Is Age Truly Just A Number? Here Are 7 K-Celebrity Couples With Huge Age Gaps Who Have Not Broken Up

The biggest age gap is 21 years!

It is often said that age is just a number, and seeing these couples, it just might be true. Here are the Korean celebrity couples that overcame the societal standards of age in romance and even the disapproving glances of some netizens by staying together as a couple!

1. Actors Lee Byung Hun and Lee Min Jeong

With an age difference of 12 years, Lee Byung Hun (52) and Lee Min Jeong (41) met through an acquaintance in 2006 and publicly became a couple in 2012. They got married the next year and had a child in 2016.

| Yonhap News

The couple admitted that they once broke up before in the early stages of their relationship. Because Lee Byung Hun was a top actor and Lee Min Jeong was a rookie actress when they first met, he lived overseas for work and felt like he was in her way of pursuing her future. They broke up because of their different schedules but met each other again when Lee Byung Hun returned to Korea.

Since then, the couple has gotten married and has been together, attending Versace fashion shows as a never-aging couple and doing cute family things like going to Universal Studios with their son.

| @byunghun0712/Instagram

2. Singers Moon Heejun and Soyul

In November 2016, H.O.T.’s former member Moon Heejun (45) and Crayon Pop’s former member Soyul (32) made headlines with the news that they were dating and would get married in February 2017. Not only were netizens surprised at the sudden announcement, but they were shocked at the 13-year age difference.

| Money Today

They gave birth to their first child, Moon Hee Yul, also known as Jam Jam, who became well-known through KBS’s reality show, The Return of Superman. In the fall of 2022, the couple had a son, and the two are still happily married.

| @sssssssoyul/Instagram

3. Actor So Ji Sup and Reporter Cho Eun Jung

In 2019, Dispatch revealed photos of So Ji Sup (45) and Cho Eun Jung (29) on a date, and they confirmed the news. Despite an age gap of 17 years, the chemistry between them was evident from the start.

Sparks flew when they met on SBS’s Access Showbiz Tonight when So Ji Sup and actress Son Ye Jin guested to promote their movie Be With You, and Cho Eun Jung was the host that led the interview.

The two married in 2020 and even donated ₩50.0 million KRW (about $37,400 USD) to Good Children to help students affected by Covid-19. At the end of 2022, So Ji Sub and Cho Eun Jung went to support the works of painter Park Seo Bo and took pictures with him; it was the first public photo of the couple since they got married in 2020.

Cho Eun Jun, Park Seo Bo, and So Ji Sub (left to right) | @parkseobo/Instagram

4. Celebrity Chef Baek Jong Won and Actress So Yoo Jin

Baek Jong Won (56) and So Yoo Jin (41) ‘s 15-year age difference was a trending topic in the entertainment industry, but netizens were even more shocked to hear that So Yoo Jin’s parents have a 30-year age difference; she stated that seeing her parents happily in love and never fighting despite their age difference made her like marrying someone older.

| @yujin_so/Instagram

The two got married in 2013 and have one son and two daughters. They are as happy as ever and celebrated Children’s Day last week by doing cute family activities.

5. Singers Shim Mina & Ryu Phillip

In 2015, it was reported that Shim Mina (50), an iconic 2000s singer who became famous for her appearance at the FIFA World Cup 2002, was dating Ryu Phillip (33), a former member of SoREAL.

| @phillipkorea/Instagram

The two became a couple when they met at a mutual friend’s birthday party, and the news of their romance broke out two weeks after Ryu Phillip joined the army. They got married in 2018 and appeared on TV many times because of their 17-year age difference—a number that does not change their love for one another.

In fact, the two have a YouTube channel called Philmi Couple, in which they share their adventures as a married couple. Ryu Phillip is currently active in a trot idol group called K4, and his wife supports every step of his career.

K4 members with Shim Mina | @phillipkorea/Instagram

6. Singer Eric and Actress Na Hye Min

Shinhwa‘s former member Eric (44) and Na Hye Min (32) raised suspicions that they were dating in 2014 when people spotted them together in PC rooms, Shinhwa concerts, ski resorts, and supermarkets. They denied the suspicions then, but when dating speculations resurfaced three years later, they confirmed the relationship and married in July 2017.

| E&J Entertainment

Eric and Na Hye Min have a 12-year age difference. The two are still happily married, and on March 1 of this year, Na Hye Min gave birth to their first child, a son.

| E&J Entertainment

7. Director Hong Sang Soo and Actress Kim Min Hee

With an age difference of 21 years, Hong Sang Soo (62) and Kim Min Hee (41) are dubbed the nation’s “adulterous couple” after their infidelity scandal in which the director left his wife and family to pursue a relationship with Kim Min Hee. In 2017, the two went public with their relationship, ruining the actress’s career and causing the two to be disregarded in the Korean entertainment scene.

| Yonhap News

Although Hong Sang Soo filed for divorce to legalize his relationship with Kim Min Hee, he was denied because the court deemed him responsible for the marriage failing, so he could not be the one to end the marriage. Since the scandal, Kim Min Hee could not be cast and only acted in Hong Sang Soo’s works.

Filming for Hong Sang Soo’s film “Grass” | CONTENTS PANDA

The two are still a couple and have been seen in public, such as the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival.

Kim Min Hee and Hong Sang Soo at the Berlin International Film Festival | Vogue

 

Source: The Joongang, WowTV, Money Today and Daily Secu (1) and (2)

Where Are They Now?