Lee Jung-jae’s gambling addiction and spiral of debt caused him to lose everything – his family, his house, his career, and all of his money. But it didn’t stop there. The actor starred in the movie Squid Game , where he plays Seong Gi-hun, an irresponsible father and compulsive gambler who owes money to a loan shark after losing all of his savings playing pai gow poker in Macau. In the beginning of the film, Seong Gi-hun loses every penny at the casino and his wife throws him out of their home with their young daughter. Lee Jung-jae’s Gambling Addiction Caused Him to Lose Everything
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Child actor turned leading man
Lee Jung-jae’s incredible journey from child actor to leading man is one of Korea’s best kept secrets. From his first role in Moon Soo-youn’s 456 to The Good, The Bad, The Weird and Ode To My Father, Lee has proven himself as a skilled actor with strong screen presence and emotional depth. Although most fans associate him with roles that require a somber temperament, Lee also showed that he can be lighthearted and humorous as seen in Dongju: The Portrait of A Poet and His Family, Gangnam Blues, One Way Trip and many more! Check out some of his best performances.
Choosing roles based on role depth
Though Lee has enjoyed a steady acting career throughout his life, he doesn’t really want to be an actor. Instead, he wants to do character roles where the characters come out of my own experience. It wasn’t until Lee became a father at age 40 that he decided to star in Jang Hoon’s award-winning 456 (2002), playing a divorced, gambling addict—partly based on himself. Since then, he has gained critical praise for his portrayals of middle-aged fathers struggling with family and financial issues. In 2013, Lee made his directorial debut with Just Getting Started, starring alongside Hollywood veteran Morgan Freeman.
Love doesn’t always equal happiness
I thought having someone I love would be enough, but I was wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I’m lucky enough to have a daughter from my ex-wife and she’ll forever be in my heart; however, loving someone doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll always be happy. If you want true happiness, make sure that it comes from inside yourself and not from your partner. It’s not worth ruining your life for love.
Pride comes before a fall
Kim Seong Gi (Lee Jung-Jae) is a former government worker and now unemployed, divorced chauffeur. He frequently loses money at mahjong and has accumulated massive debts. He also owes $466,000 to an illegal casino for paying off his losses over 20 years. The only thing he has left of value is his 1992 Nissan President luxury car worth $20,000. On Christmas Eve after losing all his money gambling with Won Woo Jin (Kim Kap Soo), a rich old friend he hasn’t seen in 15 years, Kim Seong Gi drives home intoxicated and falls asleep at the wheel when crossing a bridge due to his exhaustion from work during winter storms which leaves him hospitalised but alive.
Even actors need to earn money
Lee Jung Jae, more commonly known as Seong Gi Hun, filed for bankruptcy back in 2008 and was once an internationally known Korean actor. In 2009 Lee was spotted working as a taxi driver. He is also divorced and maintains sole custody of his daughter after his former wife left him with nothing but debt. Before his marriage crumbled in 2007, he reportedly had a gambling addiction that lasted ten years and cost him 456 million won ($370,000). It is believed that Lee spent most of his money on Russian roulette while playing poker.
Parents sometimes make sacrifices for their children
from being a working mom or dad to moving out of their home and relocating so their kids can go to a better school. But Lee Joon-gi’s parents gave up everything for him when he was young, even divorcing each other so that their son could live a better life. When Lee Joon-gi was still a boy, his parents divorced so that his mother could work in Japan and earn more money for her family. His father lived with his grandmother and would send money back home every month.
A gift from Lees first wife
Lee is a divorced chauffeur and gambling addict. He lives with his mother and struggles to support his daughter financially. He participates in the game to settle his many debts, and to prove himself financially stable enough to have custody of his daughter. Lee has revealed that he was given an expensive watch by his first wife as a gift when they were married, but that she took it back when they divorced. Later, after he went bankrupt because of gambling, he sold it on an online auction site in order to pay off debtors and started betting on sports games again. My ex-wife was hurt when I sold it, said Lee.
The pride of winning causes despair
Seong Gi-hun is a divorced chauffeur and gambling addict. He lives with his mother and struggles to support his daughter financially. He participates in [Love Game] in order to settle his many debts, and to prove himself financially stable enough to have custody of his daughter. The game gives him temporary relief from reality, as he can indulge in fantasies without consequence, but after each round Seong comes back more haunted by his past mistakes than before. In spite of everything he has achieved during [Love Game], Seong Gi-hun becomes a temporary participant just for another chance at winning because winning makes him feel validated: it was what brought him love and money before and it is something that he thinks will fill his life with meaning again.
Let it go attitude saves you from debt
According to Lee, he dropped out of high school when he was a second year student, and because his family did not have enough money for him to complete his education at a special school, he had to support himself. He started working as a waiter at a Chinese restaurant. At that time, Lee says his gambling addiction started. He could not make much money from his salary so he used company money for gambling and lost everything. When one day when Lee was told that they were holding an audition in their office, Lee decided it was time for him to get back on track with his life and went there without telling anyone about it.
Small choices lead to bigger problems
Lee admits that his life began spiraling out of control after he had a motorcycle accident and racked up debts in hospital bills. After paying them off, he didn’t want to return to living paycheck-to-paycheck, so he turned to gambling. I wanted freedom, Lee said, the freedom to be my own boss. He worked at a variety of jobs after quitting his job as a taxi driver but says none suited him. When asked if his family knew about his addiction, Lee said no; he was embarrassed by it and tried to keep it from them. He never told anyone about his debts either; by lying about money, Lee continued gambling so that people would think he was doing fine financially and not know about how desperate he really was.
Q & A
Who is Gi-Hun in Squid Game?
Gi-Hun is a gaming addict who is so desperate for money that he has been borrowing from loan sharks. He has fallen deep into debt and owes more than 1,000,000 KRW (about $1,053 USD). In order to settle his debts, he participates in a game organized by Tam Yi-sang [Song Kang-ho] (송강호), which allows one person out of 100 people to win 10 million KRW.
Is Lee Jung-Jae a doctor?
Why has Lee Jung Joon been showing up on doctor dramas lately? Does he want to be a doctor or something? ᄏᄏᄏHe’s also filming two other drama right now, i think. He plays a doctor and a patient in both so i guess he’s just having fun. But why can’t he play something else instead of always being doctors? His image is going downhill.. ᅲᅲ I thought you were a fan?
Who is Lee Min Jung married to?
Lee Min-jung married Lee Byung Hun on September 9, 2013. The two met on set of Inside Men in 2014 and got engaged on November 28, 2016. Lee Min Jung is known as a big sister figure for her younger co-stars in the entertainment industry and she often buys food for them when they are hungry. She is very popular with younger actors like Yoo Seung Ho, Park Bo Gum, Kim Woo Bin and many more.
Can Jung-Jae Lee speak English?
No, he can’t. He had been at a boarding school in Switzerland for most of his childhood and hadn’t learned to speak English fluently. His high school was also in Korea so he didn’t have much opportunity to practice speaking English either.
What is Lee Jung Jae famous for?
Lee Jung Jae is a South Korean actor. He is known for his leading roles in family dramas such as It’s Okay, Daddy’s Girl (2006), Baby and I (2007), and You Are My Destiny (2009). Lee has also starred in television series Bridal Mask (2012) and City Hunter (2011). In 2012, he received a nomination for Best Actor at 48th Baeksang Arts Awards for his performance in Bridal Mask. In 2013, he won Popularity Award at 49th Baeksang Arts Awards for City Hunter.
Will there be Season 2 of Squid Game?
Lee revealed that his gambling addiction has gotten so bad that he’s borrowed more than $4 million from loan sharks. He has even been hospitalized multiple times due to his addiction, which seems like it will be an issue in future episodes. Although Lee revealed that his son paid off all of his debt, he admitted in episode 8 that he is still addicted and will probably continue to gamble again once he clears his current debts with game winnings. Although things are looking up for him now, if he does get sucked back into gambling, we can’t see a Season 2 happening at all. Since