"Bride Lee Dogyeong, Groom Lee Dogyeong"... Couple Share the Same Name and Date of Birth: "This Must Be Fate"

They learned of each other while attending the same high school
Unable to file a change-of-address notification online, they visited a community service center

A man and a woman with not only the same name but also the same birth date have become a married couple after dating for 10 years.

Family relations certificate revealed by Lee Dogyeong and spouse after registering their marriage. Screenshot from Threads.

Recently, JTBC's "Case Leader" introduced the couple's story, which was posted on social media. The documents showed that both people were named "Lee Dogyeong" and had the same birth date: January 13, 1998. They held their wedding in December 2024 and completed their marriage registration in March this year.

Their relationship began in high school. The two attended the same school and learned that another student there had the same name and birthday. After they turned 20, the husband contacted her first on social media, and they became a couple.

"I wondered if having the same name and even the same birth date was fate telling us to date," the wife said. "This year marks exactly 10 years since we met."

Having the same name also led to nicknames just for the two of them. Lee said, "We call each other 'Dodo.' To tell us apart, our parents call my husband 'Namdo' (male Dogyeong) and me 'Yeodo' (female Dogyeong)."

However, having the same name and birth date also caused unexpected inconveniences with administrative procedures. After getting married, they tried to register their change of residence, but the online system could not process the application because their names and birth dates were identical. In the end, they had to visit a local community service center in person.

There was also a mix-up while they were preparing for the formal meeting between their families. They planned to give both sets of parents liquor bottles engraved with the bride's and groom's names, but the restaurant mistakenly assumed that the same name had been printed twice and changed one of the names without asking.

People who heard their story congratulated the couple, commenting, "At this point, it must be a match made in heaven," "They searched every corner of the country to find their other half," and "It sounds like a novel."

Meanwhile, as in this case, a marriage registration is legally valid even when the spouses have the same name and birth date. This is because having different names or birth dates is not a legal requirement for marriage under the Civil Act.

Legal experts explained, "Even if the first part of the two people's dates of birth is the same, the latter part of their identification numbers differs depending on factors such as sex and region. They are therefore clearly identified as separate individuals in the computer system, so there is no problem."

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