Like everyone else, k-drama stars date, break up, marry and sometimes divorce. Although when most people make these life changes, it usually doesn't make the headlines.
When Chae Jung An recently appeared on the program "Some Men and Some Women" she mentioned her divorce for the first time in a decade.
The actress who played the second female lead in "Coffee Prince" and who also appeared in "Queen of Reversals" was married in 2005 to a marketing company board member but the marriage did not last long. A year and a half later the marriage was over. It happened so long ago that many k-drama viewers had no idea.
"I'm sure many people did not know I was married," she said. "I did marry once. It was very quick."
The actress dated a businessman after that but the relationship did not lead to the altar. Now Chae is ready to think about love again.
"I did not plan to marry but I think it may be time to change my mind," she said. "I should stop being so protective of myself and really fall in love."
Divorce is not a career killer in Korea but it can have some negative effects on your image, especially if that divorce is a messy one.
Ryu Shi Won's divorce was very messy as he was accused of assaulting and threatening his wife and installing a tracking device on her car and mobile phone. The singer and star of the drama "Goodbye Dear Wife" denied the charges but Seoul's court of appeals acknowledged the assault charges and ordered him to pay a fine of almost $7,000. He has stayed out of the public eye since then, saying he was no longer interested in the entertainment industry.
Lee Ji Ah had a role playing an anti-terrorism agent in the drama "Athena: Goddess of War" and she was in a relationship with actor Jung Woo Sung when the news broke that she had secretly married and divorced k-pop icon Seo Taiji. Her career survived the scandal. She was recently seen in "Thrice Married Woman." But her relationship did not survive the scandal.
Park Sang Min, who played a conglomerate chairman in the 2013 drama "Scandal: A Shocking and Wrongful Incident," finalized his divorce in 2011. The divorce was a very messy one. The actor was indicted for hitting his wife and his wife was charged with defamation for saying damaging things about her husband. The couple was married for three years.
Go Hyun Jung, who starred in "Queen Seonduk," "Daemul" and "The Queen's Classroom," married at the peak of her career. In 1995 she wed the vice chairman and CEO of Shinsegae Group. Her husband was the grandson of the founder of Samsung. Theirs was the most talked-about wedding in Korea and Go retired from acting to focus on her marriage and children. Eight years later, a messy divorce resulted in her losing custody of her children. None of the Shinsegae department stores are allowed to display any products she has endorsed.
