There are real friends in showbiz too: Gong Hyo-jin surprises fans with a 28-year-old throwback, staying by Shin Min-a’s side from their girlhood all the way to marriage

Korean actress Gong Hyo-jin recently surprised fans by sharing a vintage 1998 photo with Shin Min-a on Instagram, revealing their close friendship of 28 years. The two friends both began their careers as models, and their love lives have followed remarkably similar paths: Gong Hyo-jin and Shin Min-a went on to marry Kevin Oh and Kim Woo-bin, respectively. In Korea’s fiercely competitive entertainment industry, seeing a friendship endure from their fresh-faced teenage years to their rise as top stars truly warms the heart.

• Related reading: Can’t find the perfect wedding dress? Shin Min-a’s gorgeous bridal looks, one romantic and one elegant, came from these two dream brands!

Quiet companionship from 1998 to today

Gong Hyo-jin wrote “1998-” in an emotional Instagram post and shared two photo booth pictures of the pair set in a vintage keychain. Dressed simply in casual clothes, they radiate unfiltered, youthful charm with their clear, glowing skin and bright, first-love smiles. Their bond began back in 1998, when they debuted as magazine models. They later both moved into film and television, even playing sisters in the 2009 movie “Like It This Way Now.” Their 28-year friendship hasn’t changed with fame; it has only grown stronger over time.

Parallel lives with strikingly similar love stories

Beyond their enviable friendship, the two friends have made surprisingly similar choices in love. Gong Hyo-jin married singer Kevin Oh, who is 10 years her junior, in 2022. To be with his wife, he gave up his U.S. citizenship and enlisted in the military, completing his service last June. Shin Min-a and Kim Woo-bin, who is 5 years younger than her, weathered his difficult battle with cancer together before finally holding a private wedding last December and officially becoming husband and wife.

What is most moving about these two relationships isn’t that they both married younger men, but that each found a soulmate with whom she can fully relax, feel secure, and be herself. That sense of ease – meeting the right person at the right time without rushing – aligns perfectly with what modern women hope for in an ideal marriage.

Their lives offscreen aren’t the only thing going well; these close friends’ careers are thriving, too. Gong Hyo-jin’s new MBC drama “Killer Mommy” is ready to launch, and she is set to show off her powerful acting once again. Shin Min-a, meanwhile, is active across the big screen and streaming: her suspense thriller “Pupil” is confirmed to open in Korean theaters on June 24, while the Disney+ fantasy period drama “Remarried Empress,” in which she stars, will also be released soon.

Watching these two friends shine in their personal lives and careers may bring your own close friends to mind. Pick up the phone and send them an “I miss you so much”!

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