It seems that Lee Heejun and Lee Jehoon's appearances on variety shows turned out to be poison rather than benefit. Both actors revealed their true personalities behind their characters in dramas by appearing on various variety shows. However, they failed to gain public favor and instead were highlighted for their flaws.
Song Joongki and Lee Heejun appeared as guests on the episode of JTBC's 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' on January 12th. Lee Heejun drew attention with his unique behavior and remarks on the show. He stated, "I don't care about taste," and dipped vegetables in truffle oil, which made viewers raise their eyebrows. The ingredients in his refrigerator reflected Lee Heejun's comfortable lifestyle.
He expressed self-pity, saying, "I feel sorry for myself because I have to finish my meals within 15 to 20 minutes." However, most office workers find this difficult to relate. His statement about having rice and seaweed soup cooked by his wife every morning also lacked consistency. In the scene where he was moved by Chef Choi Hyunsuk's dish, Lee Heejun repeatedly said, "I feel sorry for myself because I've been working so hard that I forgot how to appreciate taste." This reaction came off as exaggerated and unnatural.
The most controversial part was his attitude towards Chef Kim Poong. When the chef chose him, Lee Heejun couldn't hide his expressions and showed a rude behavior towards the chef's dish. He even ignored Song Joongki's positive reaction. Despite gaining popularity through his stable acting skills in previous works, Lee Heejun's behavior in 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' fell short of the viewers' expectations, negatively impacting his image.
Meanwhile, Lee Jehoon's appearance on tvN's 'Rented in Finland,' is also receiving disappointing reactions. The program, which aired its first episode on January 6, gained high expectations with its fresh lineup including Lee Jehoon, Lee Dongho, Kwak Dongyeon, and Cha Eunwoo. However, it has been criticized as 'A celebrity travel show lacking both fun and emotion' after its release.
In particular, viewers are feeling disappointed with Lee Jehoon's lack of basic life skills. The scene where he couldn't even make scrambled eggs properly, despite being in his 40s, sparked debate among viewers. Since he usually runs an independent film Youtube channel and has always shown his cute side on variety shows, there were high expectations that he would also be charming in terms of his life skills. However, this turned out to be a point of criticism.
'Rented in Finland' started with a viewer rating of 3.3% for its first episode. However, the ratings have dropped to 2.4% in recent episodes. He also received similar criticism when he appeared on JTBC's 'Traveler' in 2019, which further increased his disappointment.
Actors often appear on variety shows to showcase their true personalities beyond their characters in dramas and to connect with the viewers on a more personal level. Lee Heejun and Lee Jehoon likely anticipated positive reactions as they challenged themselves to appear on variety shows. However, instead of showing a different and charming side of themselves, they ended up revealing their disappointing sides. This led to public criticism that their appearance on the show was a worse choice than not appearing at all.
theqoo
-ㅋㅋㅋ It seems like everyone's thinking the same thing. I also thought his behavior on 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' was such a turn-offㅋㅋ
-It's not like they asked him to make side dishes... I can totally understand why people think it's such a turn-off when he couldn't even make a simple scrambled egg. I didn't think much of it, though... But did he really deserve to get criticized for that...?
-It’s not a crime for Lee Jehoon to not know how to cookㅋㅋㅋㅋ 'm not sure about Lee Heejun's concept, but it was rude of him to disrespect Kim Poong. Kim Poong chose to cook for him and he straight up said that he didn't like Kim Poong's cooking style. I got secondhand embarrassment while watching that.
-Compared to Lee Heejun's case, Lee Jehoon is actually adorable.
-All Lee Jehoon did was being not being able to cook. But he diligently helped others prepare breakfast, helped the others cooking, and even worked hard to clean up. He doesn't deserve this level of criticismㅠㅠ
-We're living in a world where you get criticized for not knowing how to make scrambled eggs...
-I didn't watch Lee Jehoon's show, so I don't know much. But honestly, Lee Heejun surprised me.
-Lee Jehoon just doesn't have that sense, that's just how he is. Besides, it's not like he ever has to cook for himself. So, I don't think he should be criticized just because of that.
-Is not knowing how to cook the same as being rude? Anyway, thankfully, neither of them are my husband.
-Honestly, I’m not even a fan, but I don’t get why Lee Jehoon is being criticized so muchㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅠㅠ His scrambled egg did surprise me, but other than that, there was nothing really wrong with him.
-No matter how bad you are at cooking, I just don't understand why he had to dump that much salt in the scrambled egg... I'd understand if he usually eats that salty, though.
-You really need to watch Lee Jehoon's clips... For me, it wasn't even the butter that surprised me. It's the salt. Whoa... I couldn't even say anything because it was so absurd.
-Other than that, Lee Jehoon was really good at cleaning and tidying up. He was also a great helper to Cha Eunwoo while he was cooking.
-Lee Heejun was really disappointing on 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator'
-I'm not a celebrity, so I don't know, but sometimes I think celebrities who maintain a normal, everyday person's sensibility are truly amazing.
