{"id":2317576,"date":"2026-03-07T21:45:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T21:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2317576"},"modified":"2026-03-07T21:45:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T21:45:33","slug":"from-tv-fame-to-spiritual-paths-korean-stars-embrace-life-as-shamans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/from-tv-fame-to-spiritual-paths-korean-stars-embrace-life-as-shamans\/","title":{"rendered":"From TV fame to spiritual paths: Korean stars embrace life as shamans"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
\"From<\/p>\n
\n

From left, Kim Ju-yeon, Lee Gun-joo and Hwang Chan-hee \/ Captured from JTBC, TV Chosun, and KBS 2TV<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A growing number of former celebrities are turning to life as shamans, drawing significant public interest over their unexpected career transitions.<\/p>\n

On Aug. 21, comedian Kim Ju-yeon appeared on JTBC\u2019s variety show \u201cDon\u2019t be the First One!\u201d and revealed that she has been working as a shaman. Kim debuted in 2006 as part of MBC\u2019s 15th open recruitment for comedians and rose to fame through the sketch \u201cJu-yeon-ah\u201d on MBC\u2019s \u201cIt\u2019s A Gag.\u201d That same year, she won the Best New Actress Award in the comedy\/sitcom category at the MBC Entertainment Awards.<\/p>\n

After \u201cIt\u2019s A Gag\u201d was canceled in 2009, Kim shifted her focus to other programs such as \u201cLaugh and Laugh,\u201d \u201cFall in Comedy,\u201d and \u201cComedy Road.\u201d However, her TV appearances gradually decreased, and she eventually disappeared from the entertainment scene.<\/p>\n

Making a rare appearance on the JTBC show, Kim told hosts Choi Yang-rak and Paeng Hyun-sook, \u201cI\u2019ve been a shaman for a while now,\u201d surprising many viewers.<\/p>\n

\"Kim<\/p>\n
\n

Kim Ju-yeon \/ Captured from JTBC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Kim shared, \u201cI suffered from a spiritual illness. I had heavy bleeding for two years, and I suddenly had high fevers and intense pain that kept me from going outside. I couldn\u2019t eat or sleep for two months and lost 12 kilograms. I even went to a psychiatrist, thinking I was losing my mind, but they found nothing wrong. Since there\u2019s no family history, I didn\u2019t realize it was a spiritual illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim recalled being hospitalized when her heart rate dropped to 20 beats per minute, saying, \u201cNormally, isn\u2019t it around 100? They thought I might die from shock, so they put me in diapers and wouldn\u2019t even let me go to the bathroom alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite spending between 100 million and 200 million won ($74,000\u2013$148,000) on rituals to resist receiving the \u201cdivine spirit,\u201d her symptoms worsened, eventually leading to partial paralysis.<\/p>\n

\"Lee<\/p>\n
\n

Lee Gun-joo \/ Captured from TV Chosun<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Actor Lee Gun-joo, best known for his role as Soon-dol in the 1980s hit drama \u201cThree Families Under One Roof,\u201d has also transitioned to life as a shaman. After achieving nationwide fame through TV dramas and commercials, Lee revealed his new path on TV Chosun\u2019s \u201cDad and Me\u201d in March, explaining that he had become a shaman eight months earlier and even established a personal shrine. According to Lee, reservations for his spiritual consultations are fully booked until mid-February 2026.<\/p>\n

Describing his initiation, Lee said, \u201cI met my spiritual mentor, who dressed me in ceremonial clothing, handed me a fan and bells, and told me to run. As soon as I started running, I felt a sudden sense of relief, a lump rising in my chest and tears streaming down my face.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Hwang<\/p>\n
\n

Hwang Chan-hee \/ Captured from KBS 2TV<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Singer Hwang Chan-hee also appeared on KBS 2TV\u2019s \u201cAM Plaza\u201d on Aug. 13, revealing that she drew courage from Lee\u2019s story and has likewise become a practicing shaman.<\/p>\n

Upon hearing the unexpected updates about these former celebrities, online users reacted with mixed feelings, leaving comments such as \u201cYou\u2019re amazing for living the life given to you,\u201d \u201cSome destinies can\u2019t be avoided,\u201d \u201cI was wondering why Soon-dol disappeared from TV, but now I understand,\u201d and \u201cThere\u2019s a fine line between being a star and being a shaman.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article from Xportsnews is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.koreatimes.co.kr \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From left, Kim Ju-yeon, Lee Gun-joo and Hwang Chan-hee \/ Captured from JTBC, TV Chosun, and KBS 2TV A growing number of former celebrities are turning to life as shamans, drawing significant public interest over their unexpected career transitions. On Aug. 21, comedian Kim Ju-yeon appeared on JTBC\u2019s variety show \u201cDon\u2019t be the First One!\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2317577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2317576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/From-TV-fame-to-spiritual-paths-Korean-stars-embrace-life.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2317576"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2317578,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317576\/revisions\/2317578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2317577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2317576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2317576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2317576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}