TV CHOSUN ‘Dad and Me Season 3’
Actor Kim Jung-tae revealed the driving force that allowed him to endure his battle with liver cancer.
On Wednesday the 29th, TV CHOSUN ‘Dad and Me Season 3’ featured Kim Jung-tae, who has battled liver cancer, confessing that the strength that kept him going through the pain was his wife and his two sons, Ji-hoo&Si-hyeon, conveying a moving sense of family love.
On the broadcast that day, ‘doting dad’ Kim Jung-tae visited the hospital with his wife, looking grave. Kim said, “My family has weak livers,” and recounted that he even underwent liver resection surgery in November 2018 due to his battle with liver cancer. He recalled the critical emergency at the time, saying, “Something felt wrong, so I had a blood test; normal liver values are 30~50, but mine came out at 900.” The surgery, scheduled for three hours, stretched to eight, and his family was on pins and needles. As a maternal hereditary ‘hepatitis B carrier’, Kim could not be fully cured and required ongoing follow-up testing. He said, “For me, liver cancer is like acne. Even if you remove it, it comes back again and again. It must be managed for life,” adding that early detection through checkups is the only way. Although he needs examinations every four months, a busy schedule led Kim to visit the hospital about a month later than planned this time. This made the couple all the more anxious.
After the tests, the doctor said, “We removed the liver cancer tumor surgically, but you carry ‘liver cancer tumor bacteria’, so it can recur at any time. We are blocking it with embolization medication now, but embolization medication cannot last forever. If it cannot be controlled, cutting away part of the liver is an option. In the worst case, we may even have to consider a liver transplant,” laying out the reality. As Kim and his wife grew more nervous, the doctor delivered the good news, “There is no problem with this test result,” and urged them to keep to the examination schedule, adding, “Because liver cancer cannot be prevented, early detection through regular monitoring is essential.”
TV CHOSUN ‘Dad and Me Season 3’
Kim Jung-tae’s wife said, “Stop obsessing over the children and take care of yourself, too. When you come home, you should rest and sleep, but did you not get up early again today to take the kids to school?” chiding her husband, who always puts their two sons before himself. Kim responded, “You could call me a strange guy, but to me it was an illness that felt very much like a blessing. After battling liver cancer, the way I look at life and the world changed so much. Whatever happens to me, the ones who comfort me and stay by my side are only the little ones and my wife,” confessing that every moment with his children is immeasurably precious. He added, “I am a father who is stronger than anyone… who must be strong,” vowing not to let go of his health for his family. Han Hye-jin empathized as a parent, saying, ‘The presence of the children seems to have been a great strength”. Jun Hyun-moo said, “I thought it was making a fuss, but now I understand why he kept saying family, family,” expressing understanding for Kim. Kim then said, “After the film ‘Friend’, when I was shooting ‘The Pirates, Becoming the Disco King’, even though I was ill I could not say anything because I was afraid of being cut. I filmed even as ascites accumulated and jaundice appeared. During the film ‘Ddonggae’, I also fell ill and endured the pain while filming. My mother came to the stage greeting, and because she knew how I had filmed, she cried so much,” and he broke into tears. Viewers were also choked up by Kim’s long-unspoken confession of how he endured his pain by looking to his family.
TV CHOSUN ‘Dad and Me Season 3’ airs every Wednesday at 10 p.m.
