Lovelorn Loner Weds Comfy Pillow

This past year we’ve covered it all: video-game character love, blow-up doll love, and even dog love. Today we venture into the realm of pillow love, courtesy of South Korean Lee Jin-gyu.

28-year-old Lee is an Otaku (or what we’d call an obsessively passionate nerd) who fell in love with his ‘dakimakura,’ a gargantuan body pillow he purchased from Japan. The pillow features the image of television vixen Fate Testarossa, a character from the animated series Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. They’ve been dating for six years.

Lee’s story first garnered international attention in January, when he appeared in Martian Virus, a Korean TV show that, according to JoongAng Daily, “features regular folks with unique characteristics.” And well, there’s nothing quite as unique as a guy in love with his pillow (granted they’re comfortable, but still!) Anyway, the TV audience was given an insider’s look into Lee’s “ordinary” dates with Fate.

His friend explained to the Metro: “They go out to the park or the funfair, where it will go on all the rides with him. Then when he goes out to eat, he takes it with him and it gets its own seat and its own meal.” His friend also added that Lee is “completely obsessed” with the pillow. You think!?

At any rate, Lee recently returned to the spotlight when he traveled to Japan to marry his beloved pillow with the help of an indulgent local priest. He even outfitted the pillow with its own custom wedding dress.

It turns out, however, that the wedding was more of a publicity stunt, as Lee admitted to the press that he’s still unsure about going through with an OFFICIAL wedding: “My love for Fate is unchangeable, but I will take more time to think about our marriage.”

In the meantime, Lee is busy dealing with prank calls and smack-talkers, who went so far as to even insult his parents. What’s Lee’s reaction to all the haters? “I don’t think it is right to hurl insults just because my thoughts are different from theirs.” Actually, his thoughts are so different than they’re practically from another world. But he added, “Liking a virtual character is a matter of personal taste. I hope our society could become a place where different opinions can co-exist.”

We wish Lee luck and merely ask that he treat her right. There’s nothing we despise more than an abusive pillow lover.

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By V Saxena on 15-03-2010