SBS ‘The Story of That Day Biting the Tail’

Lee Sang-min explained what led him to take part in a project to find long-term missing children.

On the broadcast that aired on the 7th, Lee Sang-min appeared as an interviewee on SBS ‘The Story of That Day Biting the Tail’ (hereafter ‘Kkokomu’) in the episode ‘Special: Searching for Long-term Missing Children 2 - We Are Looking for Her’. Appearing as one of the people who had seen the street banners, he said, “In 1999, I was very active, so the banners on the streets especially caught my eye. Even when I went on shoots in other regions, I took pictures thinking, ‘So you have come here as well,’ when I saw the father, and that struck me more deeply. I can post through social media, but since the father was traveling all over the country to do this, I felt I should join in.”

Timed to Family Month in May, this broadcast was organized as a nationwide project to encourage social attention and tips about long-term missing children. A total of 26 entertainers and figures from various fields lent their support to the search for 1,192 long-term missing children, adding significance.

The broadcast highlighted the case of Miss Song Hye-hee, who went missing in 1999 at a bus stop in Pyeongtaek. In particular, the long wait and heartbreaking story of the father who traveled the country looking for his daughter left viewers choked up.

Regarding this, Lee Sang-min explained why he joined the project: “When I was in my prime, whenever I went around the country to perform, I saw banners and flyers that said ‘Find Song Hye-hee’,” adding, “I always wondered how much the heart of a father who lost his daughter must hurt. So I took part in this ‘Kkokomu’ long-term missing children search project interview.”

He continued, “Long-term missing cases may grow distant from the public memory as time passes, but for families they are still an unfinished, present story,” and, “In particular, this ‘Kkokomu’ Family Month special felt like a meaningful project to look back together on a family’s waiting and the passage of time. I took part in the interview in the hope that even a few more people would pay attention.”

Lee Sang-min is also known for having shown sustained interest in the issue of long-term missing children over many years. In 2015, he personally posted on his social media a message that read, “Please find the missing Song Hye-hee,” along with a related photo of a banner. He recalled, “Around 1998, at the south end of Hannam Bridge at the entry interchange to the Gyeongbu Expressway, I happened to see a father installing a banner that read ‘Find Song Hye-hee,’ and my heart simply felt tight and ached,” adding, “So after a few years, I also posted on social media in the hope that many people would remember together.”

He confided, “While preparing for this broadcast, I came across the story of Ms. Song Hye-hee again, and above all, it hurt so much to learn that the father who traveled the country to find his daughter passed away without ever meeting Ms. Song Hye-hee.”

Finally, Lee Sang-min said, “Even after a long time, families cannot give up and live each day waiting, and that time is impossible to fully fathom,” adding, “All the more because it is Family Month, it makes me think more about the meaning of family. I sincerely hope that those who have not yet returned to their families can indeed reunite with the loved ones they cherish.”

Lee Sang-min’s steady concern and sincere actions are delivering a deep resonance to viewers during Family Month.