Influencer Kim Ji-yeon, a former contestant on 'Love Catcher' who is in a divorce lawsuit with baseball player Jeong Cheol-won, voiced distress about married life.
On the 22nd, a video titled "A video of chatting for 23 minutes." was uploaded to the "Harujiyun" channel.
In the video, Kim Ji-yeon visited a friend's house and talked about various topics. While sharing memories of blind dates, Kim Ji-yeon regretted, "I should have kept doing blind dates without getting married." The friend asked, "Until what age? Keep doing them?" and Kim Ji-yeon replied, "Keep doing them. That's how you don't age. If you get married and do this, you age."
Before the divorce announcement, Kim Ji-yeon said, "What upsets me is when they make a divorce announcement, people still criticize the woman more. I don't know the reason. But when I look at the comments and such, they say, 'If a woman's energy was that strong... it looked like she was dominant then.' They dismiss a woman's strong will or social activity, showing that attitudes are still closed. What's the problem with that? Whether the two divorce or live separately, it's something between the two. Unless it causes social harm, there's no need to add commentary, but they add comments and they are mean about it," expressing her distress.
She said, "Someone commented that the woman made good money from her business, and others replied, 'She did it with her husband's money.' So what if it was her husband's money? The woman probably sacrificed for her husband too. They didn't suffer from him using his money for the business. Diversity should be respected. I don't want to be respected. They're crazy people. There are too many. Aren't only those kinds of people leaving comments? Normal people just look and move on unless they're extremely righteous."
She continued, "It's so unfortunate. In Korean society, people still view women taking initiative negatively. They dismiss it as having a strong personality. When someone gets married, society pressures them more to be a wife rather than seeing them as a woman. 'Why is she different from other wives?' They see her not as a woman. Also, when someone is an influencer, people assume she won't support her husband. There are prejudices. But except when I'm working, I was at home taking care of the baby and doing housework. I don't post those things on Instagram. I might post 'cleaning done,' but I wouldn't post 'I woke up at this time and took care of the baby from that time.' What I post is about work, dressing up, and such," she said, showing her frustration.
Kim Ji-yeon said, "People say athletes' wives have to quit work to support them. It's not that the wife quit after much consideration and sacrifice; it's treated as if that's simply the obvious thing to do. But because I don't appear that way, even small noises lead to harsh criticism like, 'Yeah, she probably did that.' When a baseball player's performance is poor, people say, 'How could she have lived as she pleased at home? She didn't support him.'"
The friend pointed out, "If a wife supports well, isn't that because he should practice harder himself?" Kim Ji-yeon replied, "If his performance is good, it doesn't become my achievement. If he does well, it's because he did well; if he does poorly, it's blamed on me. I've had to sacrifice and be considerate because I had to support him. I haven't slept properly at dawn many times, but no one knows. People say it's natural. They don't see me posting every night that I couldn't sleep on Instagram. Fans see that and message, 'It's because you let your husband do childcare that you can't.'" she said, revealing her hurt.
The friend asked, "Then doesn't your husband take care of the baby?" and Kim Ji-yeon answered, "He shouldn't have to. I don't know if that's true for everyone. Those who leave those comments and criticize say things like, 'Who does childcare during the season?' But it's funny: out of 365 days a year, during the season, the times I call for SOS at dawn are fewer than five. Those five times aren't just because I'm sleepy; it's when I feel like I'm dying. If I can't do it that day, I feel like a sinner. Why should I be the sinner? But during the rest of the time, I take care of the baby. When the baby behaves well then, do people praise me? They don't. That's what's so upsetting."
She said, "The really funny thing is when people say absurd things to me and I refute them, they call it a power struggle. I've never had a power struggle. I point out things that aren't true and state facts because they were rude to me, saying 'You're wrong.' They call that a power struggle. They say, 'She always picks fights,' but that's unfair. I'm a dance major, so I've experienced many power struggles in my life. I know what a power struggle is, so why is this called one? If someone crosses the line and I say, 'You crossed the line, get a grip. What you're doing is wrong,' why is that a power struggle? So that person can cross the line but I can't refute? That's absurd. Then they call me names, but should I just listen quietly? Is that really right?" she criticized.
She continued, "Recently I posted a difficult story and someone said, 'Sister, why are you so angry? It's hard to see posts like this.' I replied, 'I'm not angry. I've been taking care of the baby alone for more than 10 days; can't I say it's hard? If you don't want to see it, shall I block you? Do you want me to block you? Do as you please.' That person was nice and said, 'Maybe I contacted you rashly. Be happy.' But honestly, that wasn't entirely positive either. Saying that while you're happy dismisses me. I'm having a hard time, and if you tell me not to post such things, I question the premise. Can't you just not look? If you don't want me to post, just unfollow. If you don't like me, unfollow. That's it," she said, puzzled.
She added, "People expect influencers not to show much emotion and to post only happy and good things. They live differently from ordinary people. I disliked that. While working as an influencer, in reality I live the same, so posting only success and prettiness might make some people feel deprived. If you dig deeper, we're the same. Because I only posted such things, people might think that way, so I wanted to post raw moments, but some people felt uncomfortable. Some liked it. I thought it was my way of communicating; it's not exactly my manifesto but it's the kind of influencer I aim to be. I have hardships and sadness. I'm not looking for comfort. I want to show that my life isn't only happy and not only curated."
Meanwhile, Kim Ji-yeon, a former contestant on Mnet's dating show 'Love Catcher,' gave birth to a son in 2024 after a premarital pregnancy with Lotte Giants baseball player Jeong Cheol-won, and they held a belated wedding last December. But Kim Ji-yeon revealed on her personal account conflicts over Jeong Cheol-won's alleged affair, living expenses and childcare just a month into the marriage, and ultimately announced a divorce lawsuit.
Jeong Cheol-won's side denied the allegations raised by Kim Ji-yeon and said, "As the child's father, I will act responsibly and will do my best to secure custody as much as possible; although the parents are in a divorce suit, we will make every effort to prevent negative effects on the child." But Kim Ji-yeon's side alleged, "Since the marriage, Kim Ji-yeon has endured ongoing suffering such as domestic violence while raising a young child," and added, "Recently, multiple tips have been received regarding circumstances that suggest Jeong Cheol-won's alleged affair," asserting the other party's fault and saying they will prioritize maintaining custody as the highest priority, continuing a sharp confrontation.
[Photo] Harujiyun YouTube
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