Comedian Jo Hye-ryeon and CEO Go Yo-seob are a couple of 11 years and, at the same time, well-matched business partners. The play "I Love You, Mom," which they both produced, won the prestigious grand prize at the "2025 Chuncheon Theater Festival" held last month. CEO Go produced it, and Jo directed and starred in it, performing two roles.
"I Love You, Mom" is a family drama about a strong mother raising her son while selling fish alone at the market without her husband. Jo Hye-ryeon, along with Kim Ji-sun, Kim Hyo-jin, and Jo Ji-hwan, delivered outstanding performances, establishing it as a hit in Daehakro. The "multi-talented entertainer" Jo Hye-ryeon has surprised audiences by successfully handling her roles as an entertainer, singer, actress, and director.
CEO Go Yo-seob is known only as "the two years younger husband of Jo Hye-ryeon," but in fact, he possesses remarkable talents in songwriting and composition as well as production. Recently, Jo Hye-ryeon formed the band "Peppertones" along with the band "Mechanism," co-writing the songs "Broken Time Machine" and "I Heard I've Become a Pie," and also composed the trot song "Rock-Paper-Scissors" for Byeol Sarang.
CEO Go Yo-seob, who is staying in the U.S. with his wife Jo Hye-ryeon, is planning to hold performances both domestically and overseas due to the success of "I Love You, Mom."
He told OSEN, "We continue with regional performances in cities like Buan, Pohang, Gimcheon, Daegu, and Mungyeong, and in July, we performed four shows in Sydney, Australia. We have a show scheduled in Los Angeles, U.S. in October and are also planning one in Atlanta. We are pushing for many overseas performances as well," adding, "We have performed in eight places this year, and we are working to exceed that number next year. We are considering expanding to performances nationwide, including Jeju Island."
Thanks to "I Love You, Mom," the couple acquired an arthouse theater and expressed their gratitude to the audience. From the creators' standpoint, this means they will be able to present even more diverse and quality works in the future.
When a couple is working on the same project, conflicts in opinion can arise. How do the two resolve such issues?
CEO Go Yo-seob said, "Sometimes minor disagreements occur. In those cases, my wife often goes along with my opinions," adding, "Basically, we communicate often, and when I make a suggestion, she accepts it well. We respect each other's areas of expertise, and I tend not to get overly involved in my wife's directorial aspects," expressing his gratitude.
Currently, Jo Hye-ryeon is actively engaged in her "second peak," while CEO Go Yo-seob is preparing to release a new play, "Star of Seoul."
Starting from the 15th, "Star of Seoul," which will be held at the Daehakro arthouse, is set against the backdrop of a shabby rooftop room at the top of a mountain village in Seoul. It tells the story of three individuals at the end of their lives who understand each other and illuminate their lives with a star each. The play features seasoned actors such as Lee Moon-sik, Jung Eun-pyo, and Kim Myung-soo, as well as Woo-hee from Dalshabet, Park Jun-seok from Taesaja, and Hee-jae from the group Sevenus.
CEO Go Yo-seob added, "I wrote the lyrics and composed the title song 'Star of Seoul' for the play, and I hope it becomes a great work for the audience."
[Photo] Media Lab Siso, poster of 'I Love You, Mom,' 'Lars' screen capture.
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