Comedian Moon Young-mi looked back on a life full of twists and turns.
On the 8th, MBN's "Exclusive World" featured the story of Moon Young-mi, who lived a turbulent life.
After experiencing knee problems, Moon Young-mi started each morning with stretching. But the house was filled with silence. Moon Young-mi said, "I've been living alone for about 13 years. I live alone after my mother passed away. I felt lonely, wistful and isolated and couldn't express it," and she had a simple breakfast. Later, dressed warmly, Moon Young-mi climbed a mountain path in the bitter cold and, after walking and walking, cried "I found it" as she dug up a 14-year-old wild ginseng root. After finishing the hike and dragging her tired body, Moon Young-mi arrived at a farming village in Cheongju and met her older sister and brother-in-law. She had dug up the wild ginseng for her sister. Shortly after, Moon Young-mi, who went to the market with her sister, greeted the merchants warmly. The merchants recognized Moon Young-mi and asked for autographs, showing her popularity.
"Comedy godmother" Moon Young-mi walked the path of a comedian after graduating high school at age 19 in 1972 by passing the open recruitment. Early in her career, her striking looks were an obstacle to her work as a comedian. Moon Young-mi said, "When people expected a comedian, they should have been funny, but when a normal-looking girl came out, they didn't laugh. Then when I became fat, maybe they felt less resistance and it started to work," she said. As she gained weight and began to shine, Moon Young-mi reached her peak, winning the KBS Comedy Awards female acting award in 1992 and the Korea Broadcasting Awards female comedian award in 1993. Moon Young-mi said, "Events were events, broadcasts were broadcasts; I used to go to as many as 11 places in a day. I made a lot of money. People even said OO Tower was mine. I could have bought several houses. But none of that was actually mine," leaving a meaningful remark.
Moon Young-mi mentioned the domestic violence she suffered as a child, saying, "I don't have good memories with my father. He tormented us every day. He drank and tormented us daily. I hid in the barn to avoid him. I don't even want to think about that time," she said. Moon Young-mi's sister recalled, "I felt sorry seeing our mother suffer then, so I wondered how to make her suffer less. So I started working early to earn money," she said.
Moon Young-mi endured twists and turns including two divorces and fraud involving tens of billions of won. Moon Young-mi said, "I didn't mind that my first husband had nothing. I could earn, and I was earning; I set up a café for him and a studio, and if an investment seemed good I would make it happen. But after I did all that, he cheated and did bad things. He cheated using the car I bought and the golf I taught him," she said, ending a 13-year marriage. Later, after meeting a new partner while traveling and remarrying, Moon Young-mi said, "This person was worse. He was a pro at seducing women. I completely collapsed then. We didn't even last six months, and now I have such strong trauma when I see men that I'm fed up with them," she said.
Moon Young-mi's suffering did not end there. She said, "I liked children so much that if I had a child I wouldn't have worked. You can't work harshly only for the child. I thought if I had a child we'd starve, so I was afraid to have one," and she revealed, "So I had an abortion." Thinking back on the abortion, she blamed herself, saying, "I was so foolish."
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