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A man considering divorce after his wife appeared to change dramatically following their wedding has shared his story online.
The account, from a man in his mid-30s in his second year of marriage, was recently posted on the YouTube channel of attorney Yang Na-rae.
The man, identified only as A, said he had been upfront with his then-girlfriend about his finances during their courtship, telling her he had not saved much and did not earn a high salary, making it unrealistic to start married life in a large or comfortable home.
His girlfriend — now his wife — encouraged him to propose anyway, saying she would be perfectly happy living in a studio apartment and that what mattered was building a life together, not the size of their home. A said her attitude moved him deeply and convinced him to go through with the marriage.
The couple had planned to take out a jeonse loan and move into a slightly larger place than the studio A had been renting on his own. Those plans fell through when a change in government policy blocked them from securing the loan and the jeonse contract fell apart.
The couple then pooled all their savings and invested more than 100 million won (about $65,100), only to watch the investment lose roughly half its value.
A stroke of luck came when A's parents gifted him an older apartment. He used what remained of the investment money to cover acquisition and gift taxes, and paid for interior renovations.
Despite the improvement in their circumstances, his wife responded with a barrage of complaints about the apartment — grumbling that the commute was terrible, that mold was giving her hives, and asking who could possibly live in such a place.
She went further, suggesting that if his parents had wanted to help, they should have sold their own home to do so, and dismissing the gifted apartment as a worthless "old relic."
The wife also reportedly pressured A to adopt her political views, prevented him from watching television programs featuring celebrities she disliked, and repeatedly refused to be intimate with him.
The stark contrast with the woman he had known before the wedding left A deeply shaken. He was ultimately diagnosed with depression and panic disorder.
"I was so hurt and miserable that I told her we should just get a divorce, but she said, 'Why would I get a divorce? Absolutely not,'" A said, adding that he felt he had been deceived. He asked whether his wife's changed behavior after marriage could constitute grounds for divorce, and whether the situation could be considered a fraudulent marriage.
Attorney Yang said that a spouse simply changing after marriage is not, on its own, sufficient grounds for divorce. However, she added, repeatedly treating in-laws as a source of money, raising financial demands, and making abusive remarks could well constitute fault-based grounds.
On the question of a fraudulent marriage, Yang said annulment is recognized only when a party has concealed information that materially affected the decision to marry — such as a prior marriage, the existence of children, a criminal record, or misrepresentation of education or occupation. She said this case appeared to involve a difference in values and would likely not qualify for annulment.
Yang advised A to gather evidence of his wife's verbal abuse and unreasonable conduct, and to consider filing for divorce while also seeking alimony.
Actor Nam Goong-min has revealed how he gained 17 kilograms for a role, saying he worked out three hours a day and ate six meals daily. He appeared on a recent episode of JTBC's "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator" to share the details.
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