'Best decision I ever made was getting divorced,' says actress who retired at 29 to marry

Actress Cha Hwa-yeon has opened up about why she abruptly retired at the height of her career at 29, the hardships of life as a daughter-in-law in a traditional clan household, and her candid feelings about marriage, motherhood and divorce.

Cha and her daughter Cha Jae-i appeared as guests on the tvN Story variety program "Namgyeoseo Mwohage," a lifestyle talk show that aired Monday.

That day, Cha spoke about why she suddenly stepped away from the entertainment industry after starring in the drama series "Sarang-gwa Yamang," which drew a peak viewership rating of 75 percent.

"I think I was just completely worn out," she said. "Writer Kim Soo-hyun's work is fun, but even now I don't think I could do it again. There were so many lines and the emotional performance was so intense that I had alopecia throughout the entire shoot."

Cha, who retired abruptly at 29, went straight into marriage and became a daughter-in-law in a traditional clan family.

"I got married, had children and fell in love with them," she said. "Looking back, I was running away into family life — I was so absorbed in the kids that I never even thought about working."

Her daughter Cha Jae-i pushed back gently, saying her mother was simply a natural homemaker. "I never once ate a hamburger from a restaurant growing up. Mom ground the patties herself, and she made our cakes and snacks from scratch," she said. "My only memories from childhood are playing with Mom and being happy."

Cha also surprised everyone by revealing that as a daughter-in-law in a clan household, she had prepared holiday feasts for 70 to 80 people entirely on her own, without any hired help.

"As the eldest daughter-in-law, we had so many guests during the holidays," she said. "Three days before, I'd go shopping, marinate the galbi, make sujeonggwa — all of it."

Actress Cha Hwa-yeon reveals why she suddenly announced her retirement at the peak of her career. [tvN Story "Namgyeoseo Mwohage" capture]

Cha also made a striking declaration: "The best decision I ever made, looking back, was getting divorced."

Fellow guests Lee Young-ja and Park Se-ri broke into applause at the remark. Cha added, "I think going through it once is fine. You learn a lot about life."

She went on to say she would still encourage her daughter Cha Jae-i to get married.

Cha made her debut in 1978 as a 20th-class talent recruit at TBC and rose to stardom through drama series including "Bit-gwa Geurimja" and "Sarang-gwa Yamang." She retired after marrying an older businessman in 1998 and devoted herself entirely to family life.

She returned to acting in 2008 through the SBS drama series "Aeja's Older Sister, Minja" and divorced the following year, in 2009.

yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com