Forestella’s Ko Woo-rim shares story of romance and marriage with figure skating star Kim Yuna
Ko Woo-rim shares stories about his wife, former world figure skating champion Kim Yuna, on MBC’s “Radio Star.” Courtesy of MBC
Ko Woo-rim, a member of crossover vocal group Forestella, opened up about his relationship with Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yuna, revealing how their romance began and eventually led to marriage.
Appearing on MBC’s talk show “Radio Star” on Wednesday, Ko recalled that Kim Yuna had made the first move. “It was my wife who contacted me first,” he said, referring to their first meeting on May 21, 2018, during an ice show where Forestella performed.
After the performance, Kim sent a thank-you message to Forestella’s leader, Cho Min-kyu, which led to the two eventually meeting for a meal. It happened to be Ko’s birthday, and Kim sent him a congratulatory message, marking the start of their relationship.
Ko said the couple dated in secret for four years. “I wasn’t widely known at the time, so people didn’t really notice,” he said. “When I exchanged messages with her, I felt a sense of calm. I thought, ‘This is the kind of person I could marry.’”
He also spoke about how Kim supported him when he was considering military service. “She coolly told me, ‘Just go,’ and that gave me a lot of strength,” he said. “When she visited me at the base and wrote ‘Kim Yuna’ on the visitor log, the entire unit went wild. She basically held a fan signing event.”
After completing his service, Ko said the couple traveled to Paris for nine days. “It felt like a reward for the time we couldn’t spend together,” he said. “At first, the hotel staff treated us with typical French aloofness, but on the last day, they recognized her. One staff member smiled and said, ‘Olympic champion Yuna Kim, congratulations on your successful life.’”
Ko studied vocal music at Seoul National University and rose to fame after winning JTBC’s audition program “Phantom Singer 2” in 2017 with Forestella, which debuted that same year. In October 2022, he and Kim Yuna married after four years of dating, drawing attention from fans around the world.
Ko is currently preparing for Forestella’s comeback in July, along with an upcoming concert tour in Seoul, Busan and Daegu. Toward the end of the show, he is expected to showcase his vocal prowess with a performance that highlights his signature ability to effortlessly move between deep lows and soaring highs.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.