Actor Kang Shin-il and his wife, Oh Soo-mi, joined the Oct. 20 episode of the SBS reality show “Same Bed, Different Dreams 2” and recounted how they met and married. The couple were introduced as being in their 37th year of marriage. Kang Shin-il and Oh Soo-mi married in 1990 and have three daughters. Fellow cast member Lee Ji-hye admired Oh’s appearance when she entered.

Oh said she had no intention of seeing Kang again after their first meeting. She recalled his heavy beard, long hair and unpolished appearance, and said his small, narrow eyes made him look stern. Oh said she preferred deerlike eyes and found nothing about his appearance appealing at the time. She also thought he seemed unsophisticated and inexperienced in dating. Oh worried that rejecting him herself might hurt him so much that he would lose the courage to meet someone else. Oh said she deliberately talked by herself for 3 hours because she wanted Kang to reject her.

Kang said he thought about living with Oh when they first met. He recalled feeling fortunate simply to sit across from her. Kang said he was poor at speaking, while Oh was cheerful, kept the conversation going and brightened the atmosphere. He felt she had a quality he lacked. Kang said he continued pursuing her, and they eventually married.

Kang recalled calling Oh, who was then a piano academy instructor, every day for about a month. After obtaining the academy’s number, he called her there from a theater. He said he would tell her she was on his mind or wish her a good day. Kang could not remember whether one call was late or did not happen, but said he later heard that Oh had begun waiting for his calls. The episode also showed their contrasting daily habits, portraying Kang as quiet and Oh as someone who talks frequently.