Actor Kim Jeong-tae revealed why he continued filming while battling liver cancer, bringing renewed attention to his painful past, including financial hardship and being listed as a credit delinquent.
Recently TV Chosun variety show 'Daddy and I' released a preview video titled 'Dad Kim Jeong-tae's liver cancer test.' In the video, Kim Jeong-tae visited a university hospital for blood work and a CT scan to check his health.
Kim Jeong-tae said, "Our family has weak livers. That's why I had liver cancer surgery," revealing that he learned of the illness around Oct. 2018 and underwent surgery in Nov. of the same year.
He confessed that he actually experienced cirrhosis three times in the past, and described a reality in which he could not stop working despite being ill. Kim Jeong-tae recalled the time during filming of the movies Friend, Pirate, and Becoming the Disco King, saying, "Even when I was sick I couldn't speak up for fear of being fired. I overdid action practice and my abdomen filled with ascites." He added that the illness flared up again during filming of The Stray Dog but he hid it and kept filming. He said, "When we were doing a stage greeting, my mother greeted the director and cried a lot. It was because she saw the fighting scenes in the movie," which evoked sympathy.
Kim Jeong-tae's confession had actually been mentioned before. When he appeared on Four-person dining table, he said that despite a glamorous image after his debut, he suffered severe financial hardship. "Even if there was an uproar that I acted well, I still had to go deliver chicken as soon as I turned around. Fame and income did not correspond," he said.
He also confessed, "During the movie Friend, I didn't even receive my appearance fee because it was intercepted in the middle. As my father's business got into trouble, I took on all the debt and became a credit delinquent." He went on to say, "Among the agency's 70 actors, I was the only one living in a goshiwon. At that time I also briefly stayed at the Seoul Station homeless shelter," a confession that shocked viewers.
There was a time when his health completely collapsed. Kim Jeong-tae recalled that after a stage greeting for Sunflower his condition worsened but he didn't even have hospital money, saying, "There wasn't even 1 million won at home."
The reason he endured. He said, "I had no choice but to endure because I had to support my family. I worked hard to protect my family," his eyes welling with tears. He added, "My credit delinquency was cleared when I was 40. That's when I first got a credit card in my name," making the moment even more poignant.
[Photo] 'broadcast screen'
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