Why Actor Jaehee Took a 3-Year Hiatus Despite Hitting 30% Viewership Ratings!

Actor Jaehee has finally shared an update on his life!

On the 8th, a video titled “What has actor Jaehee been doing all this time?” was uploaded to Shin Jung-hwan’s channel ‘Dak-ter-shin’.

Jaehee first rose to fame in 2005 through the KBS2 drama ‘Ruler of Your Heart’, which recorded viewership ratings of over 30%. Reflecting on this, Jaehee shared, “After being discharged from the military, I filmed a ‘daily drama’ for the first time at a director’s suggestion, and the response was great, even hitting number one in ratings.” However, he confessed to feeling limited, adding, “Even though I hit peak ratings, whenever I went to negotiate for movie roles, I was told I was a ‘daily drama actor’.”

Expressing his frustration, Jaehee said, “I think any actor who has done daily dramas would relate to this. There is a perception that the status of actors in daily dramas is lower. I don’t know where that idea comes from.”

Because he wanted to act so badly, Jaehee felt he had no choice but to accept the daily drama offers that came his way. He explained, “A vicious cycle repeated where I only received offers for daily dramas. I thought things would change if I disappeared for a bit, so I decided to take a voluntary hiatus.”

During his three-year break, Jaehee tried other jobs. He revealed, “Because my face was known and I had some age, I wasn’t getting hired. I worked a lot in restaurant kitchens.” When Shin Jung-hwan suggested they could have done live broadcasts together during those three years, Jaehee added that he actually started live broadcasting a few months ago.