While some celebrities become stars overnight, others, like actors Park Seo Joon, Uhm Jung Hwa, and Han Ga In, have endured the struggles of obscurity before receiving love and recognition. Their experiences, which include hurtful comments during their early careers, are both surprising and inspiring.
Park Seo Joon, appearing on the tvN show You Quiz on the Block broadcasted on the 13th, opened up that he had been advised to consider cosmetic surgery during his early career days. He candidly shared, recalling the days he kept failing the auditions, “My eyes were my biggest worry. I was often criticized for them. It was a time when people preferred a more intense look. I was even asked, ‘Where did this kid roll in from?’ The suggestions for plastic surgery made me feel smaller.”
Top actress and singer Uhm Jung Hwa also faced harsh criticism pre-debut. Back in June, she appeared on JTBC’s Salty Pawn Shop and recalled a painful incident from 1993, the year she debuted with an album and a movie. She recounted a popular journalist’s disparaging remarks at a promotional event, “If she becomes successful, I’ll be damned.”
Uhm Jung Hwa reflected, “I wasn’t pretty or cool enough to make it big. Hearing that hurt me, but I kept working hard.” She then shared a triumphant moment, “In 2013, at the Grand Bell Awards, I won Best Actress. Kim Sang Kyung, my co-star then, said, ‘If Uhm Jung Hwa doesn’t win Best Actress, I’ll be damned.’ It’s a different kind of ‘being damned,’ isn’t it?”
Han Ga In, known for her doll-like beauty, also shared her painful experiences on JTBC’s Handless Day. She revealed, “I started as a model and somehow ended up acting in dramas. I had no clue about acting or even where the camera was, so I just ran around like a headless chicken.” Recalling a director’s skepticism, she said, “He told me, ‘If you become an actress, I’ll be damned.'”
She went on, “After gaining some success, I ran into that same director at a network. He said, ‘Oh, you’re like a rabbit.’ It was a surprise. A rabbit? When did he switch from saying he’d be damned?” expressing the astonishment and mixed feelings she had experienced.
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