Actress Kim Bo Yeon took part in the MBC's variety show Radio Star as a guest. She spoke about her role in the drama Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce) and also spilled beans about acting opposite her ex-husband Jeon No Min. The drama aired between January 23 and March 14, 2021 is considered successful as it holds the record for the highest viewership ratings ever achieved by a TV Chosun drama.
Kim Bo yeon and Jeon No Min had divorced in 2012 after being married for eight years. The drama Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce), tells the story of three women in their 30s, 40s and 50s, who experience various troubles in their married life. In real life, the couple is said to have hardly met after getting divorced.
'Married Strangers'
In the drama, Kim Bo Yeon plays the role of Kim Dong Mi, the young stepmother of Shin Yoo Shin (played by Lee Tae Gon). Jeon No Min plays the role of Park Hae Ryoon, the husband of Lee Si Eun (played by Jun Soo Kyung). Though not being cast opposite each other, there were instances when they had some encounters. Speaking about their first encounter in nearly a decade, Kim Bo Yeon said: "It had been about ten years since we last met. Since we were meeting again after we'd divorced, it felt a bit strange. We weren't strangers, and we didn't have a senior-junior relationship either."
She said that she felt that the staff was also feeling awkward when both of them were in the same set. Moreover there was a scene they had to see face to face. As the staff was feeling awkward, Kim Bo Yeon took the initiative to make the environment less awkward. "I felt that if I didn't do anything, the production staff would feel more awkward around us, so I went up to him and asked how he'd been doing and asked after his daughter." It can be noted that Jeon No Min had a daughter from his first marriage, not from his marriage to Kim Bo Yeon.
The Awkward Encounter
Speaking about facing Jeon No Min, Kim Bo Yeon said: "During the filming for the second season, there's a scene in which our characters meet. I have to look at him and his co-star in the scene and say, 'You look good together.' But I had a hard time looking him in the eye, so I looked just past him instead."
Reacting to the same, emcee of the show Radio Star, Kim Gu Ra, said that it is very much possible that married couple become strangers to each other. "It's okay not to make it too complicated," said Kim Gu Ra, speaking from his own experience of being divorced. Kim Bo Yeon took this positively and said: "I'm a simple person, even when it comes to romantic relationships."
Jeon No Min and Kim Bo Yeon had met each other on the sets of TV series A Saint and a Witch in 2003. The couple fell in love and their decision to marry after one year in 2004 had shocked fans as Jeon No Min was 10 years younger to the actress. It was a second marriage for both actors. Reports claim that the couple ventured into Family's Honor makgeolli business in 2008. But failure in the business is said to have caused rift between the actors, who eventually divorced in 2012.
