The queen of melodrama Choi Ji Woo, her secret love story with actor Song Seung Hun, and spectacular visuals in her 40s.
Despite being extremely talented and beautiful, famous actress Choi Ji Woo faces a lot of challenges in her love life.
Early K-drama watchers must be familiar with the name Choi Ji Woo, who was once hailed to be the queen of melodrama through her many tragic roles in hit Korean series.
At the time, Choi Ji Woo’s visuals exuded with elegance comparable to the white snow, and was able to draw all eyes and land her roles alongside famous actors like Bae Yong Joon, Kwon Sang Woo, Lee Byung Hun, Joo Jin Mo, and various more.
The actress’s career, personal life, and romantic history, thus, also became a focus of the media.
The queen of melodrama and her ageless beauty
Born in 1975 in Busan, Korean, Choi Ji Won majored in aerobic dance at Busan Women’s College. However, she soon switched to acting, and debuted at 20 years old, with the movie “War and Love”. Her natural and elegant features soon caught the eyes of various directors and producers, leading to Choi Ji Woo earning numerous projects in the following year.
The actress’s big breakthrough came in 2002, after the sensational K-drama “Winter Sonata” became popular all across Asia. As a result, Choi Ji Woo and her co-star Bae Yong Joon soon became a household name both in and outside of their home country.
Playing the female lead Yoo Jin from highschool way until maturity, Choi Ji Woo managed to make a deep impression with her acting talents, as well as graceful and innocent charms. Through “Winter Sonata”, the actress managed to win “Most Popular Actress” at the prestigious 2002 Baeksang Arts Awards, and became well known in other Asian countries, particularly in Japan and china.
It was no exaggeration to say that “Winter Sonata” was Choi Ji Woo’s drastic turning point, seeing that it was soon followed by a series of remarkable hits, including “Stairway to Heaven”, “Air City”, “Star’s Lover”, “Twenty Again”, “Woman with a Suitcase”, and many more. Even now, after the rise of many big Korean actresses, Choi Ji Woo is still unforgettable as the queen of melodrama, and hasn’t seen any sign of stepping down from that throne.
However, after giving birth to her first child, the actress no longer remained active in the acting industry, and instead only took up a few commercial deals and focused on spending time with her little daughter. She’d often share cute pictures of herself radiating pure joy next to her precious child.
Despite having reached her 40s, in photos shared on Choi Ji Woo’s Instagram, she looked not a day older than before. Her fair and glowing skin seemed to have been forgotten by time, and recently, the actress was even voted to be Korea’s most beautiful woman.
Secret love story with actor Song Seung Hun
Once upon a time when talking about her life, Choi Ji Woo disclosed that she was a lonely person, and both of her public romances ended in deep regrets.
According to the actress, early in her career, she used to date actor Song Seung Hun of “Autumn in My Heart” for 3 years. At the time, their names were largely unknown, with both having just entered the industry.
It was a relationship free of burden, popularity, and the public’s ever watchful eyes. When this news was first revealed, many audience members couldn’t help but express deep regrets, seeing that the couple looked absolutely perfect together.
Unfortunately, the couple decided to break things off in 1999, after 3 years of dating. At the time, they decided to pick their career over love, and gave each other a chance to explore the acting world further as well as to develop themselves.
Perhaps separating was the best for both of them, seeing that a year after break up, Song Seung Hun became a star via “Autumn in My Heart”, followed by Choi Ji Woo with “Winter Sonata”. The two’s early love is now only a sweet memory in both of the actor and actress’s mind, and over time, they have grown to become strictly close friends who freely hang out and interact with each other.
9 years after her first love, Choi Ji Woo fell for a 6-year younger co-star. The actress, along with actor Lee Jin Wook met on the set of “Air City”, announced their relationship to the public with great hopes for the future, only to be drowned in public criticism.
Once again, Choi Ji Woo saw her love cut short under pressure. She once answered an interview in intense heartbreak, saying: “I am so lonely these days and want to be loved. I don’t mind if my significant other works in the entertainment industry, but I never want to announce my relationship publicly again.”
It was not until 2018 did fans once again hear of the actress’s personal life, as the actress suddenly announced her marriage via a status on her SNS. “On March 29th, I will get married to someone that I want to start a new life with, via a private ceremony with close members of our families. I will start a happy family with the person who I love and promise to always respect, and who promises me the same.”
She also attached a heartfelt letter addressed to fans, and a photo of herself in a wedding dress.
Choi Ji Woo’s husband is reportedly an IT technician 9 years younger than the actress. A year after their marriage, Choi Ji Woo’s agency announced her pregnancy, and in May 2020, the actress officially welcomed her first child.
Now, at the age of 47, Choi Ji Woo is leading a happy life with her husband and daughter. There was a brief period when her husband was rumored to be a male host, but gossip died down as Choi Ji Woo maintained a complete silence. Now that everything has been cleared up, the actress freely publishes photos and shares about her personal life via SNS.
Source: K14
