The "Celebrity Disease" of a Female Instructor Who Gained Fame: No Cure in Sight [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Social Studies instructor Lee Do (28) has found herself at the center of controversy for prioritizing variety show activities while neglecting her students.

Lee Do is a graduate of the Department of Geography Education at the College of Education, Seoul National University, and has taught Korean Geography and World Geography as a Social Studies instructor affiliated with Etoos.

Thanks to such an impressive background, Lee Do received significant attention for appearing in Season 1 of Netflix's dating reality show, "Born Solo but Wanting Love" (Mosal Romance), in 2025. Subsequently, having quickly transformed into a "star instructor," Lee Do boosted her public recognition by revealing her daily routine of preparing lectures with passion on MBC's "Omniscient Interfering Viewpoint."

However, despite gaining popularity by highlighting her professional side as a "geography otaku" instructor, Lee Do ironically brought controversy upon herself by gradually pushing her main job to the back burner.

Above all, Lee Do always cited "health" issues as the reason. Last year, she stated, "My corneal condition has worsened, making it difficult to look at monitors and write teaching materials." In response, Etoos issued a notice stating, "We will provide only some new lectures, while the rest of the curriculum will be covered by existing lectures."

Even on the 29th of last month, with just three weeks left until the 2027 College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), Lee Do said, "I prioritized lectures over my health and lived that way for several years, until abnormal signals began appearing in my body one by one," announcing that she would not be able to conduct the remaining lectures for the Korean Geography and World Geography curriculum for the 2027 CSAT. She added, "Following medical advice, I have decided to spend the remainder of 2026 taking time to care for myself for the first time."

However, such reasons appeared as excuses, ultimately holding Lee Do back. Immediately after dropping her lectures due to deteriorating health, Lee Do announced her appearance on Netflix's brain survival reality show, "Devil's Plan: Dead Again" (hereinafter referred to as "Devil's Plan 3"). On the 7th, she even opened a personal YouTube channel. Furthermore, Lee Do posted a short video titled "Devil's Plan D-3, Waiting While Eating Devil Cookies," actively promoting the broadcast.

As a result, fierce criticism poured in from students, and public opinion among netizens is also boiling with condemnation.

In particular, Lee Do delivered an even greater betrayal to her students by "self-confessing" that she had directly sent a love call to PD Jeong Jong-yeon to appear on "Devil's Plan 3." At the "Devil's Plan 3" production press conference attended on the 5th after declaring the suspension of her main job, she said, "When I met PD Jeong at a Netflix event last year, I begged him to please give me one chance if he were producing 'Devil's Plan 3.' I have been a huge fan of PD Jeong's variety shows since I was young, so I even revealed my CSAT score. It was the stage of my dreams, and I was truly desperate."

As such remarks spread, the controversy over Lee Do's attitude has expanded uncontrollably.

Ultimately, Etoos stepped forward to issue a public apology. On the 9th, Etoos posted an article titled "[Etoos] A Message to Instructor Lee Do's Students" in the instructor notice section of its official homepage. They stated, "We have caused great worry to Lee Do's students during this important period leading up to the CSAT," and continued, "On October 29, there was a notice under Instructor Lee Do's own name informing that she would not conduct the remaining lectures for this year. Etoos has been coordinating schedules with the instructor and supporting filming to ensure lectures continued normally until now, but the agreed-upon schedule was ultimately not kept due to the instructor's circumstances. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to your studies."

Along with this, Etoos conveyed that they would "make the Q&A board private and promptly answer inquiries related to courses individually through the customer center or 1:1 inquiries."

Amid the public condemnation, Lee Do is set to meet viewers with "Devil's Plan 3" on the 10th, and the controversy surrounding her is expected to continue.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original