A Married 2nd Generation Idol-Actress Gets Real About Receiving Less Work, Earning Surprising Sympathy From Netizens

T-ARA‘s Jiyeon (also known as Park Ji Yeon) recently opened up about the amount of work she has received since getting married.

Jiyeon debuted in 2009 as a member of the girl group, T-ARA. Though the group went through many trials and tribulations, they remained active and busy til their indefinite hiatus in 2018, reuniting as four to release Re:T-ara in 2021.

As an actress, Jiyeon has appeared in multiple movies and K-Dramas, including the 2021 series Imitation.

In 2022, Jiyeon married professional baseball player Hwang Jae Gyun, sharing a wedding photoshoot that had fans in awe of the couple. Their married life together has been going well if the hints left by Hwang about what kind of wife she is are true!

It seems like some problems with her marriage that have nothing to do with her actual relationship have arisen.

On August 3, the star uploaded a vlog to her YouTube channel, where she talked about her difficulties involving working after getting married. She says that while she expected it to be difficult, it was still more challenging than expected.

Jiyeon: I expected that there will be some difficulties when we get married considering our jobs. But even if I expected it, now that I’m experiencing it myself…
Friend: It feels so hard
Jiyeon: Yeah. It was even harder at first. How could I…
Friend: Talk about that to others? 
Jiyeon: That’s true

She even remarks that she feels her life is “empty” and that everything she has done so far has been “hidden by marriage.”

My life felt so empty. It felt like the things I’ve done so far were being hidden by marriage.

— Jiyeon

While Jiyeon had a more positive outlook on her current situation, mentioning plans for her YouTube channel, her thoughts echoed those of netizens who commented on Song Joong Ki’s complaints of the same nature after the birth of his child.

Song Joong Ki Angers Netizens After “Insensitive” Comment About Parenthood And Losing Jobs

In an online forum post, K-netizens chimed in, showing support for Jiyeon and her thoughts about her current situation.

• We simply don’t get it because we don’t see her when she’s not active. It’s one thing to be on hiatus but still getting offers for variety shows, pictorials, and/or interviews. And she’s the one turning them down. It’s a completely different story if she’s not getting any work at all because she got married. Then she’s basically forced to remain on hiatus. Not the same.
• It makes no sense that marriages play such a huge part in celebrities’ careers. LOL. Also, some of your comments are not it
• I bet it’s a struggle for her to suddenly have nothing to do, after being so active for all these years. It’d be quite an adjustment to make… She has worked in the industry since she was so young, too. I bet the lack of work feels very emptying.
• I bet the fans are heartbroken.
• And Jiyeon is on the more popular side… Marriages are disadvantageous for women, period. T-T

Hopefully, Jiyeon will be able to find some fulfilling work soon if she so desires!