Beauty creator Yu Gaet-ip (real name Yu Ye-rin) spoke candidly about the prejudices and misunderstandings pouring in after her divorce.
Yu Gaet-ip, in a phone interview with OSEN on the 23rd, when asked about the reason for appearing on TV CHOSUN's "X's private life," explained, "In a way, I thought this could be another opportunity, so appearing was a big factor. It was the same when I appeared on 'We divorced' (hereafter 'WeDivorced'). There are simply opportunities for my work, and anyway (Choi Go-gi) oppa also had no major reservations about appearing, so he came out," she explained.
Yu Gaet-ip and Choi Go-gi married in 2016 and had a daughter, Sol-ip, but divorced in 2020. Custody was awarded to Choi Go-gi, and Yu Gaet-ip meets Sol-ip every two weeks through supervised visitation. In this context, "X's private life" depicted Yu Gaet-ip meeting and spending time with Sol-ip through supervised visitation.
However, after the broadcast, unexpectedly the arrows turned toward Yu Gaet-ip's acquaintances. After Yu Gaet-ip's close friend, YouTuber and tattoo artist An Ri-na, shared on the show the story of marrying a close friend of Choi Go-gi, sharp reactions followed. In response, An Ri-na issued a direct clarification, saying, "Being friendly with both sides is not a crime."
Yu Gaet-ip said, "I didn't exactly ask, but I guess I heard some unpleasant things. I didn't ask exactly what I heard. I was afraid I'd get stressed for nothing. I think they simply find it morally unacceptable based on their own thinking. Because many people separate on very bad terms, I think there are many cases where they can't accept it. Many seem to think it's something that couldn't happen," she complained.
Even while meeting new partners after the divorce, the continued interaction between Yu Gaet-ip and Choi Go-gi is viewed by some with fixed stereotypes as something incomprehensible. Yu Gaet-ip said, "I mentioned this before on a program: I think it's because of Sol-ip that we can contact each other comfortably and get along. If Sol-ip didn't exist, I don't think we would have been contacting each other this comfortably and getting along with smiles like this."
Because Sol-ip is precious to both of them, even with new partners each has continued to pay steady attention to Sol-ip, resulting in a form of co-parenting. Yu Gaet-ip said, "When I see Sol-ip, the two people (Choi Go-gi, Lee Joo-eun) want to date and have a good time, and that feeling is embedded."
She added, "We had an uncontested divorce and didn't drag it out; we divorced smoothly. Honestly, whatever the reason for the divorce, since there is a child, I hope that at least in front of the child the emotional atmosphere won't be bad and that there will be more moments where they smile as they did when they were together. Of course there will be times when they hate each other. People who separate badly will of course be disliked, but I think that in front of the children, even if the parents are completely done, effort is still necessary," she said, expressing her belief.
In fact, the couple's efforts stood out in this episode of "X's private life." Still, Yu Gaet-ip said bitterly, "It seems that many people react like 'Huh?' In Korea's culture, if a mother doesn't raise the child, there's often blame or people say things like 'Are you even a mother?' and attack her. But when a father raises the child, people praise him as a dad raising his daughter, a single dad, and view it very positively."
On the show, Yu Gaet-ip cried over working part-time at a café for child support and over her remorse toward Sol-ip and gratitude toward Choi Go-gi's partner, Lee Joo-eun, who warmly embraces her. Regarding how Yu Gaet-ip's deep inner side as a "mother" emerged in various places, Yu Gaet-ip said, "If it came across that way, I'm glad. That's partly why I appeared. Honestly, I also have parts that feel wronged. I wanted to show that 'I'm not as bad a person as you think.' I also thought, 'Why only me?' Especially many older people are like that," she said frankly.
When asked what she would like to say to those who view her through prejudiced eyes, she said, "I absolutely don't think prejudices will disappear just because of something I say or one image people see. In Korea's sentiments it's still fixed that way. I'm not going to painfully try to untie something tightly knotted for those people with my fingernails," she said.
Yu Gaet-ip said, "If people could just look at us and think, 'Oh, they live like this. They live differently from me. Their relationships are quite different from what I thought. It's interesting. It's a bit curious,' that would be great. Honestly, I don't particularly want to clear up misunderstandings. It's hard only for me. Even if I try to prove to one person, 'I really am not that kind of person,' other misunderstandings will surely arise. Above all, doing that would make me too exhausted, so I don't have anything in particular I want to say to those people. I just wish they would consider it 'different.' 'Wrong' and 'different' have different meanings. I hope people don't force onto others that what they think is wrong."
She added, "But there is this. After the divorce, Go-gi has Joo-eun, and I also have a boyfriend I'm seeing. When these things are expressed on broadcast, some may think divorce is trivial and taken lightly. But I don't want it portrayed that way. Divorce is never taken lightly. Who would want to divorce lightly? Still, people may not understand why we live like this. But Go-gi, Joo-eun and I are all making efforts. Please recognize that everyone is trying for the child," she emphasized. (Continued in interview②)<
[photo] Yu Gaet-ip SNS, TV CHOSUN
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