Korean actress Song Hye Kyo, 43, appeared on a recent episode of talkshow You Quiz On The Block — her first variety show appearance in 23 years — and she got candid about the hardships she faced in her almost three decades-long career.
Hye Kyo, who stars in upcoming horror film Dark Nuns, admitted to being “very hard on herself” when it comes to her job. When watching her own shows, she would often think of how she did not perform up to her expectations.
“This is boring to me, the viewers watching it must be very bored too,” she said she would think to herself.
“You don’t have a range of expressions” and “you’re not good at acting” were other criticisms she had of herself.
She started acting at 15, and believed she would get more comfortable at her job as time passed. However, even in her 20s and 30s, she realised things “were still hard”.
The thought of taking a break from acting did cross her mind.
Hye Kyo also spoke about dealing with rumours.
“After working for a long time, I didn’t even realise it but I [started to] hear a lot of rumours floating around. When I’m doing interviews or when I’m hanging out with people I’m not close to, they would ask about the rumours,” she said.
Her go-to reply? “I heard that too. You should ask the person who started it. I don’t know about that either, how am I supposed to answer?”
“I’ve had so many bad things said about me that I’m okay with it now, honestly. I’ve gotten used to malicious comments, but when my family is affected, it’s a little heartbreaking.”
Though Hye Kyo knows this is part and parcel of her job, there have been moments when she thought that it was “too much”.
“How did you get through those times?” asked host Jo Seho.
Hye Kyo revealed she confided in screenwriter Noh Hee Kyung, and credited the latter for giving her good advice.
“She told me that I have to first love myself in order to share love with the people around me. But I didn’t know how to do that,” said Hye Kyo.
Under Hee Kyung’s advice, Hye Kyo began to practice self-reflection twice a day.
“When I wake up, I think about how I’m going to spend my day, what kind of life I’m going to lead. And in the evening before bed, I write down 10 things I was grateful for that day. I did that every day for five years,” she said.
She finally stopped that practice last year.
“On the first day, I had to write 10 things I was grateful for, but I couldn’t think of a single one. It’s not like I was particularly grateful for anything,” she said.
Thankfully, there was Hee Kyung who led her in the right direction, telling her that she should grateful for the little things like nice weather, good food, and her dog’s health
“When I started to appreciate the little things like that, I realised I had many,” she said.