In 2008, she starred in "Robber", in the role of a young widowed single mother who is targeted by a con man for her savings, but he falls in love with her for real. Later that year, Lee was originally cast as the heroine in the inter-generational epic "East of Eden", set against the backdrop of a coal mining town in Taebaek through the 1960s until the present. In this series, Lee reunited with her Sweet 18 co-star Han Ji-hye. Though the drama was a hit, as it went on, Lee's screen time became drastically reduced in favor of other storylines, such that she decided to leave the show in episode 40.