Described as an introverted child by his father,[3] Faker exhibited a natural inclination for self-education, often challenging himself with Rubik's cubes and independently learning foreign languages.

[5] In 2011, when League of Legends made its debut in Korea, Faker was quick to embrace the game and became adept at it in a short span of time.

[10] The subsequent split, OGN Champions Korea 2013 Summer, SKT T1 2 advanced to the tournament finals, where they faced off against the KT Rolster Bullets.

[12] Faker won his second domestic title in 2014, as SKT followed their 2013 success by going the entire OGN Champions Winter 2013–2014 season without losing a single game.

[15] Although Faker started the Spring Split season opener match against NaJin e-mFire, he was benched in the second game after losing the first, with Easyhoon taking his place.

Despite technically winning another domestic title, Faker expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome and stated his determination to deliver a better performance than Easyhoon in the future.

While Easyhoon had been the primary mid laner for most of the split's matches, Faker played all three games of the finals and won, clinching his fourth LCK title.

[4] SKT successfully secured a spot in the 2015 League of Legends World Championship, with Faker solidifying his position as the starting mid laner.

Easyhoon only participated in four matches during the tournament, allegedly serving the purpose of "keeping Faker's ego in check," as stated by SKT coaches.

Despite a moderately balanced group stage performance, with a 6–4 record, SKT ultimately claimed the championship title by sweeping Counter Logic Gaming in the finals.

[28][29] While SKT fell short of winning their fourth consecutive LCK title after a loss to KT Rolster in the playoffs, their overall performance during the season still earned them a qualification for the 2016 World Championship.

[34] However, in the subsequent LCK Summer Split, the team often found themselves falling behind early in matches and struggled to maintain their previous form.

This loss marked Faker's first World Championship finals defeat and left him visibly upset, requiring consolation from his teammates to gather himself and shake hands with the Samsung Galaxy players post-game.

[38] As the 2018 LCK Summer Split began, Faker found himself benched in favor of Choi "Pirean" Jun-sik starting from July 21, 2018.

[40] Faker made a return to the starting lineup for the LCK Regional Finals 2018, which served as qualifiers for the 2018 League of Legends World Championship.

[46] In the 2019 LCK Summer Split, SKT found themselves in ninth place in the league standings, leading to Faker being benched for a match against Griffin.

[54] However, in the Summer Split starting in July 2020, Faker was predominantly benched in favor of Lee "Clozer" Ju-hyeon, who had recently turned 17.

[63] During the offseason before the 2022 season, Faker's contract with T1 expired, and he received an offer of $20 million per year from a Chinese team competing in the LPL, according to T1 CEO Joe Marsh.

[74] Advancing to the World Championship finals, T1 faced off against DRX, with Faker encountering his high school peer, Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu.

On January 20, 2023, in a match against KT Rolster, Faker surpassed Kang "Gorilla" Beom-hyeon to claim the record for the most career assists in the history of the LCK at 4,137.

[86] On April 7, 2024, in a regular season match against Dplus Kia, Faker earned his 5000th career assist in the LCK, becoming the first player in history to do so.

[93] Faker expressed feeling a greater sense of pressure compared to regular League of Legends competitions due to the diverse viewership demographic at the Asian Games.

[96] While he took home a gold medal in the event after South Korea defeated Saudi Arabia, China, and Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals, respectively, Faker was absent from the matches due to flu symptoms.

[99][100] Riot Games announced on May 22, 2024, that Faker was chosen as their inaugural entry into the Hall of Legends, being officially inducted in a private ceremony at The Shilla Seoul in South Korea on June 6, 2024.

Companies such as Nike, Razer, Red Bull, and Creative Artists Agency have leveraged Faker's image to promote their products and services.

[128] Faker has also appeared in commercials alongside notable personalities, such as footballer Son Heung-min to endorse SK Telecom products.

[131][132] Following his absence from the 2018 World Championship, Faker announced his decision to donate all the revenue generated from his streaming activities in October 2018 to the UN Foundation.

[135] The following August, Faker extended his philanthropic reach by donating ₩30 million to the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association, contributing to the aid efforts for victims affected by the 2022 floods in South Korea.

Tyler1's stream quickly amassed 300,000 viewers within 20 minutes, surpassing Faker's previous achievement and causing a temporary overload on Twitch's servers.

The specific details of the lawsuit were not extensively disclosed, but it was revealed that the defendants, referred to as "John Does", had made slanderous remarks directed at Faker's mother and posted highly inappropriate drawings.