Actress Lee Young-ae’s people have announced that the film and TV star had quietly wed a 54-year-old Korean-American IT guy in the United States.
Lee Young-ae Gets Married!
Previous post: Park Si-yeon Has a Nicer Set than Kim Hye-su?
Next post: Michelle and Christina Help the U.S Win the Solheim Cup
{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
i’m one to never believe it when a girl half the man’s age claims it’s pure love. The guy will be having erectile dysfunction in a few years, most likely has a pot belly, too.
the is dwaenjangnyuh syndrome.
too bad, because they all seem to be going to US&A where true love accidentally by pure chance resides.
Am I the only one who has a grin east to west, when I hear of a fellow gyopo who says his wife married him and divorced him after getting US Perm Residency and takes half his possessions?
Apparently, the Kyopo in question was once engaged to Shim Eun-ha;
http://cafe.naver.com/gangmok.cafe?iframe_url=/ArticleRead.nhn%3Farticleid=5471
That K-American dude must be rich.
damn wjk, does nothing escape your venom? Can you point me to a post, one post, in which you said something nice?
Actually, wjk has a point there.
I guess the nursing skills she picked up filming Daejangeum will come in handy in a few years.
That K-American dude must be rich.
Not so sure about that. The article in question said he was an “IT guy”.
You guys are over-reacting to the age disparity. Lee is no spring chicken herself, as she turns 39 in January, and is already over 40 in Korean age.
This is clearly not the 70-year gramps and 25-year starlet scenario you see frequently in the West. In fact, I’ve seldom seen such scenarios among Koreans.
Congrats Lee Young-ae. It’s about time.
My step-mother married my dad at 39 and had one daughter, so there’s still a time…
@8 Please WJC, point out for us 4 examples of recognizable celebrities from the West who married 70 year-olds. Yeah, you may include Anna Nicole. I just want it confirmed I’ve still got a shot.
Japanese interviews w/Lee regarding the “kind of men” she likes…
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2085153396155304090
Yah the age difference doesn’t seem that heinous. Get over it.
The age difference is no problem. The problem is that he married an ugly money grubbing floozy.
I have no idea what “dwaenjangnyuh syndrome” has to do with Lee’s marriage, but 54-39 is only lopsided as a football score. Welcome to America, Ms. Lee.
DLB
Will I see LYA in Koreatown LA?
Most likely she’ll be out and about in Koreatown Chicago, huh?
Well the article says he graduated from University of Illinois, but I’m not sure if the IT dude is in Chicago. But man would it be an awesome if I had a random Young-ae spotting.
Congratss and all the best regards to my beloved Lee Young-ea and this lucky Gyopo bastard.
lucky gyopo bastard? i had the opposite reaction: lucky Young-ae. She’s a celebrity, but I’m sure the dating market wasn’t so hot for a 40-year-old woman.
The guy’s 54 years old. Unless he’s extremely wealthy, he’s unlikely to find a woman who is under 40 and attractive either in the US or Korea. For women entering middle-age, an advantage to dating or marrying older men is that their kids are usually grown.
t_song, I was actually thinking the opposite of you! Lucky 54 year old bastard! The dating market for nearly 40 year old men is slim yes, but think of the dating market for 54 year old men!
Plus, this guy isn’t like a business owner or banker or anything, he’s simply an “IT” guy… I’d bet that LYA makes more money than him…
t_song, she is not a gold digge, nor an ordinary 40 years old woman available in the market.
babotaengi,
Yes, Anna Nicole Smith was the first name that came to mind.
But I should’ve been more precise in my language–something not always easy to do when responding hurriedly to a Blog post. I was generally pointing to the fact there doesn’t seem to be the extreme age gap marriages in Korea that you see in the West in the order of, say, Murdoch and his wife, or Woody Allen and his wife (co-incidentally, Korean-American).
Now I have several theories that focus on culture as why this is the case, but I do not want to be mis-identified with our beloved Professor Huer
As for whether you have a chance, are you extremely rich or otherwise famous? If yes, then sure. If no, well, there are always exceptions to the rule.
Wangkon936,
I highly doubt this is an ordinary IT guy, given the pattern of Korean actresses who married gyopos–even in relatively late age (e.g. 김희애). This gentleman most likely has money, and lots of it.
but I do not want to be mis-identified with our beloved Professor Huer
I hope you are kidding WJC…
Yeah, he might be a balla, but you never know. The Lee camp is not forthcoming w/additional background info.
Good for her!
If she were 23 and married a 39 year old ala Mena Suvari- that girl from American Beauty- then that’s a bit much.
When someone is getting around 40, a 10-15 year age gap is not such a big deal. Women always say they prefer older men anyway.
In the West, women say it’s because the men are more “mature”- BS!
In Asia, at least they are honest and say it’s because older men have more money and demand less sex.
No one should believe that this is just some lowly IT guy making scraps.
I’d bet my next paycheck that he is loaded. Women are usually against marrying down and here in Asia that is much more so.
Rich and famous women want a rich man.
Poor, unknown women want a rich man.
Just like tall women want a tall man and
short women want a tall man.
Never ever believe a woman is telling the whole story when she says she just wants a “nice guy that treats me well”. Translation- “I want a tall, rich man who spoils me”.
They don’t tell the whole truth because they don’t want to seem shallow.
I’m short, poor and ugly, so I’m f*cked!
“In Asia, at least they are honest and say it’s because older men have more money and demand less sex.”
I’ve not met one yet demanding less sex
yes, there is an uncomfortable age gap between woody and his wife.
Won Joon Choe
Um, you seem to be forgetting that most southeast Asian brides coming to Korea are in their twenties while many their counterparts are middle aged. Anyways, rich old farts marring youthful gold diggers, that’s kind of universal.
Meanwhile I’m glad she isn’t giving up her career like some Korean actresses were prone to do in the past. That would have been a horrible waste of talent. And what age difference? She’s practically 40.
No, I’d think Young-ae is independently wealthy and doesn’t need the funds. But in the gyopo, she gets the advantage of moving to the far less age-ist U.S. (I’m sure if she makes non-Korean friends, she’ll be told she looks like she’s a college student), of less scrutiny away from the Korean press and a husband.
At 54, he is getting old, but assuming he has a good job, comes from money, etc. I’d think he’d still be quite the lady’s man.
Judy,
That picture was sick–in retrospect.
Jewook,
“Talent”?
I suppose so, if we are not talking about acting skills but physical attractiveness.
Not true. I know of several women in their thirties and forties who tend to date younger men.
<blockquote)In the West, women say it’s because the men are more “mature”- BS!
In Asia, at least they are honest and say it’s because older men have more money and demand less sex.
Thanks to Viagra and other medications, dating or marrying an older man doesn’t mean less sex. There are a variety of reasons why women seek older or younger men. I tend to prefer older men because their children are grown, freeing them to have more time to spend with me. It can be very difficult for divorced or widowed parents with school-age children to balance the demands of family and work and find time to date.
He’d be a ladies’ man with women over forty. Younger women, especially those without children, would find him too old. If a man in his fifties wants to date or marry a slim, attractive, young woman, he’ll need a lotta money and assets to compensate for his age. This isn’t necessarily gold-digging. There are pragmatic considerations. Marrying an older spouse increases the risk of early widowhood or years of care-giving for a chronically ill or disabled partner. If I had young children or wanted children, I’d strongly prefer a man close to my age, even if he didn’t make much money.
Seems like you ladies have a sliding scale…
I’m surprised no one’s mentioned how loaded this guy is. And I mean wealthy… maybe not obscenely rich but apparently has 6 digits in his savings account… and is halfway to 7 digits… and owns his own house… not bad for “just” IT.
I doubt you’d see these bluebloods randomly on the streets…
And I’m told Shim Eun-ha dumped him because she’s not a beggar.
You must log in to post a comment.