'Overcoming an 18-Year Age Gap' Jang Ki-ha and Yoon Gai confirm romance…A Couple Born From Their 'SNL' Connection

Artistic chemistry spanning 18 years leads to the birth of a new star couple tied together by 'music' and 'acting'

K-pop and pop culture’s unmistakable icon 'Jang Ki-ha' (44) and a leading actress whom Chungmuro and TV screens are paying attention to, 'Yoon Gai' (26), have overcome their '18-year age gap' and made their relationship official. On the 27th, Jang Ki-ha’s agency Doo-roo-doo-roo Artists Company and Yoon Gai’s agency WE Entertainment transparently acknowledged the fact that the two are dating, drawing intense public attention.

Their fateful meeting began last year on the stage of Coupang Play’s flagship original variety program, 'SNL Korea' Season 4. Jang Ki-ha, who appeared at the studio as the host, and Yoon Gai, who had been serving as a key core crew member, struck up their first connection in a public setting—broadcasting. After that, it has been confirmed that they developed into a solid romantic couple beyond a mere entertainment-industry senior-junior relationship, using deep shared artistic ground such as 'music' and 'film'.

In 2003, 'Jang Ki-ha' stepped into the mainstream music scene with the indie band Nunchuk-kobein. Since then, while leading with Jang Ki-ha and faces like him, he has left a significant mark in the history of Korean popular music. Even after the band disbanded in 2018, he has not only solidified his position as a 'solo musician', but also expanded his spectrum into the realm of acting—through film virus and more—cementing himself as a full-spectrum artist.

'Yoon Gai', born in 1996, made a strong first impression by debuting in 2019 with the film Sun-hee and Seul-gi. Since then, through 'SNL Korea', she has dramatically boosted her public recognition, and more recently she has been cast one after another in major projects such as Next So-hee, Mary Kills People, and Lady Dua, establishing herself as an indispensable 'leading actress'.