Cho Young-nam, Yoon Hyung-joo, and Kim Se-hwan appeared on KBS 1TV’s ‘AM Plaza’ on the 12th. During the broadcast, Cho Young-nam and Yoon Hyung-joo shared that they had their 80th birthday celebrations, which were organized by their close friends, actresses Lee Sung-mi and Jung Sun-hee.
When the MCs referred to Cho Young-nam’s female acquaintances as “female friends,” Cho corrected them, saying, “They are my girlfriends. People tell me to put the word ‘friend’ in the middle, but I don’t.” Kim Se-hwan added, “His girlfriends throw him birthday parties and many of them attended. What’s interesting is that usually, girlfriends don’t get along, but Cho Young-nam’s girlfriends actually like each other.”
To this, Cho Young-nam remarked, “The most successful kings were those who managed their concubines well.” He added, “Kim Se-hwan and Yoon Hyung-joo are unique because they are still living with the women they first met. That is truly impressive.”
Yoon Hyung-joo revealed he has lived with his wife for 52 years, while Kim Se-hwan said 50 years. Hearing this, Cho Young-nam mentioned his own marriage lasted 13 years, jokingly saying, “That is the only thing they have on me.”
He then claimed, “I had a ‘great divorce.’ Because of the divorce, that woman did well, and I succeeded as a painter,” referring to Youn Yuh-jung.
Cho Young-nam married actress Youn Yuh-jung in 1974 and they had two sons. After divorcing in 1987, he remarried a non-celebrity woman 18 years his junior in 1995, but that marriage also ended. Since then, Cho has frequently mentioned his ex-wife, Youn Yuh-jung, on various shows.
In 2021, when Youn Yuh-jung won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the movie ‘Minari’, Cho faced criticism for saying it felt like “an elegant revenge against a cheating husband.” He later explained that he was targeted by malicious comments and clarified, “I was trying to express that she became more wonderful than I am. That was my sincere intention.”
Cho has continued to bring up his divorce from Youn Yuh-jung on several broadcasts, gathering attention by stating, “I was kicked out because I cheated,” and “Because I cheated, that woman also did well.”
