Kim Se-in: The actress who endured being forced into bars

A rising actress who once graced television screens is now living day by day working as a food delivery driver. After disappearing from the glamorous lights and cameras, the story of actress Kim Se-in, who is now leading a quiet life with 15 abandoned animals, has been revealed, touching the hearts of many.

Kim Se-in revealed her current life through the MBN program 'Scoop World' broadcast on the 30th. The program captured her daily life living with a total of 15 animals, including 7 abandoned dogs, as well as rabbits and chickens.

The means of livelihood she chose was food delivery. "I work part-time delivering food. I have to work hard to earn even a single penny," Kim confessed. "I occasionally do advertisements, dramas, and movie shoots, but I have to run hard to support a large household."

She was once a figure garnering attention as an actress. She made her name appearing as a lead in the SBS sitcom 'Oh My God' in 2011 and was recognized for her potential through her work in independent films and advertisements. Her career in the entertainment industry, which began at the young age of twenty, was also a choice made for her family.

However, her life was not smooth.

Kim grew up in a relatively affluent environment under her father, who was a businessman, but she revealed that her family's financial situation worsened drastically following the IMF financial crisis. She recalled those times, saying, "Our family circumstances became seriously bad around the time I entered high school. I lived with my parents in a place that was like a warehouse without even a bathroom."

Entering the entertainment industry with the mindset of being responsible for her family's livelihood, she sent most of her appearance fees to her parents. However, reality did not improve easily, and she eventually had to make difficult choices to survive.

"Tens of millions of won is a large amount of money both then and now, but it was money I truly needed," Kim confessed. "I felt that I had to take the lead and shoulder the responsibility."

In that process, her father is said to have felt deep guilt as well. She said with tearful eyes, "My father blamed his business failure, saying, 'How can our daughter spend the money she worked so hard to earn like this?'"

But the greatest scars remained from the experiences she faced within the entertainment industry.

"I grew tired of the entertainment industry," Kim said, revealing the unfair experiences she endured from an agency official at the time. "In the case of the agency CEO, he used to drag me to entertainment bars and continue to make my life miserable. In the midst of that, even my mother collapsed. Every day was like hell, and I hated living so much."

The timing of her leaving the entertainment industry coincided with her mother's illness. After collapsing due to a subarachnoid hemorrhage, Kim's mother has not regained consciousness for 15 years.

She explained, "They say she has been in a state where her soul is trapped in her body for 15 years. She cannot move a single finger and has no consciousness." The family tragedy that struck while she was nurturing her dreams as an actress was a reality too difficult for her to bear.

Ultimately, Kim let everything go and left the Republic of Korea. She moved to Malaysia to work as a travel guide and prepare for a new life, but she had no choice but to return to Korea due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After returning to her country, she started again from the bottom. While maintaining her livelihood through delivery work, she is waiting for the opportunity to return as an actress by participating in shoots whenever possible.

There is also a promise made to her late father in the reason why she currently lives with animals.

"Wherever he went, my father would boast, 'My daughter is a celebrity,'" Kim said. "He promised that once we did well and moved to a country house, we would live while raising dogs, rabbits, and chickens."

Although it is currently a monthly rental space rather than the dream country house, she is continuing the promise made to her father by embracing abandoned lives.

A common but fierce daily life chosen instead of the glamorous life of a star. Kim's story resonates more deeply than a success story in the entertainment industry. Sometimes life flows in unexpected directions, but even within that, someone rebuilds their life in their own way.

Her hands, which take responsibility for 15 lives, and her challenge to dream of being an actress again, are not yet over.