On the July 23 broadcast of SBS's "Tails of Tales", the love story of Ahn Jae-hyung and Jiao Zhimin, who overcame the barriers of reality, was spotlighted under the subtitle "Century of Love - Ahn Jae-hyung & Jiao Zhimin".
Former national table tennis athlete Ahn Jae-hyung fell in love at first sight with China's Jiao Zhimin, who was the top star player of her time in the 1980s. Feeling nervous just by saying hello, Ahn imitated the gestures Jiao frequently made and smiled at her. With his flirty gestures repeated every time they met, Jiao eventually smiled back at him.
The two grew close as if by fate. They conveyed their feelings to each other through letters. However, South Korea and China did not have diplomatic relations, and official exchanges were limited. In particular, South Korea and China had fought against each other during the Korean War, making China a country that felt as distant and sensitive as North Korea. Even making phone calls or sending letters was no easy task.
The two met again after half a year without even knowing each other's news. Ahn Jae-hyung wrote down Chinese characters from a Korean dictionary and communicated with Jiao Zhimin in writing. Jiao Zhimin was two years older than Ahn Jae-hyung. Thinking he did not want to look younger to her, Ahn introduced himself as being one year older than her.
And as feelings for each other built up, the time to part ways came once again. Afterwards, meetings between the two were not easy. Because of this, Ahn Jae-hyung delivered letters to Jiao Zhimin through other Chinese athletes at international competitions, and at another international competition, another Chinese athlete delivered a gift sent by Jiao Zhimin to Ahn Jae-hyung.
However, Ahn could not understand Jiao Zhimin's letters, no matter how hard he tried. In response, Ahn Jae-hyung immersed himself in studying Chinese by playing Chinese language tapes all day long. And he practiced table tennis as hard as he studied Chinese. This was because he had to become an athlete evaluated by world table tennis in order to meet Jiao Zhimin.
Afterwards, Ahn Jae-hyung made it to the final five-member list for the 1986 Asian Games table tennis national team. Jiao Zhimin was also selected for the Chinese national team, and the two finally met again in Seoul.
And the South Korean men's national table tennis team won the gold medal thanks to Ahn Jae-hyung's performance. South Korea won the gold medal against an exceptionally formidable Chinese lineup, with Ahn Jae-hyung at the center of the victory. With this, Ahn Jae-hyung engraved his three-letter name on the world stage overnight.
Jiao Zhimin also won a gold medal, and the two met again. Unlike the first time, the two directly conveyed congratulations to each other and expressed their feelings, clumsy as they were. And Ahn Jae-hyung gifted Jiao Zhimin the South Korean national team training suit that she liked.
Ahn Jae-hyung realized his feelings two years after first meeting Jiao Zhimin. One day, when days of having to part ways soon after meeting repeated, Ahn sent a confession letter containing his feelings to Jiao Zhimin.
He sent a letter containing his sincere feelings, saying, "They say the saddest thing in the world is parting with the person you love. I can't believe how I ended up liking you this much. Love is not done with words, but with the heart. I love you. Don't forget me. I won't forget you either." And Jiao Zhimin replaced her feelings with a photo in her dorm room with Ahn Jae-hyung's poster attached to it.
Thus, in the autumn of 1986, the two's love began. But at the same time, it was the beginning of trouble. At the time, the two's love was blocked by a wall of reality that was hard to overcome with love alone.
And in January 1987, an unexpected incident occurred. A Japanese newspaper broke the news of the two's romantic relationship. A photo of Jiao Zhimin wearing the training suit given by Ahn Jae-hyung was released, and because of this, not only domestic media but media around the world paid attention to the two.
In the end, the two denied each other's relationship through the media, and even when they met, they had to pretend not to see each other. However, none of this was sincere. They spoke of parting ways falsely because they were afraid that each other would be placed in a difficult situation.
As the wall of reality grew higher alongside their deepening feelings, Ahn Jae-hyung asked the national team doctor to help him. The doctor, who was cheering for Jae-hyung's feelings, thought he should help the two's love with a pure heart, and thus the two continued a secret romance. They also met each other's parents and even began thinking about marriage.
And around that time, news reports about the two's marriage rumors surfaced. To handle the situation, Ahn Jae-hyung directly appeared on a live news broadcast to deny the marriage rumors with Jiao Zhimin. This was because it could cause political repercussions.
However, even after that, Ahn Jae-hyung continued to think about marrying Jiao Zhimin and planned for them to register their marriage in utmost secrecy at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Sweden. Jiao Zhimin agonized over the decision, but what the two ultimately chose was love.
Recalling that time, Jiao Zhimin said, “Because I liked him, I didn't want to lose this opportunity or our love. I staked my life on it like a gamble.”
On October 19, 1989, the two became a married couple. However, around that time, the world was also changing little by little. Changes in socialist countries arrived.
And the impossible marriage of the two, and their relationship, influenced the two countries. It became an important stepping stone and catalyst in promoting the northern policy.
With a love achieved by crossing the high barrier of ideology, the two held a traditional Korean wedding ceremony at Olympic Park on December 22, 1989, amid the celebrations of many. And the two's love was forever recorded as a century of love that transcended the barriers of borders and ideology.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Hyo-jung)