The Chosun Ilbo Chart of Quickie Divorces

Since the private life of stars has always attracted huge curiosity, not a day passes without news about their marriages, divorces and remarriages making headlines. Especially their divorces. Here in Korea, the star couple Lee Min-young and Lee Chan have recently been in the spotlight because they announced their divorce a mere 12 days after walking down the aisle. News of former LG Twins outfielder Seo Yong-bin and actor Yoo Hye-jeong's divorce this week also garnered attention for the brevity of their union. Still, few Korean stars break their vow to love each other until death do them part so soon, though it's common among international stars, some of whom part ways days or even hours after tying the knot. The Chosun Ilbo takes a look at the quickies.

▶ Do they get married to get divorced?

Britney Spears is famous for her rapid divorces. Spears tied the knot with her childhood friend Jason Alexander in Las Vegas one evening in 2004. Her impulsive marriage ended no more than 55 hours later when, regaining her senses, she announced her divorce. After that, Spears got married to Kevin Federline, a background dancer of her ex-boyfriend and singer Justin Timberlake. Their marriage seemed happy, but she sought a divorce last November after giving birth to two children. By her standards, it had lasted an epic two years.

But Spears does not claim the record for the fastest divorce: that goes to the actress Robin Givens, the former wife of boxer Mike Tyson, who filed for divorce from her second husband Svetozar Marinkovic just a day after they were married. In the heyday of Hollywood, the Hungarian-born starlet Zsa Zsa Gabor and actor Felipe de Alba were also separated in less than a day.

▶ Divorce as hobby

It seems that some stars prove that frequent divorce can be habit-forming. The actress Drew Barrymore got married to businessman Jeremy Thomas in 1994, only to get divorced less than a month later. She remarried comedian Michael Thomas Green in 2001, but ended their marriage after five months. Now she has been seeing drummer Fabrizio Moretti for over four years without considering tying the knot. Is it because she is afraid of getting married after the two failures or due to her experience as a child of divorced parents?

Actress/singer Jennifer Lopez also earns a spot on the chart with two short marriages. She was married to club manager Ojani Noa for a year in 1997, and got married again to dancer Chris Judd in 2001; it lasted for only eight months. Then, she dominated the headlines by announcing her marriage to actor Ben Affleck, but ended up in marrying Salsa singer Mark Anthony instead, who himself divorced his wife to live with Lopez. The couple got married just four days after Anthony's divorce. They are still together.

The singer Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, lived with Michael Jackson for 20 months and Nicolas Cage for three and a half.


▶ Are Korean stars steadier?

Korean stars are living steady lives by comparison. The actress Chae Rim, who just made a TV comeback with a leading role in the new KBS 2TV drama "Dalja's Spring", got divorced from singer Lee Seung-hwan after a three-year marriage. Actress Lee Hye-yeong, who happens to appear in the same drama as Chae, filed for divorce from singer Lee Sang-min just one year after they were married following a decade courtship. Singer Lee Seung-chul, who recently announced his plans to marry again, wed the actress Kang Moon-yeong in 1995 and divorced two years later. Singer Kang Su-sie ended her five-year marriage last year. Actress Ko Hyeon-jeong, who made a glamorous comeback after divorce, may feel proud to have stuck it out for more than eight years.

The divorce rate among stars is about the same as among ordinary people; it's just that their divorces get special attention because they are famous and their private lives are everybody's business. Moreover, even if only a few stars live fast, people think that all stars must be like that. For many, it must be painful to see the difficulties in their lives gossiped about, although some may argue that is the price of stardom.