Actor Lee Jung-jin. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) provided]
Actor Lee Jung-jin. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) provided]

Actor Lee Jung-jin, 48, laid out his firm views on dating and relationships during a recent television appearance.

Appearing as a guest on the tvN STORY variety program "Namgyeoseo Mwohage," a talk show about single life that aired Monday, Lee shared his thoughts on romance and marriage.

When host Park Se-ri asked when he last dated, Lee said it had been a year and a half. He added that his longest relationship had lasted "about two to three years."

"There's always a sense of regret — I do think 'what if I had done things differently back then,'" Lee said. "But I don't hold on. When it's over, it's over. I've never gotten back together with anyone."

Co-host Lee Young-ja brought up a moment from the Channel A variety show "Sinrang Sueop 2," a dating reality program, in which Lee drew criticism for not opening a car door for his blind date, and asked him to explain his reasoning.

"If you're going to do something, I think you should do it all the way," Lee said. "If someone is physically uncomfortable, carrying a lot of luggage or elderly, of course I would open the door for them."

He went on to say, "If a woman takes it for granted that a man will open her car door, she should find herself a secretary."

When Lee Young-ja asked whether he had never once opened a car door for a partner while dating, Lee said flatly, "Never."

"If I open it once, I think I have to keep doing it for the rest of my life," he said. "I can do things like setting out chopsticks and spoons — all of that. But does it really have to extend to car doors?"

Park Se-ri then posed a hypothetical: what would he do if a girlfriend said she wanted to be treated like a princess on her birthday? "I'm not a prince," Lee replied. Park shot back, "He's a frustrating man. That's why he lives alone."

Lee said he also has no fixed ideas about domestic expectations. "I don't have the notion that a woman must put out a lavish spread first thing in the morning," he said. "If my partner does that for me, I'll do the same — but I don't take it for granted."

On the subject of marriage, Lee said he wants children. "I want to have kids if I get married. The reason I want to get married is to have children," he said.

When Lee Young-ja told him he had better hurry, Lee laughed and said, "Does rushing really make it happen?" Lee Young-ja joked, "From where I'm standing, I don't think you're ever going to get married."

"What matters to me is doing what I need to do and not causing trouble for the other person," Lee said.


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