Park Ji Yeon says she thought she was not a good actress before her “Teach You a Lesson” breakthrough
Park Ji Yeon is receiving the biggest attention of her career after her powerful performance in Netflix’s “Teach You a Lesson”.
The actress played Lee Ji Young, also known as “Woo Jin’s mom,” in episode 5 of the series. Her intense acting as a difficult parent quickly became one of the most talked about parts of the drama.
After the show ranked No. 1 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 non English show list, Park Ji Yeon’s popularity also rose fast, with her SNS followers reportedly increasing 3 times.
In a recent interview, Park Ji Yeon said she is personally feeling the sudden attention. She shared, “While reading SNS comments, I feel like I am receiving huge support. Some people even recognize me when I wear a mask.”
She also revealed that the flood of messages became so overwhelming that her husband, actor Hwang Sang Kyung, helped her turn off her SNS notifications.
She explained, “For a few days, I could not focus on the script. People kept sending links, and I kept checking SNS messages.” She said her husband told her, “Shouldn’t you focus on what you have to do?”
Park Ji Yeon became emotional while talking about the support she received from friends and fellow actors.
She shared that one friend who had taken a break from acting contacted her and said, “I could not hold back anymore, so I contacted you”. Park Ji Yeon cried as she said everyone was happy for her like it was their own good news.
The actress, who began acting through the 2005 film “Another Public Enemy”, said this is the first time she has received this much attention in her 21 year career.
She confessed, “This is the first time in my life that I have received this much attention and support, so I am very thankful.” However, she also admitted, “On the other hand, it is also scary. I think, ‘I am not that good yet.’”
Park Ji Yeon also opened up about a difficult time she faced earlier this year. She said acting had started to feel like pressure instead of joy, explaining, “Acting should be fun, and I started it because I liked it, but it only became pressure.”
She continued through tears, “I thought I was not a good actress. I have continued working on projects, but I felt upset because I did not seem to reach the level I expected from myself”.
She added that “Teach You a Lesson” gave her great strength, saying it felt like people were finally recognizing her work.
Despite the emotional moment, Park Ji Yeon said she still wants to act for a long time. She shared, “Since I started this work at 20, I always wanted to act for a long time. Even now, I want to keep acting until I become a grandmother”.
