Broadcaster Hong Jin-kyung (47) has revealed the circumstances that led to her late announcement of her divorce after 22 years of marriage.
On the 6th, a video titled "Finally, Jeong Seon-hee's 30-year close friend Hong Jin-kyung ♥ A story only close friends can share" was uploaded to the YouTube channel 'The House of Jeong Seon-hee'.
In this video, Hong Jin-kyung confessed the fact of her divorce, which she had kept private for about a year, stating, "If I were to talk about myself publicly, it had to be in front of my sister. I have no secrets from her, and I have always shared everything first."
Jeong Seon-hee cautiously asked, "Are you okay now?" to which Hong Jin-kyung replied, "I’m okay. Rael is doing very well, and most importantly, she is getting along well with her dad." She then added, "The unfortunate thing is that we have only now regained our true friendship after becoming strangers."
"I kept wondering, 'When should I say this? Is it okay to let it go without saying anything?'" she expressed, "It felt like I was deceiving people, and it weighed heavily on my heart. I didn’t know the right timing or how to talk about it."
She continued, "For 27-28 years, only Rael's dad knew. We didn’t separate because of anyone's fault. After we broke up and became strangers, we developed a true friendship. He was the older brother I liked so much when I was dating, and I trusted him a lot."
She mentioned that her relationship with her in-laws and her husband's family is good as well. "I didn’t know that my mother and mother-in-law were such cool people. It’s almost like Hollywood," she said, adding, "In fact, my mother-in-law advised me to wait until Rael is a bit older to announce it, saying she hoped I wouldn’t announce it now. So I couldn’t say more."
Additionally, she stated, "It became a situation where I could no longer postpone it, so I explained everything to my mother and Rael's dad and sought everyone's permission."
On that day, a representative from Hong Jin-kyung's agency, TN Entertainment, confirmed, "It is true that Hong Jin-kyung has divorced," adding, "It’s not a recent event; it has been a while. She conveyed that she wanted to live differently and that they parted amicably."
Hong Jin-kyung married her husband, a businessman five years her senior, in 2003. They welcomed their daughter, Kim Rael, in 2010.
Hong Jin-kyung debuted as a supermodel in 1993 and is also well-known as a kimchi entrepreneur beyond her career as an entertainer. She currently runs the YouTube channel 'Gongbubang Jjin Genius'.
