Singer Lin conveyed a poignant sentiment four months after her divorce, and an anecdote about her sparring with internet users to defend her ex-husband Lee Soo — nearly leading to a real-life confrontation — is being reexamined.
Lin and Lee Soo, who married in 2014. The two said in August that after 11 years of marriage they had agreed, based on sufficient conversation and mutual respect, to go their separate ways and were finalizing divorce procedures.
Lin and Lee Soo, both born in 1981, maintained 11 years of marriage while actively exchanging musically. Lee Soo and Lin each established themselves as representative names for male and female vocalists respectively, and especially Lin appeared on programs such as "King of Singers" and "Japan-Korea Top Ten Show," showing her presence. The two, who solidified their positions in their respective places, released a duet project album last year.
However, what hindered Lin and Lee Soo's married life was Lee Soo's 2009 deferred indictment on charges of prostitution with a minor. At the time, Lee Soo acknowledged the prostitution but said he did not know the partner was a minor. As a result, MC the Max's activities and Lee Soo's solo activities were halted for a long time, and the stigma followed even after their 2014 marriage.
Lin wanted to protect Lee Soo even if it meant breaking herself. A notable example was her exchange with internet users in 2019. After Lin posted an expensive bracelet she had received from Lee Soo on social media, one internet user mentioned Lee Soo's prostitution charge, and she raised her voice, saying "The prostitution is true, but falsehoods run rampant within that." In particular, when a comment said "the nature of the crime is bad," Lin replied, "This is driving me crazy, really. I will tell you the facts after seeing your face," implying the so-called "real-life PvP" (meeting in person to have a physical confrontation), which drew criticism.
Lin, who had defended Lee Soo, said with a sense of emptiness, "I don't think I have a good image. Even when I feel good, people say it doesn't seem genuine. I was accused of pretending to be bright on purpose and people called me fake."
Lin said, "There were people who told me, 'Then don't use social media.' But I had this strange stubbornness of saying, 'I'm a quiet attention seeker, I just wanted to record myself, my fans will see it anyway, I don't do it for anyone else.' My husband felt sorry and uncomfortable because I was taking all the blows. Then I started to feel sorry instead. If I stayed still it would be fine, but I stirred up trouble. I just wanted to say what was wrong was wrong, but looking back now I wanted to fight and win," and added, "I also think it wasn't helpful to either me or my husband. Now I know that was wrong, and I have learned to stop a bit and be quiet. Time healed things and I feel more at ease."
Although she tried to protect Lee Soo, Lin ultimately could not and divorced after 11 years of marriage. On the 28th, four months after the divorce, she left a cryptic post saying, "I was someone who wanted to hold someone even if I broke." The subject was absent, but internet users are speculating that the "someone" might be Lee Soo.
Meanwhile, Lin is appearing on MBN's "King of Singers 3."
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