Actor Song Il-gook revealed an update on his triplets Daehan, Minguk and Manse, who are now in second year of middle school.
On the 19th episode of KBS1's Morning Yard, lead actors of the musical "The Hague," Song Il-gook and Oh Man-seok, appeared as guests. Surprise guest Bae Do-hwan also joined, drawing attention.
That day Oh Man-seok explained the reason for appearing, saying, "We are currently performing the musical in Daehangno. This year marks the 120th anniversary of dispatching the Hague special envoys, so we are performing the musical "The Hague" in Daehangno, and within it the role of teacher Lee Sang-seol among the Hague envoys is played by the two of us. The story is interesting and good. I wanted to widely let people know in case there are still people who haven't seen it yet."
Song Il-gook, who is also a descendant of an independence movement contributor, shared behind-the-scenes, saying, "Actually, thanks to that I got to do this work. "Mamma Mia" was an audition. I saw the notice, auditioned and passed, and for this production the production company representative saw me and thought 'he's better than expected' and saw potential, and because I'm a descendant of an independence movement contributor they thought the work would have meaning, so they cast me." When asked if he felt burdened, he said his impression: "Rather than a burden, this work promotes the Hague envoys, so it is an honor to take this role."
He said he woke up at 4:30 a.m. to warm up his voice for the Morning Yard recording and, when asked "With three kids and a wife who goes to work every day, mornings must be busy," he warmly expressed affection, saying, "I usually see them off. I even see my wife off to the subway station. She's probably at work now. Honey, I'm sorry."
On the other hand, Daehan, Minguk and Manse are currently going through turbulent adolescent years. Song Il-gook said, "They are in second year of middle school now. That scary middle school second year. You never know where they'll turn," and added, "Just yesterday I was looking at a script and someone suddenly came and said, 'Father, what are you doing? Don't talk about me.' I can't say which one of the three it was. If I say, there will be an uproar. If this airs..." He continued, "Can't they watch it at school? It's Minguk. He's too sensitive. All three are sensitive but Minguk is especially sensitive. So even posting photos, if I check they seem in a good mood and I ask 'Can I post this photo?' they say 'Ah yes, yes.' I have to get permission before posting. The kids I knew are gone and someone I don't know has come."
Later, when footage of the triplets' appearance on The Return of SUPERMAN aired as archival footage, Song Il-gook said nostalgically, "I want to go back to that time. It was so hard, really hard." He then offered important parenting tips to announcer Park Cheol-gyu, who has a daughter who is now 86 days old, saying, "I'll give you an important tip. Korean men basically don't consider childcare their own job. The important thing is that the wife thinks it's over because she gave birth, but you should think of childcare as your job. Then things come out differently. It's my job, but the wife helped me. Going to work will become like a vacation."
He said, "When I go home, I'm also tired. I came from work. My wife did her part, so 'you're exhausted and so am I.' But if you treat it as my work and say the wife helped me, words come out like 'Honey, you worked hard, I'm sorry. I should have helped.' That one phrase relaxes all women," and added, "I also had an awakening around the first birthday. Until the first birthday, I didn't really clash even before the kids were born. But around the first birthday I had an awakening and thought, 'Right, it's not that I'm helping, it's my job,' and things came out differently," drawing cheers from the audience.
Song Il-gook said, "And really film everyday life. Kids playing, eating, going to the bathroom. All of that becomes memories. Most of the triplets' footage was shot by me," and when asked, "Do the kids watch The Return of SUPERMAN?" he shook his head and joked, "Would a second-year middle schooler watch it?" He surprised the audience by revealing the triplets' heights, saying, "They're taller than me. I'm not short either. Daehan is 186 cm, Minguk is 183 cm, Manse is 180 cm." Oh Man-seok also confessed, "My sons came to see the 'The Hague' performance last time. I thought a basketball team had come to see the show."
Announcer Eom Ji-in asked, "You seem to have many things you held back because of the kids," and asked about Song Il-gook's difficulties. Song Il-gook replied, "Swear words rise to my throat but I can't say them. I have committed many sins. I feel like I'm being repaid threefold. For the things I did to my mother long ago. So these days I end up calling my mother more often than I mean to. Because my past is visible through the kids. I think 'I was like that.'" He also expressed remorse toward his mother, former lawmaker and actress Kim Eul-dong.
Then announcer Eom Ji-in asked him to say what he wanted to say to the kids but couldn't, and Song Il-gook vented, "You!.." then said, "I can't use foul language. When I was young my mother would get so angry because of me that she'd go into the bathroom and say 'You, you!' and now I understand that." He also said, "Actually, what I'm sorry about for the kids is that with three of them they have no personal space. When a kid goes into the bathroom they stay in there for an hour," adding with a laugh, "If I say this there will be an uproar."
He took the opportunity to express gratitude to KBS, saying, "I am truly thankful to KBS. Filming The Return of SUPERMAN was very hard. The two nights and three days of shooting felt like a month. But now they only watch that footage. The best filming and editing team made the footage of the kids when they were the cutest. It's the greatest gift of my life. Thank you, KBS."
Announcer Eom Ji-in said, "You raised them so well. Your parenting method was exceptional. I bought the thinking chair too," and Song Il-gook replied, "Actually it was all my wife's idea and I don't know about it. I get many parenting questions, but I think the most important thing in parenting is not how you teach the children but that the couple is happy. And if the couple is happy, they will guide the children to the right place. They will find their direction." Then Eom Ji-in and Park Cheol-gyu encouraged him, saying, "Even if the kids are going through puberty, they'll know that their father tried and that they were raised well."
Conversely, Oh Man-seok, father of two daughters, said his older daughter is in her mid-20s and his younger daughter is 8 years old. He expressed affection, saying, "Recently she came to see a performance and afterward I went to a bar with my older daughter and we drank and talked. Now that they're grown it's nice. I am grateful for the goodnight kisses the younger one gives before bed." He also proudly noted, "Neither the first nor the second were taught, but if you ask them to recite lines or do things they do well. It seems they inherited the talent."
Looking at this with envy, Song Il-gook said, "I wanted to have a daughter. I even named her. Uri, na-ra. Isn't that so pretty? But my mother-in-law said no more daughters from me. Because when she gave birth to the three she almost died. It was so hard. Her stomach was like full-term at four months. I thought it could swell that much. There were 20 people in the operating room at delivery. You couldn't give birth whenever you wanted; because you had to gather that many people the hospital set the date. It was that dangerous," and he showed affection, saying, "Honey, you worked hard raising four sons. I love you." Oh Man-seok also cheerfully bowed 90 degrees to his wife and said, "Thank you."
Song Il-gook, who is reportedly strictly managing himself for a recent role, revealed, "My wife boils witch soup for me. In a cauldron. I carry that and eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I also run 5 km," which surprised listeners. Oh Man-seok said, "Even I think it's extreme. When I suggest eating together he always says, 'My wife prepared something,'" and Song Il-gook joked, "Boiling that is a terribly tedious task. You can't not eat it because of the effort. Preparing the ingredients is work too. She prepares everything and cooks it, so how can I not eat it? My wife always says while boiling the vegetable soup, 'Our household livelihood depends on this,'" he quipped.
In the midst of this, when a viewer's sudden question about "parents' day gifts from the children" came up, Song Il-gook expressed great disappointment, saying, "There was nothing at all." He said, "We prepared carnations for both grandparents, but while preparing them the kids must have learned something. There was nothing at all. When I asked, 'Why didn't you?' they said, 'Dad, you didn't do anything on Children's Day either,' and when I asked, 'Are you a child?' Minguk said the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child up to age 18, so 'We're still children.'" he said, expressing his astonishment to uproarious laughter.
Oh Man-seok boasted, "My second daughter beautifully gave me a card and a drawing. The biggest gift is the kisses on the cheeks," and Bae Do-hwan, seeing this, said, "If there's one of the three who won't listen, send him to me. Send Minguk." When asked to say a word to the kids, Song Il-gook sighed and reluctantly said, "I love you," adding to the laughter.
[Photo] KBS1
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