On TV CHOSUN's 'Dad and I season 3,' new dad representative Kim Jung-tae revealed daily life with his special son "Yakung-i," who has grown into a 16-year-old genius. In addition, Hyun Joo-yeop drew attention by embarking on a 2026 version of the "hands-on life experience" trip to teach his son the value of labor.
On the Nov. 11 broadcast of TV CHOSUN's 'Dad and I season 3,' 28-year veteran actor Kim Jung-tae newly joined the show with his cute "Yakung-i," who has grown into his 16-year-old son Kim Ji-hu. From the morning, Kim Jung-tae showered his second son Kim Shi-hyun with enthusiastic kisses. Seeing that, Jun Hyun-moo, who thought it was skinship with his wife Jeon Soo-kyung, was shocked and asked, "Isn't that rated R?" and Jun Hyun-moo marveled at the kiss-filled household atmosphere, saying, "Isn't he performing artificial respiration?" Kim Jung-tae's second son naturally accepted the family atmosphere that continued from his childhood, saying, "When dad kisses me, a lot of saliva gets on me, but it's fine if I wipe it off." Kim Jung-tae cooked himself, and his wife and second son chatted amiably beside him, showing a warm atmosphere.
Meanwhile, eldest son Kim Ji-hu was engrossed in something alone in his room. Ji-hu was developing a game using the laws of physics. After finishing the game production, he took out the many colorful plastic bottle caps he had collected, lined them up, and fluently distinguished subtle color differences in English. His excellent English, to the point of talking to himself in English, was basic, and Ji-hu, who was gifted enough to speak six languages, was selected as a science prodigy in middle school and completed the science prodigy training institute with excellent grades. With native-level English skills, Jun Hyun-moo and Han Hye-jin said, "I'm jealous." His genius traits stood out to the extent that his hobbies included animation production and coding. Kim Jung-tae said, "Ji-hu is more comfortable in English. He started with English first and spoke Korean at age 4. His Korean was awkward, so there were suspicions of developmental disabilities." He added, "Ji-hu is, in a good sense, unique; negatively put, he's a character who is hard to understand," revealing a distance with his son. Kim Jung-tae's wife said, "I think my son has 'Asperger's syndrome.' Since childhood, when he gets into something, he becomes terrifyingly absorbed," and expressed complex feelings, saying, "He is a simple style who is indifferent to others and cannot read people's feelings. On the other hand, the fact that he is so good at English is a good phenomenon… it's a double-edged sword."
Ji-hu's difficulty reading social situations was also captured among the family. While the family busied themselves setting the table, Ji-hu continued to talk only about the animation he liked. The mother listened to Ji-hu's story and responded, but explained, "The biggest problem is that he only talks about what he likes and doesn't listen to others." Because his giftedness was exceptional and he was interested in difficult fields such as physics and English, Kim Jung-tae also found it difficult to communicate with his son. Watching on the studio VCR his son lingering around wanting to communicate with the family, Kim Jung-tae reflected, "I should pay attention to Ji-hu's words. I was careful about pretending to know when I didn't, but I think I lacked that. He looks lonely," and decided to change for his somewhat special son.
Meanwhile, Hyun Joo-yeop set out on a special trip for his son Hyun Jun-hee. On the father-and-son trip that left in the early dawn, Jun-hee smiled, saying, "I'm happy and excited because it's been a while since I traveled. I'm also looking forward to fishing." Upon arriving at the West Sea, Hyun Joo-yeop and his son had a hearty breakfast together, and Jun-hee showed appetite and energetic appearance for the first time in a while. But standing before Jun-hee, who was ready to enjoy the trip, was Hong Myung-wan, a friend of Hyun Joo-yeop and a former ssireum wrestler who is now the captain of an anchovy-fishing boat. Captain Hong said, "We have to be fighting today. Where are the work clothes?" which confused Jun-hee. It turned out that the trip was not a trip but a prepared "hands-on life experience" to teach the importance of money and the value of labor. Earlier, Jun-hee had once blown the 100,000 won allowance his father gave him on a game, leading to a clash with Hyun Joo-yeop.
Faced with the fact that a day of part-time work, not a trip, was prepared, Jun-hee said, "Did you deceive me? You told me to eat heartily this morning, then suddenly made me work, so I'm really angry," expressing a sense of betrayal. Jun Hyun-moo admonished Hyun Joo-yeop, saying, "Don't lie," and Soobin also expressed shock at the scam, saying, "This is the worst." In front of Jun-hee lay stacked gamtae, and the task was to pack them into boxes. With each box weighing 30–40 kg, Captain Hong said, "Two people should do it together," and naturally brought Hyun Joo-yeop into the part-time work. Hyun Joo-yeop said, "I thought only Jun-hee would do it, but I was flustered when they told me to do it together," yet he bonded with his son through teamwork. With the cold and the weight, cries continued at the site, and though Jun-hee had a stern face, he worked without resting until the end. The two ultimately finished sorting a total of 1,440 kg of gamtae. Hyun Joo-yeop said, "Seeing Jun-hee work hard, I'm glad I brought him," feeling proud. He added the reason he prepared the scam trip, saying, "Thirty years ago at the 'hands-on life experience' I rode an anchovy-fishing boat and worked together; I learned that sports are difficult, but there are many jobs that are just as hard. I wanted Jun-hee to have a living experience."
After two hours of gamtae work, the Hyun Joo-yeop father and son set out to lift the gamtae for drying. Because the work required delicate technique, the two received harsh words from Captain Hong, who said, "If you lift it like this you'll have to pay money." Due to their very slow work speed, the two were eventually reassigned to the gamtae drying task. The two big men, each over 190 cm tall, bent their backs repeatedly and concentrated on the work. Jun-hee said seriously, "We have to sell this, and it's a matter that affects the lives of the employees, so I thought I should work hard so as not to cause trouble."
When the gamtae part-time job ended, Captain Hong said, "Now let's go see the sea" and put the Hyun Joo-yeop father and son on the boat. However, to Jun-hee, who had been expecting sea fishing as a bucket-list item, Captain Hong gave him a new task, saying, "We came for oyster fishing." When the operation began, Jun-hee fell into shock, saying, "I've been deceived again," and was trapped again in the hell of oyster-harvesting part-time work disguised as fishing. Back on land, the Hyun Joo-yeop father and son continued endless labor, even doing oyster sorting work. Jun Hyun-moo and Han Hye-jin lamented, "That's not fishing, it's just labor," feeling sorry for Jun-hee, who had been deceived. After hardships, Captain Hong handed wages to Hyun Joo-yeop and Jun-hee and declared their liberation from labor hell. After eight hours of work, Jun-hee earned 82,560 won. Holding the first income of his life, Jun-hee said, "Doing work that creates value made me realize, 'I'm living a very comfortable life.' I'm grateful to my father for letting me experience a job in advance," wrapping up a hard but rewarding day.
[Photo] Provided by TV CHOSUN
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