5 K-drama stars with odd jobs before the fame: Kim Tae-ri worked in a supermarket while Kim Min-seok was a cook in a Japanese restaurant … what about So Ji-sub, Go Min-si and Pyo Ye-jin?
- Before Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden, and Descendants of the Sun, Kim Tae-ri and Kim Min-seok worked normal jobs – and Min-seok has showed off his sashimi skills since
- Youth of May actress Go Min-si was a wedding planner while Taxi Driver star Pyo Ye-jin was Korean Air’s youngest flight attendant before they pursued their showbiz dreams
When we see popular Korean actors on screen, they might seem to be born to be stars. So the jobs that they had before their debuts might be surprising: they range from flight attendant to supermarket salesperson and even a cook. Perhaps these actors drew on this wide range of experience to realistically portray their characters? Read on to find out more about the interesting jobs these talented stars had before achieving success in showbiz.
Kim Tae-ri: supermarket salesperson
One thing is for sure: Kim Tae-ri is a hard worker. Before the star was globally recognised with her roles in Twenty-Five Twenty-One and in Mr. Sunshine, Kim also juggled multiple part time jobs while trying to make it big as an actress – from working at convenience stores and fast food chains, and also modelling in TV commercials and music videos, according to Soompi.
In an interview with E-news Exclusive, she shared that she even worked as a supermarket salesperson selling soybean milk and got scouted to work at a cafe while doing so. It seems that she stood out in multiple ways, as she also snagged her role for Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden out of other 1,500 auditionees and rose to fame, according to The Smart Local.
Go Min-si: wedding planner
Go Min-si, the star of Youth of May and Sweet Home, had a different career path before becoming an actor. After graduating from high school and studying cosmetology, she worked as a wedding planner. Talking to Sports Kyunghyang, she revealed that, although her childhood dream was to become an actor, she thought a more realistic occupation would be a wedding planner, after reading an article about how the wedding industry would be booming in the future.
Eventually, after working for three years, she quit her job and followed her passion as she wasn’t happy with her original career, according to her interview with Sports Khan. With this decision made, she went on to debut in 2016 web drama 72 Seconds.
Pyo Ye-jin: flight attendant
