Singer Lee Hyori married indie rock guitarist Lee Sang-soon at a low-key ceremony on Jeju Island on Sept. 1. The former member of early 2000s K-pop girls group FinKL first met the musician in 2008 through a friend but there was no chemistry at the time.
“Our first impression wasn’t good because we had different hobbies and personalities,” Hyori said in an April broadcast of “Healing Camp.”
But she became attracted to him after seeing him go through the process of adopting an abandoned dog.
“Sang-soon called me for advice on adopting a dog,” Hyori said. “He didn’t pick a dog right away but made multiple visits to the dog shelter. I got a crush on him after seeing this.”
The couple began dating in July 2011 after collaborating on a charity single whose proceeds benefited abandoned dogs.
Lee Sang-soon played guitar for Korean indie rock band Roller Coaster, which made their debut in 1999. He attended the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and majored in jazz guitar and released an album with Kim Dong-ryul in 2010. When the public found out he and Hyori were a couple, they began referring to them as “Beauty and the Beast.”
