Former actor and shaman Lee Geon-joo met his mother for the first time in 44 years.
On the 15th, TV Chosun’s ‘Dad and Me’ depicted Lee Geon-joo’s daily life.
On this day, Lee Geon-joo opened up, saying, “My parents divorced, and I was raised by my aunts. I have never talked about why I have resentment and anger towards my father.” He continued, “I have no memories of my mother at all. The last time I saw my father was when my grandmother passed away. The word ‘parents’ is a painful term for me,” as he fought back tears.
Lee Geon-joo mentioned that he had an opportunity to meet his mother 15 years ago, saying, “It was a morning broadcast program, and they suggested that I meet my mother. The production team went ahead to greet her first.” He added, “I heard that my mother asked, ‘Is he making good money?’ Hearing that made me not want to meet her. I don’t know if that was just my misunderstanding or if the words were miscommunicated. If it were now, I would have asked about her intentions. But back then, I was too young and felt a strong aversion. So I decided not to meet her.”
Lee Geon-joo called his aunt, who raised him instead of his parents. He asked for information about his mother, drawing attention. Lee Geon-joo explained, “I’ve been thinking a lot lately. I sought advice from my new father and people around me. Based on that, I wanted to follow my heart.”
However, his aunt only knew his mother’s name by a pseudonym. When Lee Geon-joo asked her to share the pseudonym, his aunt cried, saying, “How can I find her with just a pseudonym? I should have known beforehand, but I’m sorry that I only know the pseudonym.”
Determined to find his mother, Lee Geon-joo searched for ways to locate family members on a portal site. He discovered that by obtaining a family relationship certificate, he could check the personal details of the certificate holder’s parents.
Lee Geon-joo visited the community center to obtain the family relationship certificate. His expression darkened as he nervously received the documents. He said, “I don’t know if it’s because I’m a shaman, but my mother lived where I thought she would. I also learned that my mother remarried and had other children besides me.”
Later, Lee Geon-joo met with his aunt and revealed that his mother had remarried and had other children. He shared, “My mother is living with a new family, and the people in that house might not know about my existence. But if I show up and say, ‘I came because I missed you,’ wouldn’t that break a family? I had a lot of concerns about that.” His aunt encouraged him, saying, “Think of it comfortably. It’s not a big problem. If you like it, I’m all in.”
Finally, Lee Geon-joo headed to his mother’s house. Standing at the door for a long time, he shed tears, evoking sympathy.
After moving to a nearby café, a woman appeared, saying, “Geon-joo, it’s mom.” Embracing Lee Geon-joo, his mother cried out, “I really wanted to see you,” filling the moment with emotion.
[Lee Se-bin, Star Today Guest Reporter]
