After Split From Jeong Won-gyu, EXchange 4's Park Ji-hyeon Says Thoughts of Marriage Are Gone

Park Ji-hyeon announced her split from Jeong Won-gyu in a video released on the 7th. The two had reunited on "EXchange 4," which ended in January, and became a couple again. On the 17th, in a new video on her YouTube channel I'm Jihyeon, she said: "Thoughts of marriage have completely vanished." She added that she doesn't think she will live or make choices with marriage in mind.

Stepping back to reflect

Park, who reunited with Jeong on the TVING dating reality show "EXchange 4," had dreamed of a new future as they picked up their relationship again. After the breakup, she confessed, even the idea of marriage disappeared. She also said all her affection had fallen away. She went on to say, "For a while, I plan to cut back on communication and think about what I really want." That reads as a decision to turn away from outside gazes and expectations and focus on herself. After a public romance and a breakup, she seems to want to sort through an emotionally draining period and calmly reconsider her life ahead. Her remarks can be read as a choice to ask what she wants before treating romance and marriage as the obvious next steps in life.

Leaning on her mother

The video also included a scene of Park meeting her mother and being comforted right after the breakup. Seeing her lean on family rather than bear the pain alone left viewers heavy-hearted. Ending a relationship means more than losing one person: the future the couple pictured together and the familiar routine must be sorted out again, so Park appears to need considerable time.

A reunion on TV that did not last

"EXchange" is a dating reality show in which former couples live in one space and keep making choices between old feelings and new relationships. Park and Jeong drew extra attention because their on-air reunion carried over into real-life dating. But a reunion on the program did not necessarily lead to real-life marriage or a lifelong partnership. The two ended the relationship, agreeing recently to go their separate ways, and in the process Park came to rethink her own future. Their split left viewers disappointed, given that the show had portrayed them rekindling a past bond.

What Park needs now may not be a rush into a new relationship but time to look after her feelings and reset the direction of her life. The end of a love does not mean failure in life, and attention is on her choice to find the life she truly wants after closing a relationship that was once shared.

Read the original (Korean)