Broadcaster Hong Seok-cheon was genuinely moved by Youn Yuh-jung.
On the 25th, he appeared as a guest on the 920th episode of MBC's entertainment show 'Radio Star' (hereafter 'RS'), which was a special episode titled 'Business is So Easy It's Killing Me' alongside Lee Bong-won, Cha Jun-hwan, and Kang Ji-young.
That day, he started by saying, “This year marks the 25th anniversary of my coming out,” and added, “I came out in 2000 and received congratulatory calls. I thought, ‘This is definitely RS. They must have invited me knowing this,’ but it turned out not to be the case. I was really touched.”
He continued, “I received an award. I have been active in the entertainment industry for over 30 years, and the awards I have received include a bronze medal at the KBS College Comedy Festival and being selected as one of the 20 Young Heroes in Asia by Time magazine in 2004. Now, I have received my third significant award,” and proudly mentioned, “I received an award at the Pride Awards, which honors individuals or organizations that have worked for the rights of sexual minorities.”
He added, “Everyone else is receiving Baeksang and entertainment awards, but I have no luck with awards. I have not received any awards compared to my recognition,” to which Kim Gu-ra sincerely supported him, saying, “You are a great mountain and support for gay people, and you resonate greatly.”
Hong Seok-cheon then said, “I want to take this opportunity to say something,” mentioning Youn Yuh-jung. He said, “Recently, senior Youn Yuh-jung publicly talked about her son. I really shed tears. I was sobbing. It reminded me of my mother.”
He added, “I wonder how many thoughts and stories there are. I wanted to say thank you. Thank you to the people for being so open and understanding,” bowing his head in gratitude.
Youn Yuh-jung married Cho Young-nam in 1975 and has two sons. After divorcing in 1987, she raised her sons alone and recently, in an interview ahead of the release of the Hollywood film 'The Wedding Banquet,' she revealed, “My eldest son came out as gay in 2000.”
In an interview with People magazine, Youn Yuh-jung stated, “My life and my films are very closely related,” and added, “Korea is a very conservative country. People never reveal they are gay publicly or in front of their parents. But my eldest son is gay. I shared the experiences I had with my son in this film.”
In an interview with the Hong Kong media South China Morning Post, she said, “When same-sex marriage was legalized in New York, I held my son's wedding there. It was still a secret in Korea, so the whole family went to New York.” She also joked, “Now I love my son-in-law more than my son.”
