Eum Moon-seok, tears recalling his unknown days: "Daily income of 5,000 won... I only ate ramen and even got rashes" [You Quiz on the Block] [★Night TV]

*This content was translated by AI.

Actor Eum Moon-seok recalled his days before fame.

On the 5th, Eum appeared as a guest on tvN's variety program 'You Quiz on the Block'.

That day, Eum said, "My original dream was to be a dancer," and shared how he moved alone to Seoul at age 16 without any plan. He added, "I had no acquaintances there. I stayed with an older cousin who came along. After about three months, things started getting awkward. My cousin used to smile often, but his smiles gradually disappeared. Once you're out here, that's it," he said.

He continued, "Since I had nowhere to stay, I even slept in practice rooms. After coming out, I also slept near Baebae Station. But that was hard too. I needed to get close quickly with other dancers in Seoul. One day, I asked, 'Can I sleep at your house?' Since we weren't related by blood, staying at someone else's home meant only three days," he shared with a bittersweet story.

Eum recalled, "Eventually, I ended up staying in the attic of acquaintances' dormitories. Since I lived there without paying rent, all I could do was cook meals and do their laundry. There were five older men living there, and they all came home at different times. So I always slept leaning against the wall. Each of them had a distinct sound when climbing the stairs. I'd wake up, go downstairs, and greet them. It felt like they could see me sleeping."

He added, "Looking back now, it was quite sad. But at that time, it was my best shot, and I was happy."

Regarding his income back then, Eum said, "You can say there was almost no income. Even after working all day on broadcasts, I earned only 5,000 won. After buying bus fare, a triangle rice ball, bread, and milk, that was all I had to get through the day. For about 330 out of 365 days, I ate nothing but ramen. My tongue cracked, my eyes twitched, and rashes broke out on my skin that lasted into my twenties. Even rubbing them with saliva didn't make them go away."

Eum then explained why he never returned to his hometown in the middle of those struggles: "I wanted to be loved and didn't want to feel lonely. There were times I considered going back. One day, my father came to Seoul. After meeting him, he suddenly asked where I was going, took money out of his pocket, and gave it to me quickly. His wallet had no compartments, so the bills were all mixed up. I told him it was okay, but he insisted I keep it as emergency funds. He was leaving right away, and that was essentially his entire fortune. To me, it felt like he was giving me everything he owned. Seeing my father's back, I thought, 'I need to become tougher,' and 'I have to show him something somehow.' That feeling grew stronger," he said, his eyes welling up.

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*This content was translated by AI.