Family love is the greatest love - this, Kdramas have shown us in many, many series, moving
us to tears and delivering heartfelt life lessons all at once.
However, not everyone is lucky enough to have a good family, and our favorite Korean actors
and actresses are no exception.
Today, let’s look into some of these actors’ backgrounds, and find some that managed to
shine despite their shitty family situations.
Kim Soo Hyun The famous Kim Soo Hyun is now the highest
paid Korean actor, earning roughly 500 million won per episode in 2021.
His works like Dream High, Moon Embracing the Sun, My Love From the Star, and most recently,
It’s Okay To Not Be Okay - were all huge hits - a clear evidence of the actor’s massive
popularity.
However, the actor’s life was off to a rocky start.
He suffered from a serious heart condition that left him unable to function like other
children.
His parents also divorced early, with the actor staying with his mother and his father
completely vanishing from his life.
Or at least, that was how things went until 2015, when news revealed that Soo Hyun’s
half sister Kim Joo Na is making her entertainment industry debut.
The sister’s side also revealed that Joo Na and Soo Hyun got a tight relationship since
they lived together in childhood, and even went as far as to add the actor to her homepage
as “family members”.
But it turns out that all these were for clout.
The actor’s agency revealed that Kim Soo Hyun was just as shocked to learn of his half
sister’s debut, that they never lived together, and that they never had any previous contact.
It didn’t help that after dragging in Kim Soo Hyun’s name for fame, the sister had
the guts to go on Produce 101, and cried that she was sad that she “came
to be known as someone’s sister” instead of being recognized as a separate artist.
In addition to this Kim Soo Hyun’s father - the once famous singer Kim Choong Hoon,
had been no better man.
He abandoned Soo Hyun as a kid, got a new family, and cut off contacts,only to constantly
bring up the actor once Soo Hyun got popular.
“Stop using your son”, “What have you ever done for him?”, “Both Kim Soo Hyun's
father and half-sister are using his name for fame” - comments like these can be found
in every article.
Throughout the entire fiasco though, we can at least treasure our handsome Soo Hyun.
Despite only having his mother, he still provides for the father’s new family without so much
of a complaint.
Han So Hee We all know of Han So Hee’s story from rags
to riches: the actress came to Seoul with less than 300 dollars to her name and had
to work in a bar everyday until the sun rose, struggling to make ends meet.
In 2016, her life changed for the better after getting casted in the music video ‘Tell
Me What To Do’ of popular Kpop group SHINee (read as shiny).
Ever since, she has nailed roles in widely-known dramas like “Abyss”, “100 Days My Prince”,
“The World of the Married”, “Nevertheless”, and most recently, “My Name”.
But popularity does not mean that Han So Hee is free of her life burden.
Rather, the actress was pulled into a controversy started by none other than her own mother.
Winding back to July 2020, we can find a post on the Korean forum pann, which accused Han
So Hee’s mother of being a con artist.
The post explained that said mother led a cooperating savings group, which takes monthly
installments from its members, and returns interests to them on rotation.
However, Han So Hee’s mother changed her number, ghosted the members, and ran away
with all the money.
This original post also said that So Hee’s mother promised that the money will be returned
once the actress made it big, and that they even visited the actress’s agency to track
the mother down.
However, the money disappeared forever, and the victim felt angry every time Han So Hee
appeared on television.
They also accused the actress of using scammed money to get ahead in life, and demanded actions
to be done.
In response, Han So Hee had to write an apology post, where she apologized to said victim
and revealed that she will try to pay back all the swindled funds.
The contents of the statement though, got the Korean public feeling extremely sorry
for the actress.
It turned out that So Hee’s parents divorced when she was about five, and she ended up
living with her grandmother.
She only knew about her mother’s debt after her 20th birthday, and despite never having
the mother in her life, Han So Hee had tried to repay the debt even before debut.
The actress also revealed that her mother kept borrowing money using Han So Hee’s
name, and she was signed to various loans, promissory notes, and debts without her knowing.
The actress ended up paying debts she never caused - all because of a mother that never
cared for her.
At this, netizens can’t help but exclaim: “Not all parents are parents because they
claim to be so”.
Many also praised Han So Hee for her preservation and sent her words of support.
Kim Hye Soo Another actress that constantly suffers from
their family’s wrongdoing is the seasoned Kim Hye Soo, who had pulled off brilliant
performances in Signal, Hyena, and also cinematic masterpieces like Coin Locker Girl.
In fact, the situation for Hye Soo got so bad, that she even considered retiring out
of guilt.
To clarify the severity of the case, let’s go back to 2018, where a movement called #DebtToo
was on the rise in South Korea.
Like its name, #DebtToo is all about accusations of debts - but instead of the regular person,
it’s all about calling out celebrities and their families.
The movement was so serious and widespread, that many big names were dragged into flame
- including actors like Rain and Ma Dong Seok, as well as Kpop idols like Mamamoo’s Wheein,
BtoB’s Minhyuk, and SNSD’s Tiffany.
And Kim Hye Soo was also a name among all this mess.
A netizen revealed that the actress’s mother had scammed 1.3 billion won, or over 1 million
USD worth of money, claiming that she is starting a business.
Victims also spoke up, sharing that they only lend the money out because her daughter is
Kim Hye Soo.
In response, the actress admitted to the accusation, but also stated that she and her mom had cut
off contacts for over 8 years.
Close friends also revealed that Hye Soo’s mother had been acting up for years, and back
in 2012, the actress had to hand over all of her possessions to pay off all the debts.
Hye Soo even had to rent a small, old apartment to live, before deciding altogether that she
will quit paying.
Still, even when Hye Soo was no longer legally obliged to help her mom, the event left a
heavy scar on the actress.
She shared in a future interview that at the time, her mind was split between “I didn’t
do anything wrong”, and “I can’t work, I’m going to try and fix what I can”.
Thankfully, she has pulled through with the assistance of friends, and will soon reunite
with us on the screen as the female lead of Netflix’s Juvenile Justice.
Goo Hara The life of beautiful idol slash actress Goo
Hara is filled with pain, seeing that she constantly suffered under the hands of the
very people she loved.
In 2019, the actress finally left us for a better place, but her name was still not freed
from drama - all because of a greedy mother.
Had you been a fan of her, you would probably notice that Goo Hara had never had a mother
in her life.
According to the actress’s brother, their mother had left home since Hara was in 2nd
grade, and cut off contact with them for over 20 years.
. Even after they reunited, the mother’s attitude
towards Hara had been no better.
A friend even disclosed that Hara’s mother didn’t treat her daughter warmly, and often
brought Goo Hara to friends’ gatherings, and used the actress like a trophy to brag
to everyone.
Worse, she was a heartless monster even at Hara’s death.
In the actress’s funeral, she took videos, demanded to be the chief mourner, and even
asked for photos with visiting celebs.
She also answered interviews, dragged in Hara’s name, and accused Hara’s father of abusing
despite evidence that suggested Hara was scarred from childhood since she learned of her mother’s
cheating affairs.
This was why when the estranged mother tried to get hands on half of Goo Hara’s inheritance,
the actress’s remaining family and netizens alike were enraged.
Her father filed a lawsuit, determined to not let the mother get her way.
Meanwhile, Hara’s brother pushed for ‘Goo Hara’s Act’ - a new law that will exempt
neglecting parents from inheriting their children’s assets.
The law was finally passed in 2021, and now, Goo Hara’s story is immortalized as one
that will counter all future neglecting parents.
Goo Hara’s brother had deemed this a final gift for his sister, and had since set up
a foundation to help single parents and struggling Kpop trainees.
It’s just terribly heart-breaking to know there’s such a tragic story behind Goo Hara’s
beauty and heart.
Actors are just as humans as us, and have their own difficulties and hardships in life.
All of today’s mentions had been strong and managed to shine despite it all, and we
had to respect them for that.
What about you?
Do you know any other stories where actors overcame shitty family situations?
Comment down below to let us know.
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