Dating guru Kwak Jung-eun reveals romance with British beer expert

By Ko Dong-hwan

Dating counselor and sex adviser Kwak Jung-eun confessed on TV that she is dating a British writer who has been active in Korea as a journalist and columnist.

Kwak, 41, a prominent writer and TV personality on women's well-being and psychological health, shared the news when she was a guest on TV talk show “Video Star” on MBC Every1 on June 11.

Kwak's partner is Daniel Tudor, whose 2012 report about South Korean beers “tasting worse than North Korean Taedonggang” beer stirred controversy. He later explained that he wanted to say that South Korean beers lacked diversity while there are many imports.

Tudor, 37, came to Seoul in 2002 as a correspondent for The Economist. He opened a pub ― “The Booth” in Seoul's Itaewon area ― with friends a year after his beer story was published. The craft-beer parlor that sold Taedonggang on tap later opened its second branch in the Gangnam area.

Tudor appeared as a guest on the TV food show “Tasty Road” on OtvN in 2014 and the quiz show “Problematic Man” on tvN in January this year. Since quitting his job at The Economist, he has been writing columns and books on Korea's domestic issues.

Kwak's agency, Dmost Entertainment, did not confirm her relationship with Tudor, saying Thursday “her private matters couldn't be checked for veracity,” according to reports.

Kwak, who divorced in 2009, wrote stories for women's magazines including “Cosmopolitan,” “Singles” and “Lifestyle” for 13 years before cementing her current public image as a popular TV personality and consultant.

She condemned on Instagram Tuesday those who criticized her for dating Tudor. She said they “don't know how to share their agonies other than by defecating vulgar, violent language online behind the shade of anonymity.”