Published: 28 Aug. 2024, 15:17 Updated: 28 Aug. 2024, 16:49
- YOON SO-YEON
- yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
Singer Song Ji-eun, left, and YouTuber Park We of YouTube channel Weracle [SCREEN CAPTURE]
Love definitely conquers all — the touching love story of singer Song Ji-eun and partially paralyzed YouTuber Park We is coming back to the spotlight with less than two months left for their wedding on Oct. 9.
Song and Park, aged 34 and 37 respectively, announced their relationship through their Instagram posts last December, both emphasizing each others’ devotion to each other and their faith.
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“I have met someone who has come into my life just like a gift,” Song wrote on her Instagram post on Dec. 21, 2023. “I hope you support and watch over us with prayers as I continue my life with someone who has such a great attitude toward life and knows how to love people.”
Park also wrote on the same day that he met “someone with a warm and caring heart.”
“I have met Ji-eun who has a tender heart and a strong belief in God,” he said.
Singer Song Ji-eun, left, and YouTuber Park We of YouTube channel Weracle [SCREEN CAPTURE]
According to a YouTube video titled "Our story of falling in love at first sight" uploaded on Park's YouTube channel Weracle,a mutual acquaintance, comedian Kim Ki-lee, introduced the two to each other, and they met at church for the first time.
“When I met this Park We person for the first time, the doors to my heart just opened up wide,” Song said in the video.
According to Song, she was told about Park by Kim and followed him to church and instantly fell in love. And she wasn’t the only one.
“There were about a dozen people at the church that day, but I could only spot one person — it didn’t feel real,” Park said, reciprocating Song’s enthusiastic reminiscence. “I couldn’t stop thinking about her after I went home.”
Singer Song Ji-eun, left, and YouTuber Park We of YouTube channel Weracle [SCREEN CAPTURE]
The two followed each other on Instagram and got to know each other through online messages.
On March 13 last year, Park's birthday, Song texted him a birthday message.
“I lost my mind because I was so happy,” he said at an MBC talk show earlier this year. The two went to see “Suzume” (2022) together as their first date and confessed their feelings toward each other soon after, according to the YouTuber.
“I was so nervous at the theater that all I can remember is Suzume and her door,” he said. “But it turned out that [Ji-eun] had fallen for me too.”
Singer Song Ji-eun, right, and YouTuber Park We of YouTube channel Weracle [SCREEN CAPTURE]
One thing that particularly touches onlookers is the couple’s infinite positivity toward life and Park’s disabilities.
Park became paralyzed from the neck down due to a 3-meter (10-foot) fall he suffered in May 2014 and partially recovered function in his upper body. But rather than letting it take the better of him, Park began a YouTube channel called Weracle in 2019 to encourage disabled people like him to never give up.
Weracle is a combination of the words We, Park’s name, and miracle. The channel has 868,000 subscribers as of August.
When asked if Park using a wheelchair bothered her during the first date, Song said, "I actually like it better."
Singer Song Ji-eun, left, and YouTuber Park We of YouTube channel Weracle, seen in a car together in March [NEWS1]
“Parking is cheaper and the disabilities spot is right in front of the entrance so we don’t have to walk much," she explained in the "Our story of falling in love at first sight" video. "We only go to places where we can use wheelchairs so it’s more convenient for me to walk.”
Song debuted as a member of girl group Secret in 2009, known for its songs "Madonna" and "Shy Boy," and was also active as an actor and solo artist. She joined Park's company WeracleFactory last year. The company was founded in April 2018 by Park and only manages Park and Song.
The couple will tie the knot at a wedding hall in Cheongdam-dong in southern Seoul on Oct. 9. The ceremony will be held privately with friends and family.
“I’m looking forward to our future together,” Park said. “I want to show Ji-eun that every day can be happy.”
BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]