Actress Jung Ga Eun, runner-up at the 2001 Miss Korea South Gyeongsang Province pageant, has become a taxi driver to support herself and her daughter after her husband’s betrayal and departure.

According to The Star, Jung documented her journey to become a licensed taxi driver on her YouTube channel.

“With hard work, you can earn around 10 million won (US$7,293),” she said. “These days, even major companies don’t pay that much.”

Her decision to change careers came after a tumultuous few years. In 2018, Jung divorced her businessman husband, who was later discovered to have embezzled 13.2 billion won using her name. He has since fled overseas and left Jung to raise their daughter alone, without any financial support or child support payments.

Jung herself lost over 100 million won in her ex-husband’s scam. In a past interview, she recalled: “After my last film, there was no work. I looked at my bank account and felt completely lost.”

She admitted to once being terrified of financial insecurity, but now, she’s determined to live within her means.

“Things are still uncertain, but raising my child has made me stronger,” she shared.

With acting opportunities becoming rare, Jung decided to follow in the footsteps of her father, who had driven a private taxi for over 30 years and “raised her with that job.” Jung hopes to have her father, currently battling esophageal cancer, as her first passenger after passing the taxi driver exam.

Jung started her career in 2001 as a beauty contestant at the Miss Gyeongnam Seon pageant, where she secured the runner-up title. She later transitioned to becoming a fitting model and the face of CJ O Shopping’s clothing line. She soon rose to fame as a TV personality and made her acting debut in 2008. (VnExpress International: Text, Excluding Headline)