Comedian Lee Sun-min, born in 1988, admits to looking old: 'I was charged adult bus fare in middle school'

Comedian Lee Sun-min has shared a story about how a mature appearance caused awkward moments in youth.

Lee and Code Kunst appeared as guests on Sunday's episode of the JTBC variety program Please Take Care of My Refrigerator, where both showed off their sharp wit.

On the show, Lee Sun-min revealed that chef Edward Lee, born in 1972, had assumed Lee was his contemporary — even though Lee Sun-min was born in 1988. "I'm living life at 1.7 times the speed of everyone else," Lee said.

Lee Sun-min drew laughter from the studio when recalling being told from a young age that those looks would work in their favor over time. "People always said, 'A face like yours gets better with age — you'll look young later on,'" Lee said. "But I've proven that wrong. I age twice as fast as everyone else. There's a law of accelerated aging."

Lee Sun-min then recounted an incident from middle school days on a bus. "In my first year of middle school, I got on a bus and paid 1,000 won, but the driver charged me the adult fare," Lee said. "When I said I was a student, the driver stared at me for a long time and said, 'Don't lie to me, young man — there are passengers waiting behind you.'" The anecdote sent the studio into another round of laughter.

Lee Sun-min added, "Looking at photos from back then, I can't even feel that wronged. At a glance, I looked like I could be my father's peer."

A middle school graduation photo of Lee Sun-min shown on the program drew attention, capturing a noticeably more mature appearance compared to classmates.