Singer Yoo Yeol appears on the January 24 broadcast of MBN ‘Kim Ju-ha Day & Night’ to share his battle with illness. Photo MBN
Singer Yoo Yeol opens up about deeply personal stories from his seven-year fight with pulmonary fibrosis.
Yoo Yeol will appear on the MBN program ‘Kim Ju-ha Day & Night’, airing on the 24th, to talk with hosts Kim Ju-ha, Moon Se-yoon, and Jo Jjazz.
Singer Yoo Yeol appears on the January 24 broadcast of MBN ‘Kim Ju-ha Day & Night’ to share his battle with illness. Photo MBN
On the show, he reveals for the first time his life battling pulmonary fibrosis, during which he even received a pronouncement of death. At one point, emaciated footage of him spread online, fueling false death rumors. He recounts how he halted activities for seven years due to pulmonary fibrosis, how he overcame the illness, and how he regained his health.
In 2019, after being hospitalized with a fever that rose to 40 degrees due to pneumonia, he was diagnosed with pleural parenchymal elastic fibrosis (PPEE), an idiopathic form of pulmonary fibrosis with an unknown cause. He revealed that although the mortality rate is high, there are only medications that slow the disease’s progression and no curative treatment, which astonished many.
Singer Yoo Yeol appears on the January 24 broadcast of MBN ‘Kim Ju-ha Day & Night’ to share his battle with illness. Photo MBN
He also confessed that, because the medication reduced his appetite, his weight fell to 40㎏, and that his family even heard what was effectively a death notice from a doctor: “Prepare yourselves. Discuss with the family whether to proceed with life-sustaining treatment and let us know”.
He attempted a lung transplant as well, but the operation was canceled twice, and he experienced delirium, facing critical moments. He shared that, amid an imminent crisis, he even left a will; on the broadcast, he reads aloud a will expressing gratitude to his wife and child, moving viewers.
MC Kim Ju-ha appears in the Yoo Yeol episode of MBN ‘Day & Night’, airing on the 24th. Photo MBN
He also recalled his mother, who passed away during his illness. As an only son, his mother died not long after he fell ill. Yoo Yeol could not keep vigil at the funeral, and he confessed that on the day of her send-off he fell into unconsciousness again, bringing a solemn hush.
Yoo Yeol said he keenly felt the saying, “Only when hardship comes do you know a friend is a true friend”, and he shared the story of singer Jung Hoon-hee sending a large sum of condolence money anonymously. MBN ‘Day and Night’, hosted by Kim Ju-ha, airs every Saturday at 9:40 p.m.
