Ju Ji-hoon and Lee Jung Reveal How a Chance Meeting Became a Friendship

Actor Ju Ji-hoon, 44, and dancer Lee Jung, 28, have opened up about their unexpected friendship. The two talked about how they first met and eventually grew close in a recent video on Lee Jung's YouTube channel.

Ju Ji-hoon appeared on the channel as a guest. He recalled their first meeting and how the friendship built from there.

Lee Jung, who was born in 1998, said she happened to run into the actor, born in 1982, by chance at a bar two years ago. She approached him and introduced herself first.

"You were there with people you knew, and I was there with my friends, and it was just so wild," she told him.

She said she was thrilled when he recognized her and told her he was a fan.

Ju Ji-hoon lso remembered the encounter. He said he had become a fan of hers while watching the dance competition show "Street Woman Fighter."

"I've loved dancing since I was a kid, and I really enjoyed watching 'Street Woman Fighter,'" he said. "Out of everyone, I was personally a fan of Lip J and Lee Jung."

After that, the two began spending more time together over meals. The actor said he was struck by how much passion she puts into dance. In Korea's entertainment world, people often call each other seniors and juniors based on age and experience.

"From where I stand as her senior, she's such a lovely junior," he said.

Lee Jung revealed that she had even turned to him for advice last year, while appearing on "World of Street Woman Fighter."

"I remember crying while we were eating," she said. "He sat and listened to everything I had to say for hours."

At the time, she was afraid her love for dance might fade someday. Ju Ji-hoon pushed back on that fear.

"If you're worrying about it this much, what else could it be but love?" he told her.

It started as a quick hello between two strangers at a bar. Two years later, it is the kind of friendship where one person can cry over dinner and the other simply stays and listens.