Park Shin-hye shared about her parents’ sacrifice for her to pursue a career in showbiz in a recent episode of South Korean talk show You Quiz on the Block, which aired on Jan 21.
The 35-year-old actress, who is currently promoting her new drama Undercover Miss Hong, shared that when she was young, she had never dreamt of becoming an artiste because her ambition was to be a policewoman.
“A burglary happened in my home when I was in primary school,” she laughed, adding that she was quiet as a child and didn’t like being the centre of attention.
However, in 2001, she was encouraged by a teacher in her church to participate in an audition for the leading role in South Korean singer-producer Lee Seung-hwan’s music video, and her photo was sent over to the latter’s company.
She underwent three rounds of audition, including singing, dancing and acting, travelling from her hometown in Gwangju to Seoul and was later offered to become a trainee.
Shin-hye, who is married to actor Choi Tae-joon and have a son who will turn four this year, shared that her parents opposed her wish to be a trainee at first because their financial situation wasn’t good at the time and they felt that she was too young to stay in Seoul alone.
She recounted to host Yoo Jae-suk: “They told me I was too young, maybe I would still have a chance next time. As I laid down in bed with my mum that night, listening to what she said, I felt in my heart that I wouldn’t have another chance.
“So I told her, ‘Mum, I feel that if I don’t go now, I wouldn’t have another chance anymore.’ I also didn’t know why I said that… and she said, ‘Really, I got it.'”
Later, her parents decided to leave their life in Gwangju behind, moving to Seoul with Shin-hye and her brother so that she could fulfil her dream.
They lived in a small, rented semi-basement apartment and her parents worked multiple jobs, including as a driver, insurance salesperson, kitchen helper and toilet cleaner.
In separate reports, Shin-hye shared that she used her earnings to open a barbeque restaurant for her parents later and helped out at the shop when she was available.
She also said during the episode about how her parents have been her source of support.
When work gets tough and she needs someone to vent about her stress, she would speak to her mother.
Shin-hye, who added that her mother is a strong-willed woman, explained: “My mum wouldn’t say things like, ‘But you still have to do it.’ She would say, ‘Oh really, you are tired? Then let’s pack up and leave.’
“My tears would stop immediately and it really cheered me up. I think what she said made me become a stronger person.”
She also felt her father is a “superman” and teared up when she revealed he was diagnosed with cerebral aneurysm and other health issues recently.
“That was when I realised he wasn’t as invincible as I imagined,” she added.
She shared in recent years, as she grows older, she has also been attending more funerals and understood the vulnerability of human beings.
“Although the day to bid goodbye [to my parents] is still far off, I realised it’s not as far as I thought,” Shin-hye said.
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