'Morning Yard' Lee Mangi "Proposed to my wife with an apartment... I wanted to provide a stable life for her"

On the 25th, Lee Mangi, a former ssireum wrestler turned broadcaster, appeared on KBS 1TV's current affairs and culture program 'Achimmadang' and mentioned the story of proposing to his wife. Photo by KBS 1TV 'Achimmadang' broadcast capture

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Min Jun-young] Former ssireum wrestler and broadcaster Lee Man-gi revealed a story about proposing to his wife.

On the 25th, Lee Man-gi appeared on the KBS 1TV current affairs and culture program 'Morning Yard' in the segment 'Tuesday Invitation.'

During the broadcast, Lee Man-gi said, "At that time, I proposed to my girlfriend with an apartment," adding, "I started earning money at 21 and got married at 29."

Lee Man-gi said, "I wanted to provide a stable life for the woman who would become my wife, so I prepared everything from all the home appliances to the house," adding, "So I just told her to come with her body."

He then responded to a recent question about his weight, saying, "People expect wrestlers to be large, but I am smaller than expected. Compared to when I was actively training, I have lost a lot of weight," and added, "I started my athletic career at 90kg and ended at 112kg. Now, I weigh 97kg."

Lee Man-gi also explained the decline in ssireum's popularity compared to the past, saying, "Since the 1980s when ssireum's popularity rose, we should have read the changes of the times, but we complacently thought that many people would always like ssireum," adding, "Because we thought and responded that way, we faced a crisis of decline."

He continued, "We should have promoted generational change and allowed young athletes to enter the ssireum scene, but we failed to do so," adding, "As a result, those who liked ssireum have continued, but since the newcomers lost interest, public attention seems to have disappeared."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.