Jo Yoon-hee, 6 Years After Divorce from Lee Dong-gun, Tells Hwang Jung-eum, "I Didn't Know I Was That Brave"

Actress Jo Yoon-hee has candidly confessed the fear she felt at the time of her divorce from Lee Dong-gun. For an actress whose every move is under the public eye, divorce was a major decision that went beyond settling private relationships and could even threaten her activities in the entertainment industry. Her close friend Hwang Jung-eum deeply empathized with Jo's confession that, at the time, she didn't even realize how brave a choice she had made.

On the 14th, a video titled 'The day Lee-young and Yoon-hee unnie went to eat jumbo shrimp' was released on Hwang Jung-eum's YouTube channel. On this day, Hwang Jung-eum spent a comfortable time eating jumbo shrimp with her close friends Shim Yi-young and Jo Yoon-hee. As the three, whose eldest children are the same age, naturally continued their conversation with parenting stories, they also shared honest discussions about the worries they feel as mothers and their respective personalities.

Jo Yoon-hee expressed her desire to be the kind of mother her daughter Roa wants. She said, "I have an ideal image of a mother that I want to follow. I wish my own mother hadn't drunk alcohol, things like that," adding, "So I think Roa might feel the same, and I want to be the mother Roa wants." She then confessed, "What Roa wants is probably a mother who doesn't get angry. But I can't not scold her. Even if I say it a hundred times with kind words, she doesn't listen." It was the image of a realistic mother struggling between affection for her child and discipline. Hwang Jung-eum brought laughter by responding, "That's why I always carry a backscratcher."

The conversation naturally shifted to the two's personalities and their lives in the entertainment industry. Unlike Hwang Jung-eum, who is finding enjoyment in YouTube activities, Jo Yoon-hee stated that she is still cautious about revealing her natural self to the public. She said, "Showing my natural self still worries me on one hand." To this, Hwang Jung-eum reacted honestly, saying, "Aside from being pretty, your personality isn't easy for being a celebrity," and "It must have been hard for you when you were working, unnie."

Jo Yoon-hee also admitted that revealing herself in front of many people was not easy. She confessed, "It was hard to do something in front of many people." At that, Hwang Jung-eum recalled the past divorce, saying she always felt strength from Jo Yoon-hee. Hwang Jung-eum said, "When the news of your divorce came out before, it was quite a shock." Considering Jo Yoon-hee's personality, which she has observed closely, the very situation of her divorce being known to the public was even more surprising.

Hwang Jung-eum also pointed out the reality that actresses must publicly handle divorce. She said, "Divorce is not something just anyone does. For an actress to divorce is a huge thing. It's a terrifying thing that you have to endure all of that," and "There is also the fear that your livelihood could be cut off immediately." She then added, recalling Jo Yoon-hee's choice at the time, "I thought you were strong back then." It was a sincere evaluation of Jo Yoon-hee, who had to make a decision while considering not only public interest in her private life but also her image and activities in the entertainment industry.

Jo Yoon-hee confessed her feelings from that time without hiding anything. She said, "I was scared. I didn't know I was that brave." Although they were short words that might sound calm, they allowed one to guess the weight of the fear and the decision she had to endure at the time. The confession of a person who did not think of herself as strong, only to realize her own courage after facing a major choice, left a quiet lingering impression.

Jo Yoon-hee married actor Lee Dong-gun in 2017 and had a daughter, Roa, and divorced in 2020. Since then, she has continued her activities as an actress while raising her daughter. Her honest feelings, shared six years after her divorce, go beyond simple reminiscence and make one reflect on the fear she had to endure and the courage with which she nonetheless made her choice.

Read the original (Korean)