‘Empress of Ice Speed’ Lee Sang-hwa revealed the circumstances that forced her to retire after the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
The second day of Gangnam and Lee Sang-hwa's trip to Bohol, Philippines was depicted in KBS2's 'Walking Into the Fantasies' broadcast on the 23rd.
On this day's broadcast, Gangnam said, "I've been to so many places like this. I want to count how many countries I've been to." Lee Sang-hwa said, “I haven’t been there.” Gangnam said, “Among other celebrities of this age, I must have been to this place the most.” Gangnam was said to have been a fixture in ‘Law of the Jungle’ for two years. In response, Park Na-rae made people laugh by saying, “There were rumors that he was an indigenous person.”
On the other hand, Lee Sang-hwa was unable to travel to countries he often visited due to his career as a player. Lee Sang-hwa explained, "I don't even know what's going on. We had to take care of our bodies, so we only went to the dorms and the rink. We had a match on the weekend anyway." Gangnam asked, “It must have been painful. If you asked me to do it again, would you do it?” Lee Sang-hwa answered firmly, “I won’t do it.” Gangnam explained, “They said it was very difficult.”
Park Na-rae asked, “Mr. Kangnam, if your child says he wants to become an athlete, you never let him do it?” Gangnam said, "After hearing what my wife said, I don't think I will do it. Life seemed that difficult. Didn't he win the gold medal? He said he was only happy for that day. He said there was no happy day other than that day. He said he was only happy for one day because he won it. He answered, “We talk about it every day.”
Lee Sang-hwa announced his retirement through a press conference after ending his career as a player for about 25 years in 2019. Gangnam said about Lee Sang-hwa's retirement press conference, "I was crying at home that morning because I didn't want to go. I didn't want to go out." He also said, "I cried every day for three years after I got married because I wanted to exercise. But my knees didn't work out." Gangnam said to Lee Sang-hwa, "Is there anything you want to do? You wanted to get married and travel." Lee Sang-hwa confessed, "I'm not sure yet, right? I want to live a life where I'm not pressed for time. Right now, I want to rest a bit."
Lee Sang-hwa said, "I have been working out for 25 years, and I did it according to the time. Because I did it so non-stop, my knees, which I thought were not painful, were all damaged, and I developed varicose veins that did not exist. There were many places on my body that hurt." He added, “That’s why I want to rest comfortably.” Gangnam said, "Even if I say that, I wake up at 5 a.m. every day. I go to bed at 10 p.m., wake up, and clean first. I'm dying." Not only that, Gangnam made people laugh by saying, “My dogs and my wife also walk for 2 to 3 hours a day. They are poodles, but their muscles are like Dobermans.”
Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr