Former footballer Jeong Jo-guk's wife Kim Seong-eun candidly shared her thoughts about living apart from her husband.
On the 17th, a video titled "The inside story of wives who return home quickly because they think about their husband's meal even after going out" was uploaded to the Hyungsu Is K.Will channel.
That day, actor Kim Seong-eun appeared as a guest on 'Knowing sister-in-law,' and K.Will said, "You've been married 16 years now and have three children. I'm so jealous. But I also heard something. You've been married 16 years, but you haven't spent much time together, so you still feel like newlyweds," expressing curiosity. In response, Kim Seong-eun said, "We've been married 16 years, but we haven't lived together for many years. We lived together for one year last year and about six months when we were newlyweds. We haven't lived together for many years, so in a way it's still affectionate," she said.
K.Will was surprised and asked, "You lived together for one year last year? Is that a very special event?" Kim Seong-eun replied, "It really was a special event. After he retired, he immediately coached, but last year he took a year off. So he was fully at home with me. That was the first time. Because after we married we spent a year and a half in France, then there was the military, Gwangju for one year, Gangwon for three years, Jeju for four to five years, and now we're in Jeonju. We hardly ever lived together," she explained.
She said, "Footballers only get December off, and they always rest the day after a match. When he was in Jeju, even if he had one day off he couldn't come. So when he was in Jeju it was hard. We didn't see each other much. But now he comes from Jeonju by driving, so sometimes it's once a week and sometimes he only comes every three weeks; it's so different. The children don't know when dad will come. They ask things like, 'Is he coming this week?' so they ask. Dad is just someone who comes and goes," and K.Will asked, "When dad leaves does he say, 'Please come again next time'?" Kim Seong-eun shared the bittersweet reality with a laugh, "Yes. The kids ask, 'Dad, when are you coming to our house?' and he replies, 'Why is it your house?'"
K.Will asked, "Compared to other families, does that make your relationship seem closer?" Kim Seong-eun said, "I think it's divided into before and after living together for that one year last year. Before living together, people around me said, 'You two live apart so your relationship is good. Try living together and you'll fight 100%.' At the time I thought, 'No? Even if we live together we're so close and we'd never fight. Not us.' But after living together for one year, the first six months were really great. It felt like dating again; it was wonderful whenever we locked eyes. Because my husband wasn't working and was just at home, he helped a lot with childcare and it was great. But I realized men shouldn't stay at home," she admitted.
She honestly said, "My life is a bit busy too. I have to work and meet friends. But because my husband stayed at home all the time I started to feel self-conscious. Inevitably. He said he was fine..." and K.Will empathized, "He doesn't like, 'You're going out again?'" Kim Seong-eun laughed and said, "Yes. I used to be a bit freer. That's when I realized I was really a free person. When moms send all the kids to kindergarten, the morning time is entirely the mother's time, but with my husband there you have to eat together, prepare meals, and those responsibilities appear. So at first it was wonderful, but as time went on I felt self-conscious and my husband eventually said he'd find work and leave," drawing laughter.
She added, "So I realized what my friends meant. Now I understand why they said living apart makes you more affectionate and your relationship better. I get that feeling now." K.Will pointed out, "It hit hard at the need to 'have to' feed him," and Kim Seong-eun shared her difficulty, "Men also can't eat alone at home. My husband can't do anything at all."
In particular, K.Will asked, "There may have been times when your husband wasn't there when you were giving birth," and Kim Seong-eun replied, "Fortunately he was there for the first and second, but not for the third." K.Will said, "There must have been feelings of hurt, loneliness and sadness," and Kim Seong-eun replied honestly, "Because we've been apart so much, I don't feel hurt about doing things by myself. I must have gotten used to it. I'm not hurt at all. Dad hardly ever attends the kids' events. But isn't that something a wife could be dissatisfied about? Not at all. From marriage until now I think those things are my job. That's why we don't have trouble. If dad is there we're very thankful, and if he's not, this is our normal situation."
K.Will said, "You've essentially been doing solo parenting for more than a decade, to put it simply. It must have been extremely hard. Raising one child isn't easy," and Kim Seong-eun said, "My first and second are seven years apart, and the second and third are three years apart. The eldest and the youngest are 10 years apart. It's a bit of a spread. When I had one child I worked and raised the child and my mother helped a lot so it was easier, but when the second and third came it was really hard."
She continued, "Actually, when dads think of childcare they think it's playing with the children, spending time with them. But besides that, don't I receive notices from school three times? You have to attend open classes three times and the communication notebook comes every day; I see that as things coming three times. You have to check all that, attend consultations, and there's so much invisible mom work like arranging academies. So sometimes when dad comes and I spend the whole day filming, he plays with the kids all day and then he talks as if he did a lot. But the mom's invisible work is really a lot and dads don't know that well," she said, describing the busy life of solo parenting.
[Photo] Hyungsu is K.Will
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