During tvN’s January 14 broadcast Take the block quizKim Hye-yoon reflected on her seven-year struggle as a rookie actress, a period marked by over 100 auditions and constant rejections before finally gaining recognition.
Kim Hye-yoon revealed that she began pursuing acting at just 17 years old, traveling alone by public transportation to attend acting classes. Her first role came nine months later, as a child actress TV novel: Samsaengibut the experience was far from encouraging.
“I was so nervous that I felt alone. During the panning shots, I didn’t act because I didn’t even know I was supposed to,” he recalled. That confusion led to harsh criticism on set, including comments like “What’s the point of having good pronunciation if you can’t recite properly? That’s why you’re an amateur.”
Despite frequent scolding, Kim Hye-yoon said she tried to stay mentally strong. “If I let myself feel too discouraged, I would shrink even more on set. I had to keep telling myself to hang in there.” he explained.
He also talked about his long string of failed auditions. “I always thought, ‘I’m probably just here to get rejected again’” he said. One of the recurring reasons for rejection was his height, which became one of his main insecurities. Kim admitted, “I’m 158cm tall, but I wanted the roles so badly that I wrote 160cm instead.”
Even more distressing, Kim revealed that the verbal abuse sometimes crossed the line. “There were words so serious that they could not be conveyed. I heard a lot of vulgarity on the set,” he said. The emotional toll was heavy, as she often cried on the way home. “I cried in cars, on buses and even on the subway almost every day.”
Over the course of seven years, Kim Hye-yoon appeared in around 50 productions, mostly in minor roles. He revealed he didn’t sign with an agency until later SKY Castle it ended in 2018. Previously, she traveled alone to filming locations and endured long hours of waiting without even getting a chance to perform.
Despite the difficulties, he fondly remembered the kindness of some of the staff. “They gave me hot compresses and installed heaters during the winter,” he said. However, he often refused help, believing he had not yet “earned it.” This mindset led to serious consequences when she suffered frostbite as a high school student, which caused her fingers to swell and her nails to fall off.
Kim Hye-yoon’s emotional confession resonated with viewers, shedding light on the often hidden struggles of first-time actors in the Korean entertainment industry and sparking a renewed discussion about on-set treatment and power dynamics.
Sources: Daum
