Kim Min Ha has opened up about how the sudden attention she received after landing the lead role in Pachinko became overwhelming enough for her to step away from the entertainment industry for about a year.

Speaking at Actors House during the 31st Busan International Film Festival on October 8, Kim Min Ha reflected on how dramatically her life changed after filming Pachinko in 2020.

At the time, she was still a relatively unknown actress, making her casting in such a major international production a major talking point within the industry.

Kim Min Ha admitted that the attention was difficult to handle.

She said, *“It was really scary. It was my first time suddenly receiving that much attention, and I didn’t know how I was supposed to behave or how to accept all of that interest.”*

As expectations around her performance grew, Kim Min Ha said she often found herself warning people around her, *“I might not actually be as good as you think.”*

Instead of immediately signing with an agency or rushing into another project, the actress decided to step away for around a year.

She explained, *“For about a year afterward, I didn’t really meet anyone and just rested. I didn’t immediately join an agency or start looking for my next project. I took a step back and tried to look at myself objectively.”*

Kim Min Ha believes that decision ultimately helped shape the career she has today.

She said, *“If I had rushed into something because people in the industry were pushing me forward at the time, I think I might have ended up walking a completely different path.”*

During that break, she spent more time with family and friends and thought carefully about what kind of actress she wanted to become. She also reconsidered the types of scripts and projects she wanted to pursue.

While Kim Min Ha described Pachinko as an enormous gift to her career, she said it also brought a strong sense of responsibility. She particularly wanted to find a way to continue building a steady acting career in Korea rather than being viewed only as an actress working internationally.

Looking back, Kim Min Ha said taking time away after her sudden rise helped her regain a sense of normalcy and establish clearer values for her career.

Rather than immediately chasing the attention that came with Pachinko, she chose to slow down, reflect, and decide for herself what direction she wanted to take next.