Celebrity

6 Korean actresses who lost the public favor after one night (ft. Song Hye Kyo, Han Hyo Joo)

After years of high popularity, these Korean actresses lost public respect overnight. While some managed to recover, others never restored their former glory

Other than popularity and fanbase, it’s important for Korean actresses to earn the public favor. However, in some particular cases, they may lose it overnight through scandals, leading to some regrettable careers.

Yoon Eun Hye Song Hye Kyo Seo Ye Jin
Yoon Eun Hye Song Hye Kyo Seo Ye Jin

Han Ye Seul

Han Ye Seul was once considered a top beauty in Korea, with decent acting skills and immense popularity in the 2000s. Unfortunately, in 2011, the actress stumbled into a serious scandal, as she suddenly dropped all her filming schedules and departed for the US. 

Han Ye-seul

To film a K-drama, actors and staff have to work intensively for days and months to come. As K-dramas are often filmed as they aired, schedules are tight, and huge damages can be done if an actor or actress suddenly leaves their post. Accordingly, as Han Ye Seul is the female lead of “Spy Myung Wol”, her absence caused a serious disruption to the production of this series.

While Han Ye Seul pointed out that there were cases of mistreatment on the set of “Spy Myung Wol”, most of the Korean public believed that the actress was overreacting, and that everyone had to work hard. In the end, Han Ye Seul apologized to the production crew and continued filming, and had to take a 2-year hiatus amid public disdain. 

Song Hye Kyo

Song Hye Kyo is undoubtedly among the top stars of the K-drama world, having contributed to the growth of the Hallyu wave. However, in 2014, Song Hye Kyo was completely canceled after a tax evasion scandal, and harshly criticized as she only apologized after news about the case was released. 

Song Hye Kyo

At the time, Song Hye Kyo’s agency explained that her taxes were wrongly calculated by an accountant, but the public refused to believe in these claims. As a result, Song Hye Kyo ended up taking a long break, before making a successful rebound via the mega hit “Descendants of the Sun”. 

Descendants Of The Sun

Nevertheless, even now, the actress’ scandal is occasionally brought up, leading to several waves of criticisms. 

Yoon Eun Hye

The 2000s were the “golden era” of famous actress Yoon Eun Hye, who nailed 3 hit K-dramas in a row with “Princess’ Hours”, “The Vineyard Man”, and “Coffee Prince”. At the time, Yoon Eun Hye was an irrefutable top star, who boasted strong prospects despite debuting as a Kpop idol. 

Yoon Eun Hye

Unfortunately, Yoon Eun Hye was then buried in criticisms about her acting skills, and lost the public favor in 2015, when she was accused of plagiarizing fashion designs from a local designer. In particular, the actress was hailed for her designing skill at the time, and was invited to participate in the Chinese fashion program, only for netizens to find various similarities between her designs and past collections, as well as a designer to accuse Yoon Eun Hye herself. The result was Yoon Eun Hye’s declining popularity for years to come, and while the actress has somewhat recovered her standing, she never managed to restore it to her former glory. 

Kim Min Hee

Kim Min Hee is not a prominent actress in the drama segment, but she is a talented and highly respected actress in the movie industry. With both impressive and cinematic beauty, along with good acting skills, Kim Min Hee has become a real star trusted by domestic audiences and internationally recognized with prestigious awards.

Because Kim Min Hee was dating married filmmaker Hong Sang Soo in 2016, all of the audience’s adulation and expectations for her had gone entirely. Immediately, the public turned their back on Kim Min Hee. Since that time, no one but Kim Min Hee’s lover has dared to ask her to act in a film. Movie theaters in Korea also do not show movies that Kim Min Hee plays. Kim Min Hee has since totally blocked her way, but she is still not retiring.

Go Hyun Jung

Go Hyun Jung has gone through numerous ups and downs in her career and married life. The Korean public is very sympathetic to her life and Go Hyun Jung is a talented actress, so she is supported even more. Go Hyun Jung had consistently been successful since she started acting again after splitting from her husband, and she also rapidly got back to her peak.

As a skilled and experienced actor, Go Hyun Jung’s withdrawal from the film Return when it was airing in 2018 startled the public. The actress and the director argued and ultimately dropped the project, which was cited as the reasons. The incident happened suddenly, then Park Jin Hee replaced her. Go Hyun Jung’s reputation and status declined as a result of this incident.

Seo Ye Ji

It wasn’t until 2020 that Seo Ye Ji rose to stardom thanks to the female lead in Psycho But It’s Okay. She stepped into the ranks of famous stars overnight and received a series of compliments and expectations from the audience.

Her reputation skyrocketed, so everyone expected Seo Ye Ji to step into the list of top actors. But everything came to an end in 2021 when the scandal in which Seo Ye Ji’s ex-boyfriend Kim Jung Hyun, who treated her co-star Seohyun rudely, was dug up. Everything was not related to Seo Ye Ji, but in the end, she was dragged into the scandal. She was accused of manipulating her ex-boyfriend. The public immediately turned their back on her. Even when she returned in 2022 with Eve, Korean audiences still have not forgiven her.

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