South Korean television personality and comedian Jung Sun-hee has clarified why she has not entered a new relationship in recent years, saying she is not avoiding romance but choosing not to rush it. In a candid conversation, she emphasized that any future partnership would have to fit her current way of living and account for real-world responsibilities on both sides, rather than follow external expectations about dating or marriage.
Her remarks came in an episode released on August 25 of New Woman, a web variety show produced by the YouTube channel Rolling Thunder in South Korea. Speaking with fellow comedians Lee Kyung-sil and Jo Hye-ryun, Jung addressed public curiosity about her private life after Lee noted that many people wonder why she is not dating. Jung framed her stance as deliberate and pace-conscious, not as a rejection of relationships.
Jung described herself as comfortable living alone and said she rarely feels intense loneliness. She enjoys time spent reading or watching films and performances, and even after meeting close friends, she needs personal downtime. She also acknowledged practical constraints: she does not actively participate in social gatherings aimed at expanding one’s network, which naturally reduces opportunities to meet potential partners.
Friends have tried to help. Lee, a long-time colleague, said she once sought to introduce someone to Jung, but Jung declined. Jung explained she does not want to start a relationship because of a momentary mood or social pressure and finds herself considering the practical burdens a partner would share if they were to date her. Even so, she has not closed the door. In a video posted in July on Jung’s own YouTube channel featuring a trip to Jeju with television personality Hong Jin-kyung, the two discussed the possibility of introductions, and Hong said she was exploring a blind date for Jung.
Jung’s caution is rooted in experience. She married actor Ahn Jae-hwan in 2007 and was widowed the following year, after which she faced significant personal and professional difficulties. She recalled losing about 12 kilograms over roughly three months during that period, and Lee recounted how her family helped Jung with meals. The New Woman episode also mixed in lighter memories from the trio’s decades in entertainment, and Jung mentioned she recently completed about a year of orthodontic treatment.
A veteran who debuted in 1992 as an SBS comedian and is widely known as a long-time host of SBS’s TV Animal Farm, Jung used the conversation to recast her view of relationships: not a vow to remain single, but a commitment to patience and fit. For international viewers, New Woman is an online talk-and-variety program centered on contemporary women’s perspectives, and the friends’ efforts to arrange introductions reflect a common, culturally familiar path to dating in South Korea.
