Jin Tae-hyun on shotgun marriages: "Hell could begin" without real commitment

"Hell could begin" — Jin Tae-hyun draws a hard line

Actor Jin Tae-hyun spoke bluntly about shotgun marriages in a video posted October 30 on the YouTube channel 박시은 진태현 작은 테레비. The video, titled 박시은 진태현의 부부학교 제2강 빠르면 좋다 책임지는 자녀 계획, is the second installment of a couples' series he runs with his wife, actor Park Si-eun.

He started by seeming permissive. "I'm really 100% in favor of it," he said of couples who become pregnant before marriage. Then he split the difference. Couples with no marriage plans who only wed because of an unplanned pregnancy are a different story. "This really needs to be thought through," he said.

The real problem: marrying out of obligation instead of conviction. Someone who thinks I should still take responsibility without actually wanting to commit. He said he'd still accept that, but only if one thing holds true: "You really have to protect it with your life, to the end. With responsibility."

Skip that step, and things get dark. "If you marry without that, really — not all cases — but hell could begin," he warned. He's watched it happen. "I've seen too many cases like this around me."

Where he personally stands

Jin Tae-hyun stopped short of declaring this a universal moral rule. "The times have changed so much these days, so it's not about what's right or wrong," he said. Then the personal boundary: "But by the standard of the human Jin Tae-hyun, it doesn't work."

What he actually wants is simple. Dating with marriage already in mind, then a pregnancy? "That's a blessing. A truly great blessing."

These aren't abstract thoughts for him. Jin Tae-hyun and Park Si-eun married in 2015 and have spoken openly about pregnancy loss and miscarriage. Earlier this year, they announced they had decided to stop pursuing biological children. (The series title — 책임지는 자녀 계획, roughly "responsible family planning" — carries weight knowing that.)