Lee Yu-jin and Cha Kyung-eun Marry After 5 Months Together, Expecting a Son

Four days before his wedding, actor Lee Yu-jin announced on SBS's My Little Old Boy sibling show Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny that he and fiancée Cha Kyung-eun are expecting a son. The couple, who marry on the 14th in a private ceremony, also explained how Lee came to call actor Jang Dong-yoon, a peer born in the same year and an actor he has long admired, his brother-in-law.

The pair appeared on the episode that aired on the 10th, alongside Lee's father, veteran actor Lee Hyo-jung. Lee Yu-jin said he decided to marry after only five months together. They met when he directed his first project, Cast It If You See the Way, with Cha acting under him. Cha remembered her first impression of the director as an "ice prince," cold and a little frightening. Lee saw her differently: "Kyung-eun is like sunshine," he said, adding that the air on set changed when she arrived and that he thought he wanted to marry someone like her.

They became a couple in June. While they were preparing for the wedding, Cha became pregnant. Lee said the baby, nicknamed Yeoreumi ("Summer"), arrived "like a movie," and that they moved in together because he wanted to look after her. Cha said her husband-to-be tells the baby three reasons he loves her each night before sleeping, as a form of prenatal bonding. Their representatives had earlier said both families were happy to welcome the new life.

A family full of actors

The larger surprise was the family tree. Cha's older sister is actress Kim Seung-yun, who married Jang Dong-yoon on the 10th of last month, which makes Lee and Jang brothers-in-law. Both were born in 1992. "Jang Dong-yoon is going to be my older brother-in-law," Lee told the studio, calling him an actor he has always liked and supported. Panelist Lee Hyun-yi joked that their mother-in-law must be thrilled.

By Lee Hyo-jung's count, once Lee Hyo-jung's brother Lee Ki-young is included, there are six actors across the two families.

The elder Lee did not hold back in praising his future daughter-in-law. He called her kind, beautiful and quick-witted, said she exceeded his expectations by 200%, and joked that his son was finally doing something filial. He and his wife had hoped for a daughter-in-law who was an actor, he said, since a spouse in the same line of work would understand his son's life.

Lee Yu-jin, who acts and is also moving into directing, also praised Cha's looks, saying she resembles senior actress Kim Go-eun, and revealed her school nickname, the "Seoul Institute of the Arts Peach." Cha is known for appearing on Coupang Play's SNL Korea.