Japanese-born TV personality Sayuri candidly revealed how she has explained the existence of 'dad' to her son Zen while raising him alone.
The YouTube channel "Yeouido Yuktoe Club" released a video on the 26th that included the episode "Parents' real parenting worries I
On the day, Hong Seok-cheon mentioned the children's song "Three bears" to Sayuri and asked, "How do you sing that song?" Sayuri recalled, "At first I always sang it leaving out the 'dad' part," remembering a past when she did not directly mention the existence of a dad to her child.
Sayuri explained, "I used to replace the expression 'dad' that appears in picture books or songs with other terms like 'uncle.'" However, she confessed that as time went by, this approach felt rather unnatural.
She said, "When Zen asked, 'Where is dad?' I no longer avoided it and honestly said, 'Zen doesn't have a dad,'" and added, "Instead, I explained that there are many family members like grandma and grandpa who love Zen." Sayuri added that the child also accepted this naturally.
Sayuri also said that even after Zen started attending daycare she often received questions about 'dad,' and she shared the uncomfortable feelings she experienced in that process. She conveyed her honest feelings, saying, "When I say there is no dad, sometimes people respond first with 'I'm sorry,' and that phrase bothers me the most."
In response to Sayuri's confession, the cast members empathized as they recalled their own experiences and discussed the need for a perspective that respects diverse family forms.
Meanwhile, Sayuri was born in 1979 and turned 46 this year. She is a Japanese-born TV personality active in Korea, and in 2020 she gave birth to a son after receiving sperm donation from a Western man in Japan.
[Photo] Screenshot of the "Yeouido Yuktoe Club" YouTube video
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