'Marriage Lyrics For Divorce Music': Why did star Lee Tae-gon take such a long break from acting in 2013?
Over 2020, many people from across the world became obsessed with Korean dramas — and who can blame us? Most K-dramas are just one season long with around 16 hour-long episodes. The plot goes smoothly and it does not take much for us to fall in love with the characters and root for them.
Today, the names that are popular include Lee Min-ho, Kim Soo-Hyun, Park Seo-Joon and more of the younger actors. But rewind for about seven years and one of the biggest names in the Korean drama world then was Lee Tae-gon.
Unfamiliar with who he is? We don't blame you. Tae-gon was at the height of his career when he stopped taking offers for dramas and movies. At the time of his last drama, fans would anticipate new releases starring him because of his smooth acting and good looks.
Now, after a break of more than seven years, Lee Tae-gon is returning to the silver screen with his role in 'Marriage Lyrics for Divorce Music', penned by his longtime collaborator, Im Sung-han, who is infamous for extremely sensational plots and controversial lines.
In a statement to announce his return to acting, his agency said, "Lee successfully worked with Im previously. Im was still working on the plot, but Lee decided to take the role without hesitation because he had respect and trust for her."
Lee Tae-gon's acting career
In 2005, Lee Tae-gon received the SBS Award for New Actor, for his role in the SBS drama, 'Dear Heaven', his first drama and his first time working with Im Sung-han. Since then, Tae-gon had in other dramas as the main lead or as a support role, such as his roles in 'Winter Bird', 'Detective Mr Lee' and 'My Life's Golden Age'.
But it was his role in the 2009 MBC drama, 'Assorted Gems', also written by Im Sung-han, that Tae-gon had his breakthrough. That year, he was nominated for the Best Couple Award with co-star Go Na-eun. The following year, Tae-gon won the MBC PD Award for his role in 'Golden Fish'. For the same role, he was nominated for the Top Excellence Award and the Grand Award.
It was his role in the 2011 historical drama, 'King Gwanggaeto the Great', as the titular king that cemented Tae-gon's place in the Korean television industry. He was lauded by critics and fans, his grace and demeanor deemed perfect for the role of a king. For this role, he was nominated for KBS' Top Excellence Actor Award and won the Excellence Award for an Actor in a serial drama.
His next and last role for a while was in 2013 for the drama, 'One Well-Raised Daughter'. Again, Tae-gon received praise for his performance and was nominated for SBS's Excellence Award in 2014 for the role.
At this point, it felt like Tae-gon would be nominated no matter what he acted in. Anticipation for his next drama was high, but fans were kept waiting. It is only in the 2021 drama, 'Marriage Lyrics for Divorce Music' that he would make a return to acting.
Why did Lee Tae-gon take a break from acting?
Tae-gon may have stopped acting in dramas, but he continued to appear on television, making many appearances on variety shows. He appeared as a guest on shows like 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' and 'I Live Alone'. Something must have clicked in the latter, because Tae-gon became a regular member on 'I Live Alone', acting in over 30 episodes.
He also appeared on other variety entertainment shows such as the 'Law of the Jungle' series, 'A Man Who Feeds the Dog', 'One Night Sleepover Trip' and 'City Fisherman'.
It is not clear why Tae-gon took a break from the acting industry as he has kept details of his private life mum, with very little details available publicly. One of the few things we know about his personal life was that he was accused of assault by two men in 2017. However, as police investigated, they found out that the two men, in turn, had assaulted Tae-gon for refusing to give a handshake.
Tae-gon was left shaken by the experience. During his appearance on 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator', Soompi reported that he spoke of the situation, saying, "I think I pushed through by mental willpower, for the sake of my future. This was the first time I regretted being a celebrity. I was so stressed and angry, and I didn’t have any way to release these emotions.”
Now, however, fans of Tae-gon can rejoice. It has certainly been too long since he took on a good role and we hope this is the beginning of another successful, and hopefully long run in Korean dramas.
'Marriage Lyrics for Divorce Music' premieres on TV Chosun/Netflix on January 23.
