Women extend their acting careers

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Women extend their acting careers

In local entertainment circles, big-time actresses used to disappear from the public eye soon after getting married. Lately, however, a number of married actresses are returning to the small screen after lengthy hiatuses, much to the delight of their fans.

Kim Tae-hee, who married the singer Rain in January 2017 and gave birth to two daughters, will resume her career by appearing in the upcoming tvN drama “Hi Bye, Mama!” in the first half of next year.

The drama tells the story of a housewife who dies in an accident and shows up as a ghost in front of her husband and daughter.

The actress Jun Ji-hyun, who gave birth to her second son in January 2018, has announced her plan to return to the small screen after a three-year break. She is set to make a cameo appearance in the second season of the Netflix drama series “Kingdom” which will also be released in the first half of 2020.

Jun’s decision to appear in a new drama drew enormous media attention, though her role in Kingdom’s second season has been kept confidential. Jun has been out of the limelight since making her last TV appearance in the SBS TV drama “Legend of the Blue Sea” in 2017. The 37-year-old Jun, known as Gianna Jun outside of Korea, married Choi Jun-hyeok, the second son of famous fashion designer Lee Jung-woo, in 2012. She gave birth to her first son in February 2016.

Lee Young-ae has appeared in a number of TV shows since returning to the small screen in 2017 in the SBS drama “Saimdang, Light’s Diary.”

Lee, who appeared with her husband and their twin son and daughter on the SBS show “Master in the House,” said last month that she expects her new film “Bring Me Home” to be a turning point in her acting career and her life as the mother of two children.

Her last appearance on the big screen was in Park Chan-wook’s crime thriller film “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” (2005), in which she played a revenge-seeking single mother. In “Bring Me Home,” she again takes a role as a mother in search of her lost child who faces strong rejection from people in a small fishing village.

The actress Lee Bo-young, who gave birth to her second child this year, is reportedly planning to appear in a tvN drama together with actor Yoo Ji-tae in the first half of next year.

Lee Na-young, who gave birth to a son after marrying actor Won Bin in 2015, returned to the small screen early this year after a nine-year hiatus with her appearance in the tvN drama “Romance is a Bonus Book.”

Han Ga-in, who returned to TV in the OCN drama “Mistress” last year after a six-year break, has been quiet since giving birth to her second child last May, but she is also expected to resume her acting career soon.

Commentators say married actresses returning to the screen after giving birth is a natural phenomenon.

“In the past, the acting career of domestic actresses was very short. In particular, their roles were significantly diminished after marriage and childbirth. These days, however, the climate has changed due to the abundance of women-oriented dramas and characters,” pop culture critic Ha Jae-geun said.

“The improved status of women and the reevaluation of actresses as professionals appear to have widened their activities. As acting reflects one’s own life, marriage, childbirth and parenting have also provided an opportunity for actresses to broaden their understanding of life and acting,” he explained.

Yonhap
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