Actor Lee Jung-yong recalled his past activities across various fields.
On the 6th, KBS1's Morning Yard Tuesday guest segment featured actor Lee Jung-yong and his sons Lee Mideum and Lee Maeum as guests.
That day, Lee Jung-yong recalled his past, saying that after debuting as a musical actor, he tried being a comedian and later transitioned to acting, working in a variety of fields. He said, "At first I started with musicals. I debuted in 1993 with Les Misérables, and that was after my military discharge; while I was in the military my father passed away. He had worked in education for 30 years and died of a chronic illness. I effectively became the head of the household, but as I did musicals, the stage didn't pay well at that time," he began.
Lee Jung-yong said, "Where I felt the gap was when we were doing a production and a top star who was active on broadcasts came. I was in the ensemble. The top star practiced for two months, performed for one month and got 10 million won, but I got 750,000 won. I felt such a gap," and added, "I had to lead my household. I had to support my widowed mother, so I thought I should go into broader waters. I took broadcasting company exams but kept failing. But I tried the comedian exam and passed on the first try. You never know about people's lives. I became number one out of a thousand. While working as a comedian, the Iceman character came along. I won a rookie award for that," he recalled.
He went on, "But my dream was to be an actor. I should have kept doing variety shows, but I carried my profile and went around the drama production department. The variety department said I was crazy. I had won a rookie award so my future seemed guaranteed. How far did I go? I handed out profiles and one day I went to the elevator and a drama production PD had just had a bereavement. I didn't even know who he was, but I just went," he confessed.
Lee Kwang-gi praised him, saying, "I recognize that he's the type who works hard. He took the role of Gato in KBS's historical drama Jangbirok and I played Konishi. After taking the role of Gato he went to Japan. There's a statue of Gato there, and he went all the way to feel the energy there and immerse himself. I respected him from then on," he marveled.
When asked whether he was satisfied that he had achieved his dream after debuting as an actor, Lee Jung-yong said, "No. I'm very greedy. I should settle in one place and focus, but I have many talents and I sing a bit, though not very well. So I moved around here and there. I appeared on Seba-kwa and even took off my shirt. After marriage I couldn't stay still because the weight of being the head of household — our job doesn't provide continuous work; there are gaps. I couldn't endure that anxiety during those gaps. The children kept growing. Moving around here and there, at the time there was no problem living, but looking back now I think my identity started to be shaken. I couldn't put down roots. I regret that a little, but I don't regret it much because I lived doing what I wanted to do," he honestly confessed.
Then his son Lee Mideum expressed surprise, saying, "This was the first time I've heard this. Whenever I see my father he seems to enjoy this work happily and I thought he had no worries. When I was wandering, I looked at my dad and thought I also want a job where I can enjoy my future like that. I had no idea he had these worries," he said in astonishment.
[Photo] KBS1
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