Legendary kpop star Seo Taiji is getting married again. Only this time fans will learn the name of the actress he is marrying before they hit the divorce courts, which is what happened when his last marriage dissolved.
Seo, a member of the first South Korean boy band, Seo Taiji and the Boys, recently announced that he will marry actress Lee Eun Song, best known for playing the role of Go Ara's friend in the drama, "Sharp 1."
"I have found my partner and am about to marry her," he posted on his web site. "Eun Sung is a good person whose warmth makes me and everyone else smile."
Seo, 41, and Lee, 24, met five years ago when she appeared in the music video for his song, "Bermuda Triangle." They admitted their relationship a year later and now live with his parents in Seoul.
Seo performed with Seo Taiji and the Boys until 1996. By infusing Korean popular music with elements of American music, he helped create today's distinctive kpop sound. His solo career continues to this day and he expects that the presence of Lee Eun Sung in his life will have a positive effect on his music.
Lee Eun Song was a longtime fan but what she says she likes best about him is his easygoing personality.
"I've liked his music for a long-time but I never thought I would get a chance to meet him in person," said Lee. "While I was on the set of his music video I saw the way he treated everyone and I thought to myself, 'he's a decent guy.'"
It has been five years since Lee's last drama appearance in "I Am Happy," and four years since her last film project, "Take Off."
Seo asked his fans to bless his upcoming marriage but many are still reeling from the news of his secret marriage to Lee Ji Ah, a.k.a. Kim Sang Eun, which was revealed during their subsequent divorce proceedings. The couple was married for 10 years and had two children without any publicity. They lived in Arizona from 1996 until 2006, when Lee filed for divorce. Fans found out about the marriage when she sued for alimony. Lee Ji Ah became an actress in 2007, appearing in the blockbuster film "The Legend" with Bae Yong Joon and then in the drama,"Athena." Rumors said that the marriage finally ended because of her relationship with co-star Jung Woo Sung.
It was also said that she had to break up with Jung Woo Sung because any publicity about that relationship could potentially harm her divorce case.
So, when Seo Taiji asked for fan blessings, some netizens were not so eager.
One netizen said, "He talks as if he's getting married for the first time when this is his second marriage. He's the one who made a woman receive criticism from an entire nation and break up with her lover and yet he's asking for congratulations. Why does he even have any fans left?"
Hopefully this marriage, which did not start out as a secret, will have more favorable odds of succeeding.
