Beloved K-Drama Actress Admits She Lost Everything She Earned From Her Breakout Role

On July 5, in a new video uploaded to actress Baek Jin Hee’s YouTube channel, she spoke candidly with the production team about some of the most difficult moments she experienced while working in the entertainment industry.

While reflecting on her 20s, the actress recalled the moment her life changed through the MBC sitcom High Kick: Revenge of the Short Legged, which ended in 2012. Baek Jin Hee explained that before High Kick, she had lived like an ordinary person. After the sitcom, however, she suddenly began receiving public attention and found herself unable to comfortably go to places like supermarkets or subway stations.

But the sudden fame was not the only challenge she faced during that period. According to Baek Jin Hee, she also became involved in a double-contract controversy around the time she was beginning High Kick.

It was around the time I started High Kick. I was already under contract with a company, but my manager told me in the middle that the contract with the other company had ended. But it turned out that wasn’t true.

— Baek Jin Hee

As a result, Baek Jin Hee said she ended up in a double-contract situation. The actress explained that the issue became especially frightening because she was only just starting to become known to the public. In the end, Baek Jin Hee said she used the money she earned from High Kick to pay the penalty fees.

I paid the money I earned while doing High Kick as penalty fees… It was a life lesson. I learned that you shouldn’t trust people too much.

— Baek Jin Hee

Baek Jin Hee had previously spoken about the same controversy during an appearance on MBC’s Radio Star. At the time, she explained that when she was a senior in high school, a company contacted her after seeing one of her advertisements and signed a contract with her. Later, an executive from the company who had been managing her asked her to leave with him. According to Baek Jin Hee, the executive took her and one other actor to another company, where they signed new contracts. She believed the matter had been resolved with her previous agency. However, she later received a certified letter at home over the double-contract issue. Baek Jin Hee revealed that she had to pay more than 10 times the contract fee to her former company.

Read more about Baek Jin Hee here:

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