Song Hye-kyo (L) and Song Joong-ki. The couple announced their decision of divorce on June 27, 2019. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — It took less than four years for the top stars Song Hye-kyo and Song Joong-ki to fall in love through a mega hit drama series, get married in a wildly publicized wedding ceremony and come to a surprising divorce that set off a whirlwind of rumors.
The management agencies of the actor and actress said Thursday they filed for a court-mediated divorce a day earlier to end their marriage that started in October 2017.
According to sources close to Song Hye-kyo, the two sides have agreed upon most of the terms of the divorce, including the division of assets.
This means their marriage might come to an end in the near future, without resorting to a court battle.
The divorce marks a crushing end of their much-blessed romance and union formed through the mega hit KBS drama series “Descendants of the Sun,” which ran for two months in early 2016.
The shooting for the series lasted from June to December 2015.
It was the actor Song’s first acting project since his two-year military service that temporarily pushed him out of the public eye.
For the actress Song, “Descendants of the Sun” was also her first TV appearance in about three years.
The sparkling romance of the couple, respectively playing the role of a special forces captain and a doctor dispatched overseas as peace keeping forces in the series, drove up the show’s viewing rate to nearly 39 percent, making it one of the most successful TV series of all time in Korea.
Rumors about their real romance emerged in March 2016 and again in June the next year, but the two sides denied their relationship before making a surprise announcement of their decision of marriage in July 2017.
The wedding in October the same year was arguably the most eye-catching event of the entertainment industry in the years before and after.
(image: Capture from Instagram of Song Hye-kyo)
Following the marriage, however, the couple has been facing nagging rumors of separation, and some Chinese media outlets tried to verify it by publishing photos of the actress Song without her wedding band on in early 2019.
Internally in South Korea, the couple has also been rumored to be living separately.
Despite the continuing speculation pestering the couple, the divorce news is something unexpected after Song Joong-ki spoke well of the marriage in a public event a month earlier.
Speaking at a news conference on his news drama series, “Arthdal Chronicles,” on May 28, he said, “After marriage, I earned stability of mind. My wife encouraged me to keep focusing throughout the shooting, and I finished the filming well thanks to her.”
As did the couple’s sensational romance and marriage, their divorce has stirred up a whirlwind of mobile messenger-circulated rumors, mainly about the reason for the breakup.
Some of the rumors involved Park Bo-gum, a 26-year-old actor, whom the actress Song collaborated with in her recent drama series “Encounter.”
As the rumors gained traction, Blossom Entertainment, the management agency of Park and Song Joong-ki, warned of legal action against those who circulate any groundless rumors or news reports.
As the reason of the divorce came to the forefront of public curiosity, Song Hye-kyo’s talent agency, the United Artists Agency, said, “The two sides inevitably made the decision, unable to overcome personality differences.”
But both of the couple’s management agencies refused to elaborate further, leaving the exact cause of the end of the much celebrated marriage up in the air.
(Yonhap)
