Lee Ki Woo's character in "Flower Boy Ramen Shop" did not win the affections of the character played by his costar Lee Chung Ah, but real life turned out differently. The couple recently disclosed that they were dating.
They met in 2011 when Ki Woo played Choi Kang Hyuk to Chung Ah's Yang Eun Bi. His character was kind, gentle and very concerned with hers but in the end he lost out to the flower boy Cha Chi Soo, played by Jung Il Woo.
Ki Woo and Chung Ah remained friends and both joined the celebrity ski team on the show, "Celebrity Ski." During the show's airing the friendship turned into something more and they recently announced they were dating. There have been wedding rumors but so far, the two actors are not looking that far into the future because they remain committed to their career plans.
Starting this week, Lee Chung Ah will appear as Oh Da Jung in the new drama "Wonderful Mama."
Lee Ki Woo and Lee Chung Ah are not the first actors to become a couple after starring in a show together. Months after filming ended for "Queen In Hyun's man," Yoo In Na and Ji Hyun Woo began dating and they continue to be a real-life couple.
On a radio show, Yoo In Na confirmed the couple's relationship saying, "We decided he would stop being Queen In Hyun's man and start being Yoo In Na's man." Ji Hyun Woo is currently serving military duty.
Other reel-to-real-life kdrama couples have not been so successful. After appearing together in "City Hunter," actress Park Min Young and actor Lee Min Ho dated briefly but broke up, claiming their busy schedules kept them apart.
Busy schedules and public scrutiny can create extra pressure in a real life relationship. Both worked against Song Hye Kyo in her relationships with fellow actors.
Song Hye Kyo dated actor Lee Byung Hun while they filmed "All In." The relationship and break-up a year later generated media attention and gossip, much of it negative.
After Song Hye Kyo appeared in "Worlds Within" with Hyun Bin, she began dating him but the couple kept a low public profile. Even so, they split up just before he entered the military in 2011, claiming busy schedules.
After filming ended for "That Winter, The Wind Blows," Song Hye Kyo's love interest, Jo In Sung, was asked how he saw the actress. While he agreed that she was beautiful and a wonderful actress, he also said it was best to think of her only as a colleague, since otherwise that made it difficult for them to work together.
Hopefully the relationship between Lee Chung Ah and Lee Ki Woo will work out, however busy their schedules are and however much media attention it attracts.
