Actress Park Joo Hyun surprised fans with a story about almost joining SM Entertainment — but turning it down before her acting career even began!
On the July 19 episode of MBC’s The Manager, singer Roy Kim and actress Park Ju Hyun made guest appearances and talked about their personal journeys in the entertainment world.
During the show, Park Ju Hyun looked back on her debut project, the hit Netflix series Extracurricular.
She shared, “We filmed in 2019. At my university, students can only do outside work starting in their third year. I told my professor I might take time off because I got the lead in a drama."
She added, "But back then, no one really knew what Netflix was. My professor asked, ‘What company is that? What channel number is it?’”
The cast laughed at the memory, as she explained how hard it was to convince her professor that Netflix was a real deal.
She also opened up about how her family reacted to her bold first role. “My first character was very intense. My mom was really worried about it,” she said, referring to her shocking role in Extracurricular.
When comedian Yang Se Hyung asked if that character was the opposite of her real personality, Park Ju Hyun playfully said, “Actually, that is my real personality — so my mom was even more worried,” making everyone laugh.
Then came the big reveal — she was once approached by SM Entertainment, home to K-pop giants like EXO, Red Velvet, and aespa.
“I’m from Busan, and one day I was just hanging out at Lotte World when someone from SM came up to me,” she said. “At the time, I really loved singing, but it felt like too much pressure. So I said no.”
Instead of becoming a trainee, she followed her own path. “I started a band when I was in high school. That’s how I enjoyed music back then,” she added.
Fans are now wondering what could’ve been — but also loving that Park Ju Hyun chose her own route to stardom, one powerful role at a time.
Source: [1]
