Jin Ki-joo's Resignation Email Resurfaces Amid 'Teach You a Lesson' Success

As the Netflix series Teach You a Lesson continues its successful global run, a piece of actor Jin Ki-joo’s corporate past is going viral online.

An email Jin reportedly sent to her colleagues at Samsung SDS years ago, just before pivoting to acting, has resurfaced and is making the rounds on Korean online communities and social media platforms.

In the message, Jin expressed gratitude to her former coworkers, reflecting on how fortunate she felt to begin her career surrounded by supportive people. "I feel truly fortunate to have met so many wonderful people at my first job," she wrote, adding that walking away from the company was a difficult choice. "Because it was such a great workplace, deciding to resign was not easy. But I have a dream that I felt I would regret in 10 or 20 years if I did not try now, so I worked up the courage."

She continued, "They say getting too comfortable leads to a frightening sense of complacency. That is why I decided to take the leap before it was too late."

Jin’s unconventional path to stardom has frequently drawn public interest. After graduating with a degree in computer engineering from Chung-Ang University, she joined the tech giant Samsung Group as part of its 52nd open recruitment cohort, working as an IT consultant for Samsung SDS. Following her departure, she worked briefly as a cub reporter for G1 Gangwon Television and competed as a supermodel before making her acting debut in the 2015 tvN drama Twenty Again.

Meanwhile, her current project, Teach You a Lesson, has been a major hit since its release. According to streaming analytics platform FlixPatrol, the show captured the No. 1 spot on Netflix’s top TV shows chart in South Korea and the Philippines, while consistently charting in the top tier in Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, and India. In the series, Jin stars as Lim Han-rim, a supervisor within the Teachers' Rights Protection Bureau, earning praise for her commanding screen presence and sharp action sequences.

For Jin, the viral resurgence of the email marks a full-circle moment, highlights a time when she walked away from a stable corporate career just as the path she chose instead achieves global recognition.