![Actor Hwang Jung-eum. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) via The Korea Herald]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/10/news-p.v1.20260520.e324a6ca1efb43e581053186c1b8b9bf_P1.jpg)
Actor Hwang Jung-eum has spoken out about why she reconciled with her ex-husband.
A video titled "The Day ChatGPT Hit Me With Hard Truths (?)" was posted Wednesday on Hwang's YouTube channel.
In the video, Hwang used ChatGPT to map out a life graph and reflect on her personal timeline.
Looking at a graph that showed a downward trend following her 2016 marriage, she said, "I think people have a kind of energy. When you feel good, everything goes well."
"After I got married, my energy became scattered. As my energy declined, my work suffered too," she said candidly. "If I had not gotten married, I think the graph would have gone up."
She drew a line, however, at the suggestion that she regretted the marriage itself. "If I could go back, I would still get married," she said. "That is the only way I could have met my two sons."
Reflecting on 2021 on the graph, she addressed a longstanding misconception about her reconciliation with her ex-husband. "Around that time, I reconciled with my ex-husband and we repaired our relationship. Some people think we got back together because I was pregnant with our second child, but the truth is we reunited because of our first son, Wang-sik," she said. She continued: "After we made up, we decided to live together again for Wang-sik's sake and went on a trip abroad. We planned to have our second child in Hawaii and did. But a lot of people seem to think we reconciled because Kang-sik came along."
Hwang married professional golfer and businessman Lee Young-don in 2016 and gave birth to their first son the following year. She filed for divorce mediation in 2020, but the couple later reconciled and welcomed a second son in 2022. The two ultimately divorced.
Hwang also suspended her activities last year after an embezzlement controversy. She was indicted on charges of withdrawing approximately 4.3 billion won ($3.1 million) from the agency she wholly owned, under the guise of provisional payments, and was subsequently sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for four years. She repaid the full amount.
min3654@heraldcorp.com
