‘I was really struggling’: The unspoken career cost of motherhood in Korean showbiz

From left, Cha Chung-hwa, Kim Hee-sun and Park Ha-seon / Xportsnews

Several Korean actresses are opening up about the challenges they’ve faced due to pregnancy-related career interruptions, shedding light on a long-standing issue that resonates with many working women.

Actress Cha Chung-hwa recently revealed on Kim Jung-nan’s YouTube channel that she had to step down from three major roles after becoming pregnant.

“I dropped out of all three projects I had been cast in after getting pregnant,” she said. “They were big roles, but they involved action and I was playing a villain. I had never been pregnant before, so I didn’t understand how much my body would change. I thought I could handle it, but once I got to set, everything turned chaotic.”

Cha Chung-hwa / Captured from Kim Jung-nan's YouTube channel

Cha added, “I didn’t want my blessing to become a burden for everyone else, so I decided it was right to leave the projects. I ended up in tears.”

Other actresses, including Park Ha-seon and Kim Hee-sun, have also spoken candidly about the emotional and professional toll of stepping away from the spotlight after childbirth.

Park Ha-seon, appearing on KakaoTV’s web talk show “Shall We Talk?,” said she experienced a two-year career gap due to marriage, pregnancy and childrearing. “There are even some married actors who say they’ll only work with unmarried actresses,” she said. “Some of them have kids themselves. Because of that, I dropped lower in casting priority for a while.”

Hwang Bo-ra, who recently gave birth to a son, also expressed concern about how pregnancy could derail her career. “The moment people hear ‘that actress is pregnant,’ they assume she’ll take a year or two off. That’s the most vulnerable aspect of being an actress," she said on the YouTube channel Work Talk. "So many actresses disappear after having a child — even ones who debuted with me. That’s why I just couldn’t let go of work completely.”

Kim Hee-sun shared a similar experience on tvN’s “You Quiz on the Block,” saying she took a six-year break after getting married and having a child. “I was holding my baby and feeding her, while my former co-stars were landing great roles,” she said. “I felt like I was falling behind. I started wondering, ‘Is this the end for me as an actress because I’m a mom now?’ I was really struggling back then.”

Viewers reacted with sympathy and support, commenting, “Actresses are dealing with the same concerns as the rest of us,” “It’s amazing how active some actresses are even after childbirth” and “Why would someone refuse to work with a fellow married actress when they’re married themselves?”

As more celebrities speak openly about the emotional and professional toll of career interruptions caused by pregnancy and childbirth, the discussion is sparking broader calls for systemic changes to support working mothers in the entertainment industry.

This article from Xportsnews is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.