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Doctor couple Yeo Esther and Hong Hye-geol have ended five years of living apart. Amid their reunion, Hong revealed that Yeo — who heads a company with annual sales of 300 billion won ($195 million) — gives him 180 million won every month. Hong boasted that he is the No. 1 "husband blessed with a great wife" in the country.

The couple's daily life after ending their separation was featured Tuesday on SBS's "Dongsang Imong 2 — You Are My Destiny," a reality show following married couples.

Hong expressed his affection, saying, "My wife is truly kind. There's no one like her." Yeo said her husband "spends money as naturally as someone born into a wealthy family," to which Hong replied, "That's because you earn well. Isn't it a joy when someone you love spends money? I'm happy with it."

When Yeo asked, "Shall we switch roles then?" Hong drew laughs by firing back, "Where would I even go to earn money?"

Hong quipped that he had nothing to envy from fellow celebrity husbands Jang Hang-jun, Do Kyung-wan and Lee Sang-soon. "I beat them all. I'm not jealous of any of them. I'm the best," he said, adding, "When it comes to husbands blessed with a great wife, I'm No. 1."

Hong said his YouTube channel currently generates almost no income.

"It's fine because my wife's company provides support," he said, stunning the other guests by revealing he receives 180 million won a month from her company.

He then joked, "Out of 25 million men in South Korea, there's at least one guy like me."

Near the end of the episode, Yeo handed her husband a bundle of cash, which she described as a year's worth of allowance.

The couple's home on Jeju Island, also shown in the episode, was packed with Hong's hobbies — golf equipment, a baduk set, a noraebang setup, video game consoles and exercise machines. It was also revealed that he had spent 70 million won on bicycles alone.

Yeo is a specialist in preventive medicine who founded and runs her own health supplement company.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com