Lee Jung-eun recalls teaching Lee Hyori acting 21 years ago

Actress Lee Jung-eun has revisited her connection from 21 years ago when she served as an acting mentor to singer Lee Hyori. She revealed that even back then, when the era-defining top star appeared on television not on a glamorous stage but as a factory worker character, Lee highly evaluated her potential.

On the broadcast of tvN's 'You Quiz on the Block' on the 9th, the turbulent acting career of Lee Jung-eun was introduced. Lee opened up about her long period of obscurity before becoming a known actress, including the time she faced debt after her theater company's productions failed, forcing her to balance acting lessons with various part-time jobs.

Lee revealed that after founding her own theater company in 2003 and staging two works, she ended up with a debt of approximately 50,000,000 won due to consecutive commercial failures. She explained that she borrowed money from fellow actors such as Woo Hyun, Shin Ha Kyun, and Ji Jin-hee to cover production costs, and it took her a full 13 years to pay it back.

One of the jobs she chose to make a living was acting instructor. During this process, Lee taught acting to actors like Ji Jin-hee and Lee Hyori. In particular, her connection with Lee Hyori remained a special record as Lee later pursued activities as an actress.

Recalling Lee Hyori while she was preparing for the 2005 SBS drama 'Three-Leaf Clover', Lee said, "I still think Lee Hyori has talent to this day." She evaluated her as having good spontaneity, immersion, and rich sensibility. However, she shared the atmosphere of the lessons at the time, recalling that there were moments when Lee would burst into laughter at decisive moments. Lee had previously evaluated Lee on tvN's 'Life Bar' in 2018, stating, "She has good immersion and was quite good at acting."

The interesting part is the gap between the character Lee Hyori chose at the time and the image the public expected. In 'Three-Leaf Clover', which aired in 2005, Lee shed her glamorous image as a singer and took on the role of Jin-ah, a factory worker living in difficult circumstances. At that time, Lee was enjoying top-tier popularity as a solo singer following her activities with the group Fin.K.L.

A significant gap existed between the stardom she displayed on stage and the impoverished reality of the character in the drama. Lee's recollection that "I think people didn't like that kind of image" touches upon this point. It implies that an actor's potential does not necessarily align with the public image required of a star.

In fact, despite the buzz surrounding Lee Hyori's acting challenge, 'Three-Leaf Clover' itself did not achieve the expected results. At the time, evaluations of Lee's acting skills were mixed, and the focus tended to lean more toward the top singer's appearance in a drama rather than the character or the quality of the work.

Yoo Jae Suk did not miss this point either. He drew laughter by making a witty remark, saying, "I watched the drama in 2005, and I watched it in 2026 too," before adding, "I'll stop talking here."

It was a clever comment targeting both the 21-year time gap and Lee Hyori's current standing.

However, what is more noteworthy in Lee Jung-eun's testimony is not Lee Hyori's past acting performance, but the 'potential' seen through the eyes of an acting teacher at the time. An actor's potential does not always follow the same trajectory as a work's commercial success or public evaluation at the time. In reality, while Lee Hyori did not continuously expand her acting career afterward, she built an unrivaled cultural influence spanning variety shows, music, fashion, and social messages.

In a similar sense, Lee Jung-eun herself is close to a symbol of 'late-discovered talent.' After her debut on the theater stage in 1991, she did not gain public recognition for a long time, but she was recognized for her acting skills through the musical 'Laundry' and later placed her name at the center of popular culture by leaving a powerful presence in works such as 'Mr. Sunshine', 'When the Camellia Blooms', and 'Parasite'. In particular, her role as Moon-gwang in director Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' was a decisive turning point in her life as an actress who had passed through a long period of obscurity.

Therefore, the Lee Hyori of 2005 recalled by Lee Jung-eun is difficult to consume merely as a 'top star's dark history.' Although it was a challenge that was not properly evaluated at the time because it did not fit the star's image, that scene remains a record of both Lee Hyori's attempt to expand her territory and Lee Jung-eun's gaze that recognized it early on.

Twenty-one years later, the positions of teacher and student remain interesting. Lee Jung-eun proved her potential as an actress who bloomed late, and Lee Hyori has established herself as a cultural icon representing her era in much broader fields than acting.