Ryu Hye-young reveals how a director's call brought her back to acting

Actress Ryu Hye-young revealed on a YouTube program on the 28th that she returned to South Korea just three months after moving to the United States to quit acting. Despite her intention to start a new life abroad, an unexpected audition offer via Skype led her to fold her plans and return to the industry.

Actress Ryu Hye-young has opened up about a time in her past when she chose to flee to the United States after being deeply wounded by her experiences in acting. Although she left with the intention of closing the chapter on her acting career to start a new life, her direction changed once she received an unexpected audition offer while abroad. The dramatic story of her decision to return to South Korea just three months after settling everything to leave has drawn significant attention.

In a video titled "Am I petty, or are you rude?" released on the YouTube content 'Who Has Something Embarrassing?' on the 28th, Ryu Hye-young appeared as a guest. During the comfortable atmosphere, she shared her inner thoughts and experiences, noting that she frequently hears she resembles Tongdak Cheonsa.

During the appearance, Tongdak Cheonsa asked if she had ever felt the desire to leave South Korea. Responding to the question about wanting to escape the established system, Ryu Hye-young answered without hesitation, "I always wanted to leave." In fact, she once left for the United States with the intention of settling there and giving up acting.

Ryu Hye-young explained, "I went to study in the United States with the thought of starting with language training to establish myself, and then I received an audition call." It was not a simple trip or a short-term stay, but a plan to build a foundation for an entirely new life. At the time, she had accumulated skepticism and hurt regarding her acting while working on independent films, which ultimately led her to decide to leave the industry.

"Even back then, because I left in the middle of doing independent films, I thought, 'I'm not acting anymore,' 'I was hurt a lot by acting,' and 'This industry won't work. I should do something else,'" she recalled. It was a period when her determination to find a different profession and live in a new environment was firm, rather than continuing her dream as an actress.

However, not long after she began her life in the United States, she was contacted by a commercial film production company. They had inquired about her and proposed a meeting. Ryu Hye-young explained, "I was trembling when I got the call, but since I had decided not to do it, I said, 'I came to the United States with that decision. I am sorry.'" However, the production company expressed a desire to speak briefly via the video conferencing program Skype, and Ryu Hye-young eventually agreed to the online meeting.

During that meeting, the director told her, "I think you need to come." For someone who had decided to sever ties with acting by moving to the United States, it was a proposal that was not easily ignored. "I wondered if this is truly how life is. I had left everything behind, but I got a call and ended up folding everything and returning in just three months," Ryu Hye-young revealed. At the very moment she was organizing her life as an actress, a person who needed her called her back to the stage.

Upon hearing the story, Lee Eun-ji reacted, "Thank you so much, director. Thanks to you, we can see Ryu Hye-young's acting." Ryu Hye-young responded, "I should be a magpie that repays a kindness, but because the director is so wonderful, I don't know when I will be able to repay it." Her response reflected her gratitude and respect for the director who gave her the opportunity to act again.

Separate from her past anxieties surrounding acting, Ryu Hye-young also revealed a long-standing habit she maintains to manage herself. She explained that she writes in a diary every day and that it began because of anxiety. "When I had a lot of anxiety, I couldn't just sit still at home. I kept walking around the house. When it was hard to sit still and breathe, I thought, 'Let's try to discharge it through writing first,' and 'Let's write about why I am so anxious,' so I started writing."

She said that on the first day she started journaling, she filled an entire notebook on the spot. "I performed the act of writing for two and a half hours, and I realized, 'I actually sat still for two and a half hours,'" she said, adding, "Even if there is no content, performing this act makes me feel refreshed." Since then, whenever she faces difficult moments, picking up a pen and pouring out the emotions accumulated in her heart has become a daily habit.

From the trip to the United States where she almost gave up acting, to the audition call that brought her back, and the diary she started to endure her anxiety, Ryu Hye-young's confession showed the inner turbulence hidden behind her career as an actress. While she once thought leaving was the only way out, an unexpected connection called her back to the world of acting. For her, journaling remains a way to organize her mind and a personal method to pass through anxious times.

Read the original (Korean)