In 'Living together with Hwang Shin-hye,' actor Kwon Oh-jung tearfully confessed that his son, who has a rare disease, had been a victim of school violence in the past, evoking sympathy.
On the evening of the 29th, KBS 1TV variety show 'Living together with Hwang Shin-hye' (abbreviated Living together) featured Kwon Oh-jung as a guest.
Kwon Oh-jung is a 33-year veteran actor who debuted in the 1994 film 'Young Man' and is the father of a son with a developmental disability who suffers from a rare disease that does not even have a name. In fact, Kwon Oh-jung's son, Hyuk-jun, is one of only 15 people in the world with the rare disease, and because of this he suffered difficulties including being a victim of school violence in middle school.
In this regard, Kwon Oh-jung began, "When my child was in elementary school, he liked to go around with friends. Even so, he was always alone. Because he couldn't play together. At that time, the younger kids were not deliberately ostracizing him. Because he naturally couldn't play together, he was alone. But when he went to middle school, he said he wouldn't go to school."
He added, "When I asked why, he said his friends hit his stomach. Later, since I went to the school, I went to ask the kid who hit him, and he made a wronged expression and said, 'How much do you play with him?' Seeing that, I actually came home and scolded my child. But later I got a call that the child had been injured and went to the emergency room, and when I went there I found out he had been bullied nonstop for a year by five people."
Kwon Oh-jung explained, "The kid who pretended to be wronged and said he played well with him was the ringleader. He pretended to be close, pretended to go to the bathroom together, then hit him with a stick, hit his stomach, and made him crawl on the floor. My child also injured his neck because he was looking out the window and they hit him saying, 'Why are you looking at the window,' and a piece of glass embedded in his neck sent him to the emergency room. The police later investigated and found out about that," adding to the shock and sadness.
Despite that, no substantial punishment was carried out. Kwon Oh-jung said, "Only the ringleader transferred schools. But I learned that if he voluntarily transferred, it doesn't remain on his academic record. The other four only changed class and continued attending the same school. So during breaks they came and said don't play with our child, teased him that he would be reported for school violence, and left. I barely got him to graduate middle school and he went elsewhere for high school," he said, choking up. Kwon Oh-jung recalled the difficult time, saying, "School violence traps both the child and the parents emotionally," evoking sympathy.
Afterwards, by staying by his son's side and helping him maintain daily life, Hyuk-jun safely graduated from college in 2023 and continues to pursue new challenges while learning acting and painting. Although he failed to win awards in contests, he instead gained an opportunity to hold his first exhibition at the Seoul Arts Center and actually sold paintings.
Kwon Oh-jung revealed his son's current status, saying, "This year he was invited to Seattle and New York and became an exhibiting artist," and added, "There are so many outstanding artists, but Hyuk-jun has no greed. He doesn't care about drawing well at all. He paints memories he likes, whether using brushes or paint. Even when painting a yacht at Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, he covers over it with the color of the sea. He is unrestrained. He likes the exhilaration that comes from that. The fact that people who paint together go 'huh? wow?' seems to be his strength for living," he said.
Above all, regarding his son's health, Kwon Oh-jung said, "Hyuk-jun has no diagnosed disease name. It is the name of a genetic protein marker. It was first discovered in 2014 and we found out in 2018. There are no drugs or doctors developing treatments. Our son is the first in Korea and there are a few people after him, and globally it's fewer than a dozen. Pharmaceutical companies have no reason to develop a treatment. So I sent emails to foreign doctors, to those who are said to be famous," he said.
He went on, "Surprisingly, I even received replies," and explained, "The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also contacted us saying they were interested in my son. We had a video call. They cannot give an answer but recently contacted us saying they are interested and will try something. It was two months ago. Just the fact that a famous person shows interest gives hope," he said, expressing hope.
Finally, Kwon Oh-jung said, "When I was young, I used to play a lot. I'm the youngest of three brothers, so of course I played a lot. I want my son to go out and play. No matter how much parents push, he can't go out alone. That stress is too much. Watching TV and seeing young people dance, sing and date, it is so sad that he cannot do any of that at all," and added, "If I have a wish, since we inevitably are getting older, I want to see him walk well and become normal before I go," and ended in tears. <
[Photo] Provided by KBS.
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