Stefanie, formerly of S.E.T.S. The Grace, has attracted attention again as it was highlighted that she has been dating a man in his 60s for seven years, and in Korea’s entertainment world there are couples who boast enormous age differences that far exceed a generation. We gathered couples and married couples for whom a 20-year age gap is merely playful.
First, Stefanie is happily dating an American boyfriend who is 23 years older than her.
The two were confirmed in 2020 through an exclusive report by OSEN that Stefanie was traveling between the United States and Korea while nurturing a romance with Brady Anderson, who is 23 years her senior. They first met in 2012 when Stefanie was performing with a Los Angeles ballet company, became friends for eight years, and early that year developed into lovers.
Stefanie’s boyfriend Brady Anderson was a former major leaguer who dominated an era and was the leadoff hitter representing Baltimore. In particular, in 1996 he had the rare achievement for a leadoff hitter of hitting 50 home runs, and he had a dazzling career that included multiple All-Star selections.
On the MBN variety show The Legendary Men aired on the 14th, the warrior team’s Hwang Yun-seong and the woman-power team’s Stefanie faced off and played the impromptu “of course” game. When Hwang Yun-seong sent a fluttering line that stirred excitement — “may I call you ‘you’?” — Stefanie immediately replied “of course” and then said, “but you know I have a boyfriend, right?” mentioning her American boyfriend.
On the variety show The Lovers of Joseon, Choi Seong Kook and Ahn Hye-jin, who revealed their marriage story, have an astonishing 24-year age difference.
In September 2022, The Lovers of Joseon debuted as a Chuseok special program showing Choi Seong Kook going to seek permission to marry, and it was later scheduled as a regular program. On the show, Choi Seong Kook publicly revealed both his marriage to his wife and the birth.
Born in 1970, Choi Seong Kook overcame a 24-year age gap with Ahn Hye-jin, who was born in 1994, and reached marriage in 2022; they subsequently became parents to a son, Si-yun, and a daughter, Si-a, becoming parents of two children. Choi Seong Kook married at 52 and has already become the father of two.
It turned out that before marriage Choi Seong Kook’s wife Ahn Hye-jin aspired to be a musical actress and once won first place in The Lovers of Joseon’s fifth anniversary singing contest. She choked up, saying, “After meeting my husband and getting married, my dream of singing drifted away. This is my first time singing in four years. I am happy building a family, but when I am exhausted and struggling with childcare, I thought I would like to sing,” and became emotional.
After going through a difficult time because of embezzlement allegations against his older brother and his brother’s wife, Park Soo-hong overcame a 23-year age gap with his girlfriend Kim Da-ye, who became his wife and was his sole source of strength.
The two legally became a married couple when they registered their marriage in July 2021, and formally rang wedding bells in December the following year. Although the parents and older brother’s family, who were engaged in ongoing legal battles, were not present at the wedding, Park Kyung-rim, dressed in hanbok, and Kim Soo-yong, in a suit, filled the host seats, and stars including Yu Jae-seok, Kang Ho-dong, Kim Kook Jin, Jee Seokjin, Jang Seongkyu, Oh Na-mi, Lee Yeon-bok, Joo Younghoon, and Lee Soo Young all attended.
To fill the absence of family, Kim Kook Jin and Lee Soo Young greeted guests together and created a warm atmosphere, and the wedding was emceed by close friends Son Heon-su and Boom. The congratulatory songs were sung by Park Kyung-rim, Cho Hye-lyeon, and Lee Chan-won, among others, and Kim Kook Jin offered the declaration of marriage to bless the couple’s future.
Later, Park Soo-hong and Kim Da-hye became parents to a precious daughter, Jae-i, in 2024 through in vitro fertilization.
The ill-fated couple director Hong Sang-soo and actress Kim Min-hee also have a 22-year age difference. Hong Sang-soo was born in 1960, and Kim Min-hee was born in 1982.
Previously, director Hong Sang-soo filed for divorce mediation against his current wife but it was dismissed, and in June 2019 he was also dismissed in a divorce lawsuit and gave up on an appeal. In other words, without being divorced he set up a new household with Kim Min-hee and even had a child out of wedlock, maintaining an extramarital relationship.
Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee took the stage at the press screening for the film On the Beach at Night Alone in March 2017 and confessed that they were “in love with each other.” Their affair caused a major social scandal, and as public criticism grew they suspended activities in Korea and focused on overseas film festivals and other international activities.
Meanwhile, in March this year it was revealed that 43-year-old Kim Min-hee had given birth to her first son, and director Hong Sang-soo at 65 became a father for the second time and a late-in-life father. He has a first daughter with his legal wife.
Director Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee attended together at the 78th Locarno Film Festival held Aug. 15 local time and appeared publicly. Kim Min-hee, who won best actress for Hong Sang-soo’s new film NOWHERE TO LAY MY EYES, said at the local audience talk that “after giving birth I rested about two years and this is the first film I shot,” and added, “during filming I balanced breastfeeding and baby food while being on set with my child,” revealing how she has been since giving birth.
[photo] ©Gettyimages (unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited), OSEN DB, SNS
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