Marine Veteran Gree Expresses Gratitude to aespa's Karina on 'My Little Old Boy'

Gree, a former marine, expressed his gratitude to aespa's Karina on the SBS variety show 'My Little Old Boy'.

On the episode aired on the 22nd, the show featured Gree's return to civilian life after completing his military service in the Marine Corps.

Gree, who completed 18 months of service, appeared more mature and confident, capturing the audience's attention.

He revealed his newly transformed home, which was a stark contrast to its previous state before his enlistment. The once messy house was now a tidy 'precision house', surprising everyone. When asked how long it had been since he was home, he replied, "I was on leave two weeks ago."

When asked about his feelings post-discharge, Gree said, "I'm so happy that it's hard to believe," but also shared, "In the military, you can use your phone for three hours from 6 PM to 9 PM." He noted that military service has shortened to 18 months, with the private period lasting only two months, shocking Im Won-hee and Jo Jin-se.

The two were curious about the current military salary. Im Won-hee, a former marine, shared, "In 1991, a private's salary was 8,000 won, and in 1993, a sergeant's salary was about 50,000 won." Jo Jin-se, a former police officer, added, "In 2012, a police officer's salary was 140,000 won."

Kim Dong-hyun confessed, "I received 1.5 million won as a sergeant. Including savings, it was about 2 million won. I saved nearly 20 million won." He added, "As a sergeant, you earn more and do less work. I suddenly thought, 'I want to stay here.' In the last two weeks, I thought if there was no immediate work outside, I'd like to stay a bit longer."

Gree revealed, "No female celebrities visited me," but recalled, "In the training camp, they asked, 'Do you know aespa? Do you know Karina?' I said I did. They thought all celebrities were close."

When rumors spread that he was friends with Karina, Gree said, "My peers looked at me with admiration. After I said I knew Karina, the training camp went wild. They even offered me Choco Pies because of it." Im Won-hee joked, "Did you pull a nationwide scam on the trainees?"

Gree humorously added, "I'll let Karina know she's popular in the Marines. I want to thank her for making my military life easier."

Reported by Kim Eun-jung, TenAsia. Contact: eun@tenasia.co.kr