They Walked 50 Blocks on Their First Date

New York Times

25-04-2025

When Dr. Jesse Heechan Yoon arrived at the Mermaid Inn on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on April 11, 2022, still in scrubs after a long shift, he wasn't expecting more than a quick happy-hour date. He was in the middle of his dermatology residency at Mount Sinai and had matched on Hinge with Yuri William Doolan, who holds a Ph.D., had just moved to New York for a research sabbatical.
'I was still unpacking boxes,' Dr. Doolan said. 'I wasn't sure I was ready to date, but something told me to go. When I saw his profile, I remember thinking, 'I like this one.''
Over oysters, they exchanged stories about their upbringings and their shared Korean heritage. Dr. Yoon's parents immigrated to the United States before he was born, while Dr. Doolan moved to Korea with his family after his birth, returning to the United States when he was 3.
They both didn't want the date to end. They picked up dessert at Milk Bar on the Upper West Side and continued the deep conversation with a 50-block walk across the city to Dr. Doolan's apartment in West Harlem. There, Dr. Yoon met Kiyoshi, Dr. Doolan's Shiba Inu. 'He's usually suspicious of strangers,' Dr. Doolan said. 'But he immediately liked Jesse — as if he already knew.'
Dr. Yoon, 32, is a double board-certified dermatologist at the Dermatology Specialists in New York. Originally from Cupertino, Calif., he graduated from Brown and earned a medical degree from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He completed an internal medicine residency at Washington University in St. Louis and a dermatology residency at the Mount Sinai Hospital.
Dr. Doolan, 36, is an assistant professor of history and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Brandeis, where he also serves as the inaugural chair of Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies. Originally from Euclid, Ohio, he earned a bachelor's degree from Ohio State University and received both a master's degree and Ph.D. in history from Northwestern.
A second date followed, and soon, they began seeing each other nearly every day. Their lives blended effortlessly, with commutes across Central Park with Kiyoshi. They shared routines together like going to the dog park and cooking meals, and in May 2023, Dr. Yoon moved into Dr. Doolan's West Harlem apartment. They now live in Hudson Yards.
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On June 29, 2022, Dr. Yoon underwent a cardiac ablation procedure to treat a lifelong arrhythmia. 'It was his 12th procedure,' Dr. Doolan said. 'The others had failed, but this one worked. I didn't let him know how scared I was. But in that moment, I knew I couldn't imagine life without him.' Later, Dr. Doolan teased, 'You started dating me, and your heart was healed. I fixed your heart.'
Dr. Yoon proposed on Nov. 18, 2023, after a day filled with subtle references to highlights from their relationship: oysters at brunch, a Korean art exhibit, and a Broadway show. When they returned home, Dr. Doolan noticed something strange — Kiyoshi was wearing his collar indoors. 'I thought we had been robbed!' he said, noting that he never leaves Kiyoshi with a collar on indoors. Then he spotted a diamond and platinum engagement ring clipped to the collar, and as he turned around, Dr. Yoon was already on one knee.
The couple wed on April 12 at the Ace Hotel Brooklyn. Dr. David Lin, Dr. Yoon's close friend from medical school who received a one-day ordination from the New York City Marriage Bureau, officiated before 134 guests.
The celebration centered around a reimagined Korean paebaek, a traditional post-wedding ceremony typically reserved for family. 'We queered the format,' Dr. Yoon said. 'We wore custom hanboks in nontraditional colors and invited our guests to participate.' Dr. Doolan's close friends, including two Korean friends, helped reset cushions and present symbolic elements, creating a bridge between cultural preservation and chosen family.
The couple also honored the Korean chestnut and jujube tossing tradition, symbolizing future fertility. 'Both our parents threw them at once, and we caught all of them,' Dr. Yoon said. 'We're having 17 children, supposedly.'
Later that evening, a choreographed Bollywood-style dance took place on the dance floor. The newlyweds performed alongside Dr. Doolan's former Northwestern dance team, Anubhav, where he was a co-captain of the dance team for two years.
'It was a room full of love,' Dr. Yoon said. 'Our guests told us it was the most emotional and joyful wedding they'd ever been to. I have to give Yuri so much credit for that — he made it magic.'
Dr. Doolan added, 'I just can't say more about how affirming it was for my identity as a Korean American, for myself as a queer Korean man, for my relationship with my mom, with Jesse and his parents. It really felt like we were being accepted fully and completely for who we were — gay, Korean American — and that made the wedding so special.'