South Korean actress Ku Hye-sun, who rose to fame with the Korean version of “Meteor Garden” (Boys Over Flowers), has seen a sharp decline in her acting career since her divorce from Ahn Jae-hyun in 2020. In recent years, she has rarely been seen on screen. However, she recently revealed on a reality show that she has returned to university to pursue her studies. Due to not having a place to stay in Seoul, she has resorted to sleeping in libraries and school parking lots in order to save time commuting.
After announcing her divorce four years ago at the age of 39, Ku Hye-sun applied to enroll at Chung-Ang University to complete her unfinished academic studies. She shared on the reality show “The Elegant Life” that she currently has no residence in Seoul, with her only accommodation being at her mother’s house in Incheon. During exam periods, she would save three to four hours of commuting time by sleeping in her car in the school parking lot, even preparing breakfast using a thermos of hot water and instant noodles in the car.
Regarding personal hygiene, Ku Hye-sun confessed, “I don’t understand why you need to shower every day.” This implies that she does not shower daily, instead managing to brush her teeth and wash her face in the school restroom, and using dry shampoo for her hair. She also revealed that she had previously rented a study room near the school, but due to the lease expiring, she has yet to find a short-term rental.
The episode of the show shocked many viewers, with comments expressing sympathy such as “Is it really comfortable to sleep in a car?” and “It sounds so tough.”
Ku Hye-sun entered Seoul Institute of the Arts in 2003, but later had to put her studies on hold due to her acting career. In 2011, she passed the admission exam for Chung-Ang University as a direct entry student. At the age of 26, she intended to complete her university studies but had to pause her education once again due to busy work schedules. In May 2019, Ku Hye-sun parted ways with PARTNERS Park and joined the entertainment agency HB Entertainment in June. However, in August of the same year, she agreed with actor Ahn Jae-hyun to divorce and left the company. In September, she took another break from her acting career to resume her studies.
On February 14th this year, Ku Hye-sun shared a graduation photo on Instagram wearing her bachelor’s gown. She happily announced that she had achieved her goal and graduated from Chung-Ang University with the highest honors. Her transcript showed that she scored 4.27 out of a total of 4.5, equivalent to 97.7 out of 100. Last December, her agency IOK Company, which renewed her contract, expressed its full support for her future endeavors.