective Ma Seok-do, a role he reprised in the highly successful The Roundup film series. His subsequent leading roles include Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018), The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (2019), The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos (2019), Start-Up (2019), and Ashfall (2019). In 2021, Ma made his Hollywood debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals, which further expanded his global recognition. He remains one of South Korea's most bankable stars and was named Gallup Korea's Film Actor of the Year in 2018, 2023, and 2024. In 2026 he is set to star in an action-adventure videogame developed by Nagoshi Studio, founded by Toshihiro Nagoshi entitled Gang of Dragon.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Ma Dong-seok was born

Ma Dong-seok was born in 1971. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1971

  • #1 song"Joy to the World" – Three Dog Night
  • Top movieThe French Connection
  • Top TV showAll in the Family
  • Best-selling bookThe Exorcist – William Peter Blatty

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentMuhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier "Fight of the Century"
  • Top headlinePentagon Papers published
  • Technology milestoneFirst email sent by Ray Tomlinson
  • Defining fadHot pants
  • Notable inventionEmail (Ray Tomlinson)
  • World population3.78 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderRichard Nixon
  • Sports championPittsburgh Pirates (World Series)
  • Also wonMilwaukee Bucks (NBA)
  • U.S. population207.7M

1971 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Ma Dong-seok's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19712026
Gas$0.36$3.45/gal
Average home$18,100$435,000
Average income$11,800$67,500
Minimum wage$1.60$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$1.65$11.95
Postage stamp$0.08$0.73
Population207.7M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.