As the oldest daughter, she had many burdens to carry.
1 hour ago
Actress Gong Seung Yeon, currently best known for her performance in Perfect Crown, recently made a candid confession about her real feelings regarding her sister Jeongyeon‘s success as a TWICE member.
Seung Yeon and Jeongyeon
Seung Yeon shared the story in her recent appearance on tvN‘s variety show, You Quiz on the Block.
While talking about the many struggles she went through to get her acting career rolling, Gong admitted that she went through a rough patch even after making her mark through the 2015 K-Drama Heard It Through The Grapevine. Following the project, she also made appearances on variety shows. However, no new project came her way for a long time.
The actress recalled that the money she had made in her early twenties had given her hope that she could keep steadily earning that type of income while chasing her dream of being an actress. However, the cold reality hit her hard, and soon she was left with so little money that she couldn’t even cover her rent, her insurance, or her pension premiums.
This financial stress pushed Seung Yeon to move back in with her parents and focus on honing her craft. She recalled “pleading” with her agency to send her to more auditions, promising to deliver good results. She prayed desperately to get cast and even wrote letters to casting directors in hopes of securing an opportunity.
While Seung Yeon was fighting tooth and nail for her career in this manner, her younger sister Jeonyeon had already achieved massive success as a member of TWICE. Talking about this juxtaposition of their lives, Seung Yeon made a poignant admission, saying that Jeongyeon’s success was bittersweet for her, since it made her feel like she was falling short as the older sibling.
I was happy that my sister was doing well. But I also harbored the oldest child’s mindset of ‘I have to do even better.’ My mom also wished that her oldest daughter would do well and help pull up her younger siblings. There were times when I felt like, as an older sister, I was falling short compared to my younger sister.
— Gong Seung Yeon
This candid confession of the actress has been met with sympathy and understanding from fans, along with high praise for her grit and refusal to give up.
Seung Yeon also talked about how failing to debut as an idol under SM Entertainment affected her life before she made it as an actress. Read more about it here:
Beloved Actress Reveals The Painful Reality Check That Helped Her Move On From SM Entertainment