After nearly four years of divorce, the former couple is finding new things in their professional and private lives.
From the “Wedding of the Century” that gained a wealth of support from fans, Song Hye Kyo and Song Joong Ki ended their marriage, to everyone’s surprise. After their divorce, the former couple did not fight over property nor spoke of each other. After almost 4 years, they are focusing on themselves, their career and happiness.
Song Hye Kyo has a jaw-dropping transformation
After the divorce, Song Hye Kyo took a break from acting and mainly participated in events, magazine shooting as well as brand promotion. Her acting roles in “Encounter,” “Now We Are Breaking Up” were slammed with criticism for being “monotonous” and “stereotypical.” Korean news recognized this pattern and wrote that the roles she took were not “challenging” enough for her and “dulled [the] sense of anticipation for viewers”.
She was remarked for being “idyllic” and lacking any breakthrough despite being known as the “Queen of Romantic Drama.” Actresses of her times such as Jun Ji Hyun and Kim Tae Hee have made several breakthroughs and even changes in their acting roles to renew their images.
Song Hye Kyo took a step out of the comfort zone with “The Glory” penned by Kim Eun Sook. She transformed into Moon Dong Eun, a woman carrying emotional and physical scars from being bullied in highschool. She became the homeroom teacher of her bully’s daughter through a carefully crafted plan to pay back those who caused her pain.
Song Hye Kyo’s new image brings more depth and edge to the actress. She went for a diet to look more frail and beaten, especially when she had to expose the scars in front of the male lead. Her simple image in the series with a bare and lined face aim to convey realism and accurately express the psychology of her character.
Upon receiving the opportunity to play the role, Song Hye Kyo said: “I felt a little bad. I wondered what I had been doing until now. I realized I hadn’t been showing the viewers this side of me until now, and that I should work harder.”
The series lands in the top 10 TV series globally in 62 countries on Netflix with a weekly accumulated viewing hours of 82.48 million. The second part of the series is expected to make more breakthroughs.
Song Joong Ki – high-flying career with newfound love
Song Joong Ki immediately focused on his career and artistic attempts after the breakup. He appeared in “Arthdal Chronicles,” “Space Sweepers,” “Vincenzo” and the latest “Reborn Rich.”
His works gain a relatively stable audience. According to Nielsen Korea, the 20th episode of “Vincenzo” achieved an avarage nationwide rating of 14.6% and the highest rating of 16.2%, ranking in first place in its time slot across channels. The series landed in 6th place of TV series with high ratings after “Crash Landing on You,” “Goblin,” “Reply 1988,” “Mr. Sunshine” and “Mr. Queen.”
“Reborn Rich” continues the said success with the rating of the final episode of 26.9%, the highest rating since its air. It came in second place after “The World of the Married” in the “Most Watched TV Series in Cable System in Korea.”
Regarding his personal life, he was wrapped up in dating rumors with a female lawyer, co-star Jeon Yeo Bin from “Vincenzo” or Kim Tae Ri but usually denied the rumors afterwards.
He won the Daesang at “APAN Star Awards 2022” thanks to “Vincenzo” and appeared as a presenter at the “Emmy Awards 2022.” His current net worth is at 47 million USD.
In December last year, Song Joong Ki confirmed dating an English girlfriend and former actress Katy Louise Saunders. They have been together for one year and got to know each other through a mutual acquaintance. Korean news remarked that the actor’s English remarkably improved thanks to his girlfriend.
Rumor has it he might get married after 3 years but every information about his girlfriend and future plans are hidden from the public view.
Source: k14
