Hong Seok-cheon tells Ji Yeon-su to skip men and "just hang out with gays" in YouTube reunion

Seven years later, same big-brother energy

Hong Seok-cheon and Ji Yeon-su reunited on camera for the first time in roughly seven years when a video titled 18년 전 첫 만남 홍석천 보석 강탈 지연수 dropped on Ji's YouTube channel 지연수의 연수롭다 on November 2. They'd worked together on broadcast before. The gap changed nothing—Hong Seok-cheon's protective streak was still there.

First thing after hello: he asked if she was seeing anyone. When Ji Yeon-su said "남자 없다" (no men), he switched into advisor mode.

"Don't date. Just hang out with gay people. What men? You should play it safe. Everything outside the door is dangerous."

Then, more earnest: "Really, please. Listen to your oppa. Don't judge on your own."

The "stolen jewel" story from 18 years ago

The conversation circled back eighteen years. Ji Yeon-su had once visited Hong Seok-cheon's restaurant with a man she was interested in. He photographed the guy. "I thought, 'I'm inevitably losing again,'" he said. "I lost my jewel again."

He'd been particularly fond of that man. Male celebrities used to ask him how they could meet Ji Yeon-su. He envied her for it. He was jealous too. With characteristic bluntness, he also said he dislikes the institution of marriage itself and questions why anyone would bother.

On how she looked now versus then, he was direct. Before: always tired, exhausted, worried. "Like a young head of household." Now her face is "bright as if it's been ironed" and she has become more beautiful.

The divorce context

Ji Yeon-su married Eli (일라이) of U-KISS in 2014. They had a son, Min-su, before divorcing in 2020. She is currently raising Min-su alone. Eli recently announced his remarriage. Hong Seok-cheon's unsolicited no-dating decree lands differently with that timeline in mind.