Recently, YouTube channel B-Level Studio released a new video featuring former child actors Heo Jeong Min, Kang Rae Yeon, and Seo Jae Kyung. During the conversation, the trio candidly discussed the toxic work environment and corruption they encountered while working as child actors.

Kang Rae Yeon recalled that child actors in her generation were treated very differently from young performers today. “Back then, we weren’t treated the way child actors are now. There was no sense of fulfillment in our work, and there were no protections for child actors,” she said. She added that although today’s child actors can earn substantial incomes, performers of her era were placed into a ranking system that strictly determined their pay, meaning even well-known child actors earned very little.

Heo Jeong Min explained that the ranking system ranged from Grade 1 to Grade 5, with Grade 5 reserved for the most successful child actors and Grade 1 for the least recognized. Kang Rae Yeon revealed that the highest television appearance fee at the time was only 250,000 won per episode.

She also described the demanding filming schedules they endured as children. According to Kang, overnight shoots were routine, often continuing from daytime scenes straight into night filming before returning to daytime scenes again once the sun rose. She noted that their parents also endured tremendous hardship while supporting them through these exhausting schedules.

Seo Jae Kyung then made an even more startling revelation, claiming corruption was widespread during that era. “Looking back, it feels like a corrupt system,” she said. “People in positions of power accepted bribes in many forms, including food, drinks, and gifts. Many mothers paid them in hopes that their children would be promoted to a higher ranking as child actors.”

The three also spoke about physical abuse they experienced on set. They claimed that mistakes were often met with severe punishment rather than simple scolding. “When we made mistakes, we weren’t just reprimanded—we were punished so severely that we bled,” they recalled. They further alleged that if a child actor struggled to cry during an emotional scene, some staff members would physically hit them to force genuine tears. “That would be unimaginable today,” they said.

Seo Jae Kyung clarified that most directors they worked with were kind and professional, emphasizing that only a minority of individuals committed such abusive acts. Nevertheless, she said those incidents created a toxic atmosphere that negatively affected the entire production environment.

Their candid testimony has quickly become a major talking point in South Korean media. Heo Jeong Min, Kang Rae Yeon, and Seo Jae Kyung, all born in the early 1980s, began acting at a very young age and have continued working in the entertainment industry into adulthood. Despite their painful experiences, all three agreed that working conditions for child actors have improved dramatically compared to when they first entered the industry.

Sources: kenh14