Broadcaster Lee Young-ja. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]
Broadcaster Lee Young-ja. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]

Broadcaster Lee Young-ja took an unexpected roasting from an elderly woman in her 80s who did not recognize her — and handled it with nothing but laughter.

A video titled "Lee Young-ja's way to taste autumn first — a warm outing to Noryangjin Fish Market" was posted Sunday to the YouTube channel "Lee Young-ja TV."

That day, Lee visited Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul with friends. While exploring the market to sample seasonal seafood and learn how to fillet fish herself, she struck up a chance conversation with an 84-year-old woman.

The elderly woman, apparently not recognizing Lee, looked at her and said, "You look just like Lee Young-ja. But you're prettier than her."

When one of Lee's companions asked whether she liked Lee Young-ja, the answer was not what anyone expected.

"No, I don't like Lee Young-ja," the woman said without hesitation. "She's too full of herself — she's insufferable."

Rather than looking flustered or offended, Lee burst out laughing. When someone nearby repeated the remark — "She says Lee Young-ja is insufferable" — Lee shot back with a grin, "No, I'm perfectly bearable," taking her own side and sending the whole scene into fits of laughter.

The woman's candid commentary did not stop there. She acknowledged Lee's broadcasting career and financial success but also brought up the fact that Lee had never married, and went on to say that if she ever got the chance to meet Lee Young-ja, she would pass along a message: "Tell her that if she's humble, people won't find her so off-putting."

With the subject of all this criticism standing right in front of her, Lee never revealed her identity, choosing instead to laugh the whole thing off.

When the woman called her "arrogant" again, the people around them could not hold back their laughter.

Lee kept the conversation going afterward, treating the woman to coffee and saying warmly, "When else would I get the chance to buy you one?"


choigo@heraldcorp.com