"I Thought about Giving Up Acting" Park Seo Jun Opens Up about His Burnout Experience

Actor Park Seo Jun shared his experience with burnout while filming 'Itaewon Class'.

On September 24, Netflix Korea posted a video on its YouTube channel featuring Park Seo Jun, the star of Netflix's TV series 'Gyeongseong Creature 2', as a guest.

In the video, Park Seo Jun said there were times he considered giving up his acting career.

"I felt that way when I had a hard time making my debut.", the actor said, adding, "And there was also a time when I thought about giving up after debut."

The actor then discussed a challenge he faced while filming JTBC's hit TV series 'Itaewon Class'.

"Not that I really wanted to retire, but I think I experienced a significant burnout.", Park Seo Jun reflected.
Park Seo Jun continued, "I felt okay while on set. But after being surrounded by people, I felt a sense of emptiness when I came home. The feeling got bigger and bigger until it finally exploded. It started to affect my health and subsequently my mental state."

"I wanted to push through. I thought, 'I must overcome this.'. But it felt like running with bags of sand on each leg.", the actor expressed.

When asked how he overcame the burnout, Park Seo Jun replied, "Well, I couldn't get over it."

"I could have endured that period because of my sense of responsibility. I was responsible for the project, so I kept going no matter what. But the best thing I could do was to accept the situation. I tried to think that such things can happen to anyone and that I'll be okay someday."
Thankfully. Park Seo Jun said he has regained his passion for acting.

"The filming for 'Gyeongseong Creature 2' wrapped up in September last year. So, I've been away from the acting scene for a year. Now I want to return.", the actor said.

He added, "When I was having burnout, it was during the prolonged period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The release dates for the three projects I finished filming kept getting pushed back."

"I was constantly filming projects, but none of them was getting released. I could at least get reactions from the audience when a project of mine gets released. Staying at the filming sites without getting any reactions about my project made me feel disconnected.", the actor recalled.

(Credit= 'Netflix Korea 넷플릭스 코리아' YouTube)

(SBS Star)