[1][3] A failed relationship with a boy during her teenage years convinced Harisu of the need to change her sex,[3][4] and by the time she graduated from the all-boys Naksaeng High School,[5] she was already undergoing hormone replacement therapy.

[1][9] After returning to Korea in 2000,[1] she signed with management company TTM Entertainment, and first began using the stage name "Harisu", derived from the English phrase "hot issue".

As the Republic of Korea's first transgender entertainer, there was a great deal of media interest in Harisu, and she was routinely described as being "more beautiful than a woman".

"[13] In June 2001, Harisu was the subject of a television documentary produced by KBS, which covered her childhood, family relationships, and debut as an entertainer.

In addition to contributing songs for the film's soundtrack, Harisu played a transsexual who goes on the run after the apparent death of a convenience store owner.

[16] She drew attention by promoting sanitary napkins in a series of advertisements for Taiwanese company UFT, for which she was paid an estimated ₩100 million per ad.

[17][18] Towards the end of the year Harisu appeared in Yonfan's Colour Blossoms, an erotic drama film from Hong Kong in which she shared a role with veteran Japanese actress Keiko Matsuzaka.

[20] Later that year her Foxy Lady album was released in Taiwan and China with the inclusion of songs re-recorded in Mandarin, and she was even promoted by her Taiwanese record label as the "Kylie Minogue of the East".

[9] In September 2005, Harisu gained a foothold in Malaysia after signing a three-year memorandum of understanding with Hock Star Entertainment, a deal which included the production of two feature films and secured the Malaysian release of her album.

Harisu played Lisu, a murdered pop singer who becomes a vengeful ghost, and also performed the films theme song, though it was necessary for her dialogue to be spoken in Korean and later dubbed.

[24][25] In early 2007, Harisu was cast as the lead actress in Police Line, a Korean drama series produced for cable network On-Media.

[26][27] Filming for Police Line began in April 2007, and the series was launched in June with Harisu's husband Micky Jung making a cameo appearance.

The essays formed a comprehensive guide to beauty, diet and fashion, and contained photographs of Harisu taken by Yamagishi Shin, who had traveled to Seoul the previous December for a four-day photo shoot.

[29] Harisu's decision to undergo sex reassignment surgery placed a strain on her relationship with her family, and she noted that when her parents first found out they "were very upset.

[11] In April 2007, she came to the aid of a Chinese trans woman unable to afford surgery, giving her the financial support needed to undergo this costly procedure.

[34] On November 29, 2002, Harisu filed a petition with the Incheon District Court to have her sex corrected on her family register, and that her birth name be changed to Lee Kyung-eun.

The ceremony was presided over by KBS anchor Shin Young-il, and officiated by Kim Suk-kwon, a Dong-A University professor who had performed Harisu's sex change surgery in the 1990s.

The couple honeymooned on the Thai island of Ko Samui, and began their married life at Harisu's family home in Nonhyun-dong, in the Gangnam-gu district of Seoul.

With the support of her husband and mother-in-law, she purchased a 3,300 m2 (3,900 sq yd) plot of land in Janghowon, Gyeonggi-do, and studied for a community service license.