Actor Jung Bo-seok closes family bakery, reinvents himself as cosmetics CEO

Actor Jung Bo-seok will reveal how he shut down the bakery cafe he once ran with his family and reinvented himself as a cosmetics entrepreneur.

The episode of KBS 2TV's "Sallimnaneun Namjadeul" Season 2 (a lifestyle reality show, also known as "Sallinam") airing Saturday at 10:35 p.m. will feature Jung, a 41-year veteran of acting, sharing his latest chapter as a cosmetics CEO alongside stories about his family.

"I've always had a strong interest in cosmetics, so I thought it would be great to develop my own products — that's how I ended up launching a cosmetics brand," Jung said on the program.

Jung commutes to an office set up on the ground floor of his home in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul, where he cuts a commanding figure as CEO. He also draws laughs by showing off his real-life couple chemistry with his wife, who serves as his manager.

Jung also visits the bakery his second son now runs independently. When Jung inspects every corner of the store, his son grows visibly nervous. "Whenever my father comes by, he goes around looking for something to criticize," the son confides.

The bakery carries a backstory. Jung had previously converted his Seongbuk-dong home to run a bakery cafe together with his second son, but eventually shut it down over the son's lax attitude toward the business.

Appearing on broadcaster Hwang Jung-eum's YouTube channel last August, Jung explained that after his son moved out, "my wife ended up handling everything from opening to closing." He added that his son would show up around 10 a.m. and leave for the gym by 5 p.m. Jung said he told his son to return after working out and handle the closing shift, but the son assumed his mother would take care of the store and never followed through.

"My wife was always saying her joints hurt from slicing and stacking bread. It broke my heart," Jung said, adding that after warning his son several times, he decided to close the cafe. The son subsequently gave up on that location and moved his operation to a new spot, where he continues to run the bakery.

In the same episode, Jung also apologizes to his family for not being more present for his children while he was busy with various business ventures.

His second son expressed some lingering hurt, saying, "My father always raised us very strictly. In my memory, he was generous with others but strict with me." He recalled being thrown out of the house for an hour simply for failing to greet his father when he came home.

Jung made his debut in 1986 and built a following through a wide range of projects, including the TV series "Roof Kick," "Giant," "Can You Hear My Heart" and "Oh! Samkwang Villa!"