On the Sept. 22 episode of SBS’s "Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny", former soccer star Kim Young-kwang and his wife, dermatologist Kim Eun-ji, joined as the show’s newest couple―and she opened up about just how grateful she is to him.
After three years of dating, the pair married and now share two daughters. But they admitted they once hit a rough patch over Kim’s gaming habit. “After I retired, I suddenly had so much time, so I played a lot,” Kim recalled. “I even hit No. 1 in Korea with one character―and that lit a fire.”
Kim Eun-ji said the marathon sessions―four to five hours a day―left them barely talking. She asked him to cap it at one to two hours, but when that didn’t stick, she started wondering, “Why are we living like this?”
According to Kim, things snapped into focus when his wife told him that if he played one more time, she’d file for divorce. “I changed on the spot,” he said. “I even deleted the character that was ranked No. 1. My fingers were shaking while I did it.”
Actress Im Soo-hyang, who knows the couple well, chimed in: “I was the biggest victim,” she joked. “They’d fight and come to me, each venting their side―it was exhausting!”
Later, at Kim Eun-ji’s dermatology clinic, Kim picked up the tab for procedures for younger colleagues. When Baek Ji-hoon tried to stop him―“Why are you paying?”―Kim quipped, “I’ve got a W.C.―the Wife Card,” and coolly charged it to his wife’s credit card.
“I just wanted to treat them on their first visit,” he said. “You know, that classy, loyal move.”
Kim Eun-ji playfully rolled her eyes: “He even pulled cash out of my wallet―and then paid with my card.” Kim laughed, “There’s a wild card in soccer. For me, there’s a wife card.”
She added that she lets it slide because she knows his pride. “He’s the type who’d feel bad if he couldn’t pay, so I let him have that moment.”
Hearing this, Baek Ji-hoon and Lee Keun-ho couldn’t help but say Kim married well.
But Kim Eun-ji turned the spotlight back on her husband. “People see us now and say he married well, but we’ve been together since I was in college. I told him I wanted to keep studying, and he covered my grad school tuition and supported everything I needed to get in,” she said. “Thanks to him, I get to do the work I love today.”
Comedian Kim Sook replied, “So Kim Young-kwang made you a doctor,” while Im Soo-hyang added, “When I first met them, she was prepping for grad school.”
“Many athletes need a lot of care―meals, day-to-day support,” Kim Eun-ji continued. “But he never demanded that. He took care of himself so I could focus on studying. During the off-season, he probably wanted to travel and spend time together, but he stayed by my side and waited. I’m grateful not for one big moment, but for how he patiently stood by me for a long time.”
Kim wrapped things up with a simple, steady declaration: “I always say this―today, too, I love you.”
“I was going to say that first,” she replied with a smile. “I don’t usually, but today I will. I love you, too.” And with that, the studio melted into warm smiles.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Hyo-jung)