Veteran actress Kim Hyun Joo has made a refreshingly candid confession: she entered the entertainment industry to earn a lot of money — not out of a passion for acting.
According to Koreaboo, the remarks came in a YouTube video titled “Why do you talk so much about 50 years?”, uploaded October 11 and featuring Kim alongside actors Lee Moo Saeng and Jin Seon Kyu.
Kim recalled that after failing as a magazine model, she worked as a reader model and shot cosmetics pictorials before being cast in singer Kim Hyeon Cheol’s music video in 1996 — the job that became her debut.
The early years were far from glamorous. She said she spent two years without a manager because the company never assigned her one, handling small tasks on her own. She was also sent to variety shows whenever senior company members couldn’t appear — something she resented at the time.
“Since I was young, I wanted to earn a lot of money. So I was trying to find a job, not because I had a passion for acting,” she admitted. She added that she once took an intentional break after feeling like she had lost herself, and still feels “sorry and lacking” next to friends who trained hard to become actors.
The honest look back has given fans a rare window into the decades-long career of one of K-drama’s familiar faces.
