Lee Eun-ji Says Repeated KBS Audition Rejections Led Her to Avoid Gag Concert

After failing the final stage of the KBS comedy recruitment auditions four times, comedian Lee Eun-ji said she avoided watching KBS2’s Gag Concert. She later studied comedy routines on weekends to improve her skills, and has since become a familiar face on entertainment programs.

Lee spoke about feelings of inferiority on the talk show Everyone Carries a Spoonful of Pettiness in Their Heart, appearing on the KBS channel outlet Yeouido Yukto Club. The episode was released on the 14th. She discussed how repeated rejections shook her confidence and how she felt watching other comedians advance.

Lee said she deliberately stayed away from Gag Concert after her four unsuccessful attempts at the KBS recruitment auditions. She explained that she distanced herself from the program so much that she could not remember its comedy sketches broadcast from 2010 to 2014.

Her feelings of inferiority continued while she worked on tvN’s Comedy Big League. She said it was difficult to watch colleagues get selected by senior comedians for stage performances while she felt left behind. Their opportunities and progress could be worth celebrating, she said, yet also made her conscious of what she felt she lacked.

Instead of giving up, Lee looked for a way forward through study and hard work. She spent weekends at the office analyzing and researching different comedy sketches, observing how other comedians drew laughs on stage and working to develop her own strengths. Those experiences, the account said, became a foundation for her growth as well as painful memories.

After years as an unknown comedian, Lee began drawing public attention in 2021 with the New Town Mom character in New Town Couples content. She later appeared on a range of programs, including tvN’s Earth Arcade and Earth Arcade's Vroom Vroom, Netflix’s Better Late Than Single, JTBC’s Showdown! Ping Pong Pang Pong, and MBC’s I'm Sunny Thank You.

Her two-story home overlooking the Han River also drew attention as a sign of her changed standing. Lee showed the home on Earth Arcade in June 2023, prompting the other members to admire the view. An Yu-jin exclaimed, “How much money does our unnie have?” Lee Young-ji praised the house and asked how many advertisements Lee had appeared in, drawing laughs.

Lee’s account described repeated failures and self-doubt behind her public success. After failing the KBS auditions four times and avoiding a competing comedy program, she built her skills in her own way and went on to win viewers’ attention.

Read the original (Korean)