American YouTuber Oliver Saem, who has 2.26 million subscribers, corrected misunderstandings caused by some reports saying "he decided to go to Korea" and requested a correction.
On the 26th (local time), a video titled "Eight years since immigrating to the U.S. with my Korean wife.. now I really give up" was posted on the YouTube channel "Oliver Saem." The video showed Oliver Saem and his Korean wife sharing the realistic difficulties of life in Texas.
Oliver Saem first raised the burden of costs. He said, "From 2026 I have to pay $8,000 in property tax (about 11.56 million won)," and "home insurance is $4,402 (about 6.37 million won). Just owning a house costs about 18 million won a year." He went on to mention projections that those costs could rise by 15% each year and expressed his burden.
The couple especially pointed to problems with the medical system as the biggest issue. The wife cited the case of Oliver Saem's father being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, explaining that even with symptoms, specialty care requires going through a primary care physician and that appointments take time. The wife said, "It took about 10 days just to see the primary care doctor," and "when we finally met, they told us, 'Go home, eat some salt and rest.'"
Oliver Saem said, "Seeing situations discovered only after they become terminal made me fear 'this could be my future,'" and "we have the responsibility of raising two children, and I was overwhelmed with worry thinking what would happen if I were sick and only found out when it was terminal." He added, "Even though I pay about 4 million won a month (for insurance), I don't know why we have to be treated like this."
After the video spread, reports suggesting they would "return to Korea" followed, and the comment public sentiment grew harsh. In response, on the 18th he said on his YouTube channel, "We only shared and discussed the family situation we are facing in Texas, U.S., and we never made a concrete decision about our whereabouts nor mentioned Korea."
He said, "Because of wrong articles, our family is being misunderstood as if we intend to free-ride on Korea's medical system, and we are receiving many negative comments," and "we are already going through a very difficult time, so the sharp comments hurt even more. I ask for correction reporting."
[Photo] YouTube capture
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