Ban Hyo-jeong, 20-Year Bond Started by Giving Her Number to a Former Manager

The 83-year-old actress Ban Hyo-jeong has a manager who has stayed by her side for 20 years. As they have been together for a long time, they share a familiar relationship, but this connection did not flow naturally from the beginning. Rather, Ban Hyo-jeong first handed her personal contact information to a manager who had once quit working for her, reconnecting a bond that was nearly severed, and that short request eventually led to a 20-year companionship.

In a video released on the YouTube channel 'Kim Young-ok' on the 7th, Kim Young-ok and Ban Hyo-jeong are shown traveling to Ganghwado Island with their respective managers. In the conversation shared by the two actresses as they comfortably enjoyed the trip with their managers, a natural trust and intimacy that only people who have been together for a long time can possess was evident.

When Kim Young-ok looked at Ban Hyo-jeong's manager and asked, "How many years have you been taking care of her?" Ban Hyo-jeong laughed and replied, "20 years? I spent my youth [doing this]." It means she has watched a person's prime, middle age, and old age from up close. Considering that the relationship between an actor and a manager in the entertainment industry is typically formed around work, the 20-year period itself is quite an exceptional record.

There was an emotional bond between the two that went beyond simple professional trust. While choosing food at a cafe, Ban Hyo-jeong's manager said, "When the teacher eats, she doesn't say whether it's delicious or not in a picky way. If I recommend something, she says, 'I think it's delicious.'" Ban Hyo-jeong immediately replied, "One hundred percent, one hundred percent." This part shows that a relationship where the manager's recommendations are trusted and accepted was built over many years.

Ban Hyo-jeong also found the secret to their long companionship in the manager's character. She said, "Celebrities have severe mood swings, so it is difficult to stay together for a long time," adding, "The reason time has passed like this is because he endured and understood that." This also points out that the role of a manager, who must handle an actor's emotions and life up close, does not stop at simple schedule management. Ultimately, it means that what enables long-term companionship is not just contracts or work efficiency, but the power of a relationship that endures and understands one another.

What is interesting is the fact that their connection almost broke once. At that time, the manager had stopped working with Ban Hyo-jeong and was working at another company. It seemed they were walking their own paths, but one day, a call came from Ban Hyo-jeong. Ban Hyo-jeong reportedly gave him her new number, saying, "My cell phone number has changed. Save this number."

The manager remembered that moment as special. He recalled, "I have never seen a case where an actor directly contacts a manager who worked for them only briefly. But the teacher did." In the industry, many people meet and part ways, and it is not uncommon for relationships to end along with the conclusion of work. In such a situation, Ban Hyo-jeong's action of leaving a personal connection first reconnected the relationship between the two.

Ban Hyo-jeong did not stop there. Later, she reached out again, asking, "What are you doing this weekend? I'm going to a local shoot, can you help me?" Since the manager's weekend was a day off at the time, he accepted the request thinking, "It might be fun." And that one companionship led to work again, and eventually, they have been together for 20 years until now.

During the trip, the two also shared stories about the end of life. Ban Hyo-jeong said, "Having lived, I think the later years should be good. How wonderful would it be if I could go saying I lived happily and well?" and "Still, I shouldn't become a burden." Kim Young-ok also empathized, expressing it as "the homework we must do." For the two actresses who have lived for a long time, old age is not just a matter of living long, but a matter of how to form relationships and in what way to conclude life.

The 20 years of Ban Hyo-jeong and her manager show that the relationships formed between people in the entertainment industry are not necessarily created through grand events. A single short phone call giving a new number, or a request to help with a weekend shoot, can become 20 years of time. Ultimately, what creates a lasting relationship might be small actions like not forgetting each other and reaching out again, rather than grand promises.

Read the original (Korean)