Comedian Jo Hye-ryun, who was initially hesitant to appear on ‘Jorong Janchi’, opened up about her past connection with her college classmate, entertainer Hong Seok-cheon.
A video titled ‘Jo Hye-ryun Jorong Janchi’ was recently uploaded to the YouTube channel ‘Lee Yong-jin YouTube’.
During the episode, Jo Hye-ryun confessed that she had turned down the offer to appear several times. She shared, “To be honest, I didn’t want to come on ‘Jorong Janchi’. I do like Yong-jin, so I asked, ‘How much are you paying?’ I needed money for this month’s living expenses,” sparking laughter with her honest reason.
Jo Hye-ryun continued, “I declined a few times because I saw Shin Dong-yup, Kim Jang-hoon, and Hong Seok-cheon were appearing.” When the cast jokingly asked, “Aren’t those people you’ve all dated?” she quickly denied it, saying, “I think people believe we dated, but we didn’t.”
She especially caught attention by mentioning an anecdote about Hong Seok-cheon from their college days. Jo Hye-ryun recalled, “Hong Seok-cheon is my college classmate. Back then, he liked women.” When those around her jokingly suggested, “Did he become gay because of Jo Hye-ryun sunbaenim?” she hurriedly clarified, “No! It’s not because of me,” leaving the set in bursts of laughter.
She further recalled her school days, saying, “At the time, he dated someone and it didn’t work out, and while doing plays, the vibe changed a bit.” The cast kept the mood light, commenting, “We don’t know the details of that process. We should listen to ‘Gay Begins’ sometime.”
Meanwhile, Hong Seok-cheon gained significant attention in 2000 as the first celebrity in South Korea to come out as gay.
