Veteran actress spills secrets to almost 60 years of marriage

Actress Kang Boo-ja, right, and broadcaster Kim Joo-ha appear on MBN's “Kim Joo-ha’s Day & Night." Captured from YouTube

Actress Kang Boo-ja opened up about her 59-year marriage and shared a number of candid pieces of advice with broadcaster Kim Joo-ha.

Saturday's episode of MBN’s “Kim Joo-ha’s Day & Night” recorded a peak nationwide viewership rating of 2.0 percent, according to Nielsen Korea.

While discussing her play “Mom’s House: Two Nights and Three Days,” which has been running for 17 years, Kang recalled her late mother, describing her as a warmhearted and generous woman, and expressed her longing for her.

Although Kang’s mother was broad-minded and compassionate, she was unable to comfortably watch dramas featuring her daughter. “Whenever I appeared on screen, she would get up and walk around because she was so nervous that I might make a mistake, listening only to the sound,” Kang recalled, drawing sympathy from viewers.

Kang also admitted that she herself felt embarrassed watching her work with her mother. “I mostly played elderly characters. How could I show my mother what I looked like in old-age makeup?” she said.

Kang then opened up about the secret to her lasting marriage to actor Lee Muk-won, with whom she has been married for 59 years. She said she had always been understanding when her husband came home late or spent the night out with friends.

When Kim asked, “How much should you forgive a husband?” Kang gave a blunt answer: “As long as he doesn’t come home with a child he had somewhere else.”

When Kim jokingly responded, “What if he did have one somewhere else?” Kang appeared visibly startled, drawing attention.

Kang also revealed how the couple handles their finances. “My husband manages our income, and I receive an allowance and spend that,” she said. She explained that Lee has managed their household finances throughout their marriage and that she sometimes asks him for more money when her allowance runs out, saying, “Give me a little more spending money. I don’t have enough.”

Kang also spoke warmly about her family, including her son, who nearly died of an illness during his first year of middle school, and her strong-minded, considerate daughter.

Her son spent six months in the hospital as a middle school freshman and battled sepsis, coming close to death. He fortunately made a full recovery and now works as a researcher at a medical school in the United States.

Kang also proudly described her daughter’s thoughtfulness. While studying at university on a scholarship, her daughter chose to forgo the financial support so that a senior who had just returned from military service could receive it instead. “Our daughter is very considerate,” Kang said proudly.

Born in 1941, Kang turned 85 years old this year. She began her acting career in 1962 as part of KBS’ second cohort of publicly recruited television actors.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.