Seo Jeong-hee Reflects on Painful Marriage Experience on 'Joseon’s Love Fool'
On the February 10 episode of TV Chosun's variety show 'Joseon’s Love Fool' (조선의 사랑꾼), Seo Jeong-hee (서정희) opened up about her past marriage. When asked about her motivations for wanting to marry, she revealed, "I have scars from my wedding; I married during a difficult time, not a beautiful one, and looking at wedding photos brings me sadness." She married at the young age of 19 in 1982 and weighed only 30 kg at the time.
Seo shared, "I didn’t understand love; my ex-husband's affection always felt one-sided and frightening." She shocked viewers by stating that if she were to be reborn, she would still choose to marry her ex-husband, saying, "I would marry you, Dad." She recounted how her ex-husband would question her about who bought her clothes, asking if he would buy them if she behaved well, to which she would respond, "I will be good." She referred to her ex-husband as 'Dad.'
Seo described her marriage as a form of imprisonment, stating, "Whether I liked it or not, I had to obey and do as I was told. If he said not to go outside, I couldn’t go out." This sentiment was further underscored by the later release of CCTV footage showing her being assaulted by her ex-husband, Seo Se-won (서세원), which shocked the public.
Seo Jeong-hee debuted as a CF model at 19 but left her brief entertainment career to marry Seo Se-won. After revealing her tumultuous family life in 2014, they divorced in 2015 after 32 years of marriage. Seo Se-won later remarried a woman 23 years his junior, but tragically passed away in May 2023 while receiving IV treatment at a Korean hospital in Cambodia.
