Goliath Kim Young-hyun Getting Married

Kim Young-hyun, a 27-year-old Ssireum (traditional Korean wrestling) player called `Goliath on the sand,` is tying the knot. His girl friend for the last five years is 24-year-old Roh Tae-hyun. She is all smiles these days, preparing for her marriage slated for February 9 in Busan.

The 2.17 meter-tall athlete looks hardly cute, but to Roh, it is a different story. ˝He cheers me up when I feel gloomy. I think he is cute in many ways.˝

It is not hard to find Kim even among a large crowd. People may well wonder how he has managed to share time with Roh. It was back in 1998 when the couple first met with each other. Kim, as a member of LG Investment Securities team, had a crushed on Roh who was working at a nearby convenience store at that time.

Then he visited the store as often as he could, trying to talk to her. Kim, neither smoking nor drinking, bought out large amounts of milk and snacks. A few days later, he developed a plan to ask her out. “How much is it? It wasn’t so expensive before, was it?”

˝I just smiled seeing the very tall guy talk so naïve and scratch his head,˝ Roh recollected the moment.

Kim is very tall, of course. For Roh`s part, she is not small, either. She is 1.73 meter, quite tall for a woman. There are some other things common between them – Kim is from Jinju in Gyeongnam and Roh is from Masan. Roh and Kim`s younger sister are of the same age, so are Kim and Roh`s elder brother.

They have two different characters, however. The big man is gentle and tender, while his girlfriend is an assertive young woman.

Sometimes when they have a date, they used to bump into a group of people picking up on him. Whenever that happened, Kim was hesitant, and it was Roh who called for an apology in the end. That is why Kim calls Roh a `bodyguard.` It was Kim who most times called first to say sorry after an argument.

Kim likes to play games and ride a jet ski or a motorcycle. Roh, in contrast, does not enjoy playing sports things and hates all kinds of games. It is because Kim spends hours and hours playing games once he starts.

The couple held an engagement ceremony of their own after two years since they first met. A house for the two is already in place. They rented a house near the Government Complex in Gwacheon where his new team, Shinchang Construction, is based. Although there is no bed that fits for the tall player, they were able to get huge-sized bedclothes.

Having majored education in college, Rho plans to find a teaching job after marriage. ˝We will not be able to spend much time together because he trains and travels with his team often, so I am considering having a job rather than being a full-time housewife.”

Soon-Il Kwon stt77@donga.com