Lee Jae-yong reveals 8-year battle with depression: 'Acting saved me'

Actor Lee Jae-yong has opened up about his seven-to-eight-year battle with depression starting in his early 30s, recounting a period of intense mental suffering compounded by financial hardship.

During a video released on the YouTube channel 'What Are You Doing Lately' on the 20th, Lee spoke candidly about his diagnosis and subsequent treatment.

“I took depression medication for more than seven or eight years,” Lee stated. “It was quite serious. I think I was first diagnosed in my early to mid-30s.” At the time, Lee was working as a theater actor and teaching students to make ends meet.

He cited his experience with psychodrama as a primary trigger for his mental health struggles. Lee explained that while conducting psychodrama sessions at a psychiatric hospital with his students, he had the opportunity to directly observe and study the patients.

However, the sight of patients in the closed ward came as a profound shock. “I think I saw a real living hell there,” Lee recalled, expressing deep distress at seeing patients appear to lose their human dignity.

“The suffering of those people just rushed into me,” he added, noting how deeply the experience left an impression. He revealed that his anger regarding the treatment of patients grew so intense that he once lost control of his emotions and caused a disturbance during a dinner with the medical staff he worked with.

The psychological trauma was exacerbated by the practical realities of being a struggling theater actor. Lee explained that multiple burdens weighed on him simultaneously: “Between that shock and the reality I was living in, life as a poor theater actor back then was not easy at all.”

Medical staff even recommended inpatient treatment. Lee shared, “Since it is a profession where I have to show my face to the public, they told me they would introduce me to a hospital and suggested I stop drinking entirely, take medication for ten days, eat, and just rest.”

However, because he was responsible for stage productions and supporting his family, hospitalization was not an option. “I had to provide for my wife and children, and I had to work,” he said of his reality at the time.

As treatment continued, his situation worsened due to alcohol use. Lee, who has since quit drinking, looked back and admitted, “I think I drank too much.” He noted that he now manages his mental health through practices like meditation.

Reflecting on those years of suffering, Lee described his former self as someone who “lived like a madman.” He added, “I was very precarious and went through many moments of crisis.”

Ultimately, his acting career became the foundation that allowed him to endure. After years of obscurity in theater, Lee built a distinct presence in film and television, expanding his range through intense character portrayals.

Recently, he solidified his reputation with a commanding performance as the North Korean intelligence director Ri Eung-ryeong in the SBS drama 'Manager Kim.' The journey of an actor who once stood on the brink of collapse, only to transform his life through his craft, provides a profound new context for his filmography.