Actor Lee Pil-mo owes TV much of his life

Aug 21, 2019

Lee Pil-mo holds his newborn son in this photo posted on his Instagram, Tuesday.

Actor Lee Pil-mo has owed TV much of his life.

It has presented him with fame and money. At 45, when he was wrestling with a deepening sense of loneliness, a cable network suggested an unscripted blind date with a carefully selected woman on condition everything the pair did would be recorded for broadcasting.

He accepted and went to an arranged venue for the filming. Next to arrive was a woman, Suh Soo-yeon, with whom he fell in love at first sight. They married in February, only eight months after the first filming.

And only six months into the marriage ― on Tuesday ― the couple became parents of a son.

"My baby was born after 13 hours of contractions," Lee wrote on his Instagram, along with a photo of himself holding his newborn son wrapped in blanket. "Thank you Soo-yeon so much for coming through such a painful time. Thank you. Thank you."

He also conveyed his heartfelt appreciation to people who congratulated him on the birth.

"I would like to express my soulful appreciation to everybody," he wrote. "I will repay the support and love you have shown me by doing my best at work."