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Jaehyun has the fondest look on his face as he watches his wife prepare breakfast. At seven months into the pregnancy, a perfectly healthy and highly anticipated one at that, he’s arguably the happiest man alive. His tech company, The Link is doing well; another fundraiser is in the works which will most likely happen after his wife gives birth, and more and more partners and investors are expressing interest in the company. All in all, the couple are all set and eagerly waiting to meet their bundle of joy.
Vogue Korea has the exclusive opportunity for an interview after the CEO achieved getting into the 30 under 30 Most Successful CEO’s listing in our New York issue and in Forbes. Read on to find out more about CEO Jung and his “love, light, and home”, the one and only Mrs. Jung. Did we swoon at the happy couple? (Yes, yes, we did.)
Jung penthouse in Gangnam, Seoul - 9AM
Interviewer: Good day to you both, thank you very much for letting us visit your lovely home and for the amazing breakfast for our team. The tofu stew, black bean rice, and chilled cucumber salad are all big hits.
Mr. Jung: It's our pleasure. My wife has been looking forward to showing everyone the redesign she’s made.
Mrs. Jung: You made sure to sponsor all this, don’t forget. The nursery alone was mostly designed by you! (Both of them laugh) I’m so glad you liked the food! I’ve just tried out recipes I saw online, and thankfully I think I did well.
Mr. Jung: Well, that’s the case, darling. You are the creative and designing head here at home, I just make sure to handle the budget and procurement of whatever it is you need. (He brushed a hand on the arm resting over her prominent pregnancy bump) And making sure everything is ready for our little angel.
Mrs. Jung: And we appreciate it very much, hon. (They share a quick kiss) Sorry, we’re forgetting about the interview. You can start whenever you’d like.
Interviewer: You’re already giving us so much to work with, don’t worry about it! I’m sure our readers will love seeing how happy and in love you two are. It’s been three years of marriage as of last year, correct?
Mr. Jung: Three years as of November last year, yes. December last year marked the first-year anniversary of The Link.
Interviewer: Congratulations on both milestones then! Would you say the company is your first baby?
Mr. Jung: Not really. I consider the company as a product of ideas I’ve been banking on since we were in university. I already had a business proposal in mind when I was a freshman taking business administration, that’s why I took electives in information technology and kept tabs on the tech industry since then. The aim of The Link is to make technology more user-friendly, accessible, and make it easier to digest for those who aren’t too computer or tech-literate. It’s also finding ways to make technology sustainable and functional. We must maximize it with the way everything is moving to digital and virtual platforms, and there are various tasks and services that can be done more efficiently with technology, and we need to make the concept a more welcome one to the public. I guess you can say that the company has always been a vision of mine, so seeing it come to life and flourish as it does now is one of the biggest achievements we have.
Interviewer: Have you been involved with the company since university as well, Mrs. Jung?
Mrs. Jung: To an extent. I was there to get him coffee and energy drinks whenever he pulled all-nighters (we all shared a laugh), I helped with scheduling interviews with experts in the field he was interested in and supporting him the best that I could while I was also studying. We were young, but we also knew we had to work hard because we had big dreams. Jaehyun always says that big dreams are long-term goals that you need to commit to, and that’s exactly what The Link is.
Interviewer: Did you take the same course?
Mrs. Jung: I took Fine Arts, majoring in Photography with a minor in Art Research and History, then I also took electives for short business classes. I was planning to start as a freelance photographer and then work my way on putting up my own studio.
Mr. Jung: She’s always been able to balance the business and creative sides of pursuing her passion, and she’s always been dedicated to things she set her mind on. She took an interest in photography because her parents made sure to document their life as much as possible, and she seriously considered it as a career when she entered university.
Interviewer: Did you meet at the university?
Mrs. Jung: (smiling fondly at her husband) We did. We met during our sophomore year through a friend, upperclassman business major Doyoung-oppa, because they had to shoot a mock advertisement for a minor of theirs.
Mr. Jung: Doyoung-hyung knew Yuta-hyung, a senior student at the time, from the photography club so he asked if they had members who could help us out. He recommended her (he turns to smile back at her) and the rest is history.
Mrs. Jung: To this day they both brag about it, saying if it weren’t for their combined brain cells, Jaehyun and I would probably end up with different people and not live happily ever after. I can only humor them, but I understand that they probably knew what they were doing back then.
Interviewer: Have any of them asked to be godparents?
Mr. Jung: Almost everyone in our group has asked, but we narrowed it down to Taeyong-hyung, a childhood friend of hers, and I asked one of my good friends, Krystal-noona.
Interviewer: The fashion stylist, Krystal Jung?
Mr. Jung: That very same one. I met her when I was scouted to be a part-time model during our junior year, and we’ve kept in touch ever since.
Mrs. Jung: Krystal-unnie helped design my wedding gown and now she’s already pitching ideas for the baby’s wardrobe (the couple laughs). Taeyong-oppa has been a childhood friend of mine because our dads met in culinary school and he’s pretty much like a brother for me, sometimes I even forget that we’re not really related (she laughs at this). Someone was jealous of Taeyong-oppa at first. Oppa visited me when I was so busy with my thesis, staying with me on-campus and making sure I ate and slept well. Mind you, Jaehyun and I were already dating for three years at that point.
Mr. Jung: Hey, an attractive and kind man suddenly shows up and looks after you so well, and I was also busy trying to finish my own thesis. Who wouldn’t feel jealous at the extra attention you were getting?
Mrs. Jung: And yet I ended up marrying you, so you don’t really have anything to complain about, huh? (She pinches a cheek of his and pats it affectionately after) sorry, we tend to bring up those moments when we think back on our younger days.
Interviewer: Don’t worry about going off tangent, we love hearing these stories, and we thank you for sharing them. To steer us back, you mentioned that this pregnancy came as a blessing, would you explain how so?
Mrs. Jung: Of course, we’d love to. Jaehyun and I talked about having kids after we got engaged shortly after graduating. We always knew we’d love to build a family together, so we made sure to launch the company as soon as possible so we can prepare well. We didn’t have a timeline, but seeing as he’s the primary founder and CEO, he’d have to focus on the company. We weren’t in a rush to get married or to start a family, but I can’t deny that there were moments when I’d yearn a little. I don’t regret waiting, though. It will all work out perfectly once we meet our precious angel. (She places a hand on her stomach at this point. I felt a kick! Someone’s awake! Jaehyun excitedly places a hand next to hers, and we turn off our cameras and recorders for a few moments.)
Mr. Jung: We also had some health concerns. She’s had a trend with her blood work that was only discovered halfway into our junior year. Stress was a factor, but the history traced back to her mother, who also had some difficulties conceiving her and her siblings. Nothing major, all three of them were delivered healthily and grew up wonderfully, but she was the one who ended up inheriting the peculiar condition. Come the third year of our marriage, our luck finally paid off and we successfully conceived.
Mrs. Jung: It’s been quite the journey, and we’re grateful for what we had to go through and meeting our baby after a few more weeks will be worth it all. He’s doing so much to prepare for parenthood knowing that I’ll be doing the brunt of the work carrying the baby. I said earlier that the nursery was mostly his doing. He had designers pitching ideas for it during my first trimester. He was also busy with baby-proofing our room, so I volunteered to oversee the redesign of the living room, the kitchen, and the guest room. It helped keep us busy but not too tired, especially for me, and our doctor and parents were always available whenever we needed help.
Mr. Jung: We haven’t made any major changes to our house since we moved in around two years ago, so in entering a new chapter in our life, we wanted to really own the space. It also helped a lot that the interior designer we met was so patient through it, working diligently and being available whenever we called.
Mrs. Jung: She’s a darling, and a fellow first-time mom, so we had a lot of conversations about motherhood in between planning and designing, and she gave me a lot of tips. I felt so bad whenever I called her outside of the time she spent here, but she always made time for me, and seeing her spend time with her baby was such a sweet thing to see. It makes me more excited for Jaehyun and I to have our own magic moments soon.
Interviewer: Seems like it’s a healthy case of baby fever for you both. It sounds like a dream come true, the way your lives are going now.
Mrs. Jung: I get why some people might say that. However, for me, it’s much more meaningful that this is how our life truly is. You know, like I get that people think we’re lucky enough to have been together a long time, and that we’ve kept our relationship strong ever since we were young, but it all started with getting to know each other before we moved any further. One tip I can give couples is to always make sure you’re communicating with your partner any stage of the relationship. It feels and sounds redundant, but you cannot deny the stability and security it provides for both of you. One thing I really appreciate about my husband is that he is such a good listener. He knows when I’m in the mood to talk, when to leave things be, and when to push for us to talk. Next to my family, he truly is the only person who knows me very well.
Mr. Jung: I remember telling her constantly that I’ve always been the happiest when I’m with her. Sure, I’ve had a good life before meeting her, but it quickly become a more fulfilled and purposeful one since we met. We didn’t get together to complete each other. We got together because we learned to appreciate each other, we started out as friends and we took our time before moving onto something more, and we talked about long-term plans whether together or apart before considering getting engaged and later getting married. In the time we were trying to have kids, I assured her that whether we have them or not, my feelings wouldn’t change, that I will always stay by her side. We’ve had a full and wonderful life together so far, but I won’t deny that finally expecting our own child brings me an unknown level of love and joy when we’re together. It’s a dream we’ve always had, so to experience it now, that our life truly is going in this direction, it’s given me a deeper sense of thankfulness for every day we spend together.
Mrs. Jung: I want to share one on our vows: I choose to love you every time. It’s non-negotiable. It’s a commitment. It’s a choice we will make each day. During good days, during bad days, during difficult times, and during smooth-sailing times and everything and every day in between, we never forget the fact that we choose to love and be there for each other every time. We will have our shortcomings, and we don’t overlook those, we just take them one thing at a time.
Mr. Jung: My parents told me that the giddy first love butterflies’ feelings can only last so long. No relationship will ever be perfect because no one is perfect. It takes a lot to make a relationship work. It takes work to be there and show up and be a good person. But really, don’t be better just for the other person, be a better you for you. You’re two individuals in a relationship, you’re not melding into one single identity, you don’t let the feelings consume you.
Interviewer: Are you two planning to write a book on relationship advice? (We all share a laugh and Mrs. Jung blushes as she profusely says no. Mr. Jung’s ears turn red but is not opposed to answering questions on said subject as best as he could. Remember, we’re not exactly the most ideal people to ask, but we’ll speak from our experience and hope it will help others.) Will you be adding a profile for your baby on your social media channels? We know you both seldom post, but surely your audiences also anticipate some updates.
Mr. Jung: I only ever use it to share updates about the company and the occasional ones about personal life, which let’s face it, will most likely be about my wife or about what cliché interests I have. (Cliché but still has lots of people trying to emulate it. Sure, his wife comments with a fond eye roll.) The last thing I remember posting was about the fundraiser that happened on my birthday, including the announcement about us expecting.
Mrs. Jung: I’d probably make a dedicated post every now and then. I’ve had my account since college, and I’m lucky enough that I didn’t get mass followers after the company launched. I’ve lived quite a private life, and I intend to keep it that way. We’ll probably grant maybe a photoshoot or something, or another interview, but I won’t post so much about family life.
Interviewer: All right, that seems fair, and social media presence isn’t the only way to make yourselves known. Right. To wrap up our time, care to play a quick game? It’s basically a word association type of game, think this and that, but you come up with the answers. (They nod.) Okay. Three words that come to mind when you think of your spouse, go. (Mr. Jung smiles and nods, while Mrs. Jung tilts her head in thought.)
Mr. Jung: Ladies first (he turns to hold his wife’s hand), you ready, hon?
Mrs. Jung: Hmm. He’s my best friend, more than anything, and he’s my favorite person. Well, will be my second favorite one after giving birth. (I can deal with that, Mr. Jung calmly says.)
Interviewer: Lovely, thank you, Mrs. Jung. Mr. Jung?
Mr. Jung: She’s my love, light, and my home.
Interview done by: Shin Zennie
Styling and layout: Rookie Publishing
Clothes, hair, and make-up: QUAD Studio with pieces sponsored by local designers and the couple’s own accessories.
Shot on location at: SM Tower and Residences, Gangnam, Seoul.
All Rights Reserved August 2022