On March 9, the YouTube channel CBS Renew uploaded a video titled “Gaslighting, Sponsors(?), Confinement — Breaking Through All This Darkness.” In the video, Lee Ja Eun spoke openly about the traumatic experiences she endured while pursuing her acting career.
Host Joo Young Hoon introduced her as someone whose life story sounded “like something that could appear in the news,” prompting Lee Ja Eun to reflect on the difficult experiences she had faced.
“I wanted to be someone who makes movies, not someone who lives a life like a movie,” she said. “But my life ended up feeling like a film full of painful and complicated events.”
Lee Ja Eun explained that she struggled financially early in her career. She debuted in small theater musicals and performed daily for three months without receiving any payment.
During that time, she encountered a man who claimed to be the CEO of an entertainment agency. Although she initially visited the company hoping for career opportunities, she quickly felt uneasy about his behavior.
“He told me that no matter how hard I worked alone in this industry, I wouldn’t succeed,” she recalled. “He said I needed power and connections. Then he mentioned that I would need a sponsor and said he could help me.”
According to Lee Ja Eun, the situation suddenly escalated in a disturbing way. She alleged that the man closed the blinds in his office and said he needed to “verify” her before introducing her to a sponsor.
“He said he needed to check my body and started taking my clothes off. Then he took off his own clothes and approached me,” she said. “I was terrified and begged him to stop, crying. But he forced himself on me. I ran away crying.”
She explained that she stopped answering his calls afterward because the experience had deeply traumatized her. Lee Ja Eun also claimed that similar situations occurred frequently within the industry.
Later, she met another man through a former agency representative who offered what seemed like a promising contract. The agreement included a monthly living allowance, housing, a car, investment funding, and a signing bonus.
“At the time, it felt like a dream. He seemed like a prince on a white horse,” she said.
However, things soon began to change. Lee Ja Eun recalled that although the man initially appeared polite and charismatic, his behavior gradually became suspicious. She noticed he had connections with dangerous individuals and often made threatening remarks.
None of the promises in the contract were ultimately fulfilled. At the time, Lee Ja Eun had been living in a studio apartment and had borrowed money from a friend to cover the deposit. Facing financial pressure and having nowhere else to go, she accepted the man’s offer to provide accommodation in a hotel.
“At first I thought, ‘Maybe this is just what the celebrity lifestyle is like,’” she said.
But not long afterward, she claimed that he began restricting her activities and prevented her from participating in independent film projects.
“That was when the confinement-like life began,” she explained.
Lee Ja Eun said she was unable to tell her family about what was happening. Having left home to pursue acting, she felt both pride and fear. She also worried that the man might harm her family if she spoke out.
According to her account, there were people assigned to monitor her at the hotel.
“There was someone watching me. Even before the surveillance became stricter, they somehow already knew who I had met,” she said. “It kept getting worse. I even heard rumors that something had been put into my food.”
Eventually, she decided she had to escape. “I just ran out without thinking,” she said. “I was so scared that someone might follow me. Even people walking by frightened me. I was afraid a taxi driver might be connected and kidnap me.”
She believes the prolonged manipulation left deep psychological scars. “I was gaslighted, and it caused severe paranoia,” she said. “Even now, sometimes it’s hard to tell whether something was real or a dream.”
She also revealed that the man had pressured her to move far away with him, suggesting they leave the country or live in a remote area. “At one point I thought that if I stayed there any longer, I could become completely isolated from everyone. I even felt like it wouldn’t be strange if I died there.”
After escaping, Lee Ja Eun struggled to return to a normal life.
“For about a month I couldn’t live normally,” she said. “Even after going back home, my family didn’t know what had happened, but I slept with a kitchen knife beside me because I was afraid he might come into the house.”
She added that the man had previously made threats against her, which intensified her fear and paranoia during that time.
Sources: Daum
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