Lee Min Jung admits part of ‘gold spoon’ speculation but says life wasn’t always wealthy

Actress Lee Min Jung has addressed the long-standing speculation about her privileged background.

On September 9, through her YouTube channel 'Lee Min Jung MJ', the actress uploaded a video titled “From gold spoon rumors to Boys Over Flowers casting—everything revealed: Lee Min Jung’s Life Talk.” 

In the clip, she sat down with fellow actresses Lee So Yeon and Wang Bit Na to talk candidly about her past.

Lee confirmed that parts of the rumors are true, explaining, “It’s correct that my grandfather and uncle received presidential awards in the arts, and that my uncle was a KAIST  ('Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology' is South Korea’s top science and engineering university, often likened to MIT.) professor who worked at the Antarctic base. But if you look only at the financial side, it’s a bit of a stretch to call me a ‘gold spoon.’”

She added, “We weren’t always economically abundant. My father went through difficult times, and it made me realize the need to earn money. Experiencing lack and hardship was tough back then, but it also taught me to fill those gaps. Life can’t always be smooth. If you ask me if I was a ‘gold spoon,’ I’d say my parents gave me a good education, so in that sense yes—but I wasn’t the kind of gold spoon who could squander things.”

Her friends on the program expressed surprise, noting that she paid her own tuition and worked part-time during her university years. Lee reflected, “I like the saying that you should willingly endure hardship while young. My father’s difficulties when I was 19 or 20 became the biggest nourishment for my life later on.”