Actor Lee Dong-gun explains why his Jeju cafe closed after 18 months

Actor Lee Dong-gun has spoken out about closing the cafe he operated on Jeju Island after roughly a year and a half.

On Sunday's episode of the SBS variety program My Little Old Boy, Lee was shown visiting the new studio of space designer Yu Jeong-su alongside fellow actors Im Won-hee and Jo Jin-se.

Yu introduced the studio, which is equipped with plants and a swimming pool, and opened up about the demands of maintaining it. "I spend all day cleaning and it never ends," Yu said.

The conversation prompted Lee to reflect on running the cafe in Jeju. "The first thing I did when I got to the cafe was clean the pond," Lee said.

When Im raised the subject — "I heard there were rumors your Jeju cafe went under" — Lee set the record straight. "I'm just preparing to move it to Seoul," Lee said. "I ran it on Jeju Island for almost a year and a half, but going back and forth turned out to be a lot harder than I expected."

Lee added that the strain went beyond the commute. "I felt I was doing my best but still couldn't satisfy people, and that wore on me — so I talked it over with Yu," Lee said. "I decided I'd rather work harder somewhere closer, in Seoul, so I'm getting ready for that."

Lee opened the cafe in Aewol-eup, Jeju Island, in April last year, but suspended operations in July this year for what he described as reorganization. Two months later, a different store moved into the space, making it clear the cafe had permanently closed. The sudden closure had fueled speculation, which Lee's comments on Sunday appeared to put to rest.