ENTERTAINMENT
“Boyfriend disappeared when she was 6 months pregnant, made the extreme choice of setting herself on fire”
In the 23rd episode of MBN's 'High School Dad Adults Don't Know (hereinafter referred to as 'High School Dad 4')', which aired on the 3rd, Shin Yeo-jin, who became a mother at the age of 17, lives with her entire family deeply hurt by the sudden death of her boyfriend. The figure was drawn. In particular, Shin Yeo-jin confessed her serious mental aftereffects, and Jo Young showed her efforts to overcome trauma with the help of a psychologist, receiving tearful support from everyone. The broadcast on this day recorded a viewer rating of 2.8% (based on the second part of Nielsen Korea's paid broadcast households), reflecting viewers' warm interest in a high school mother who went through a great ordeal at a young age.
First, the story of Shin Yeo-jin becoming a mother at the age of 17 was told in a reenactment drama. When Shin Yeo-jin was in her second year of middle school, her best friend's boyfriend confessed to her, but she rejected it and later transferred to Gangwon-do to follow her divorced mother. Shin Yeo-jin, who had a hard time in an unfamiliar environment, chose to drop out of high school just a week after entering school. However, her older brother, who had confessed to her in the past, contacted her two years later and they met every day and became close. Then, Shin Yeo-jin opened her heart to her brother, who confessed again, saying, “It’s been a long time since I broke up with my girlfriend,” and after receiving permission from her best friend, they started dating officially.
Shin Yeo-jin also surprised everyone by confessing, “When my mother found out that my boyfriend was living alone with his grandmother after his parents divorced, he suggested that he live with me at my house and allowed me to share the same room.” After some time, Shin Yeo-jin became pregnant, and her mother eventually accepted this and allowed the birth. However, Shin Yeo-jin said, “My boyfriend, who was sweet, increasingly started blaming me, saying, ‘I feel like I’m not good enough.’ Then one day, I went to work smiling as usual, but suddenly he disappeared,” causing a second shock.
A few days later, the letter that arrived in the mailbox contained the following: “Please take care of my baby. I am very sorry. Take care.” Shin Yeo-jin, who was six months pregnant at the time, was devastated and sobbed. Shin Yeo-jin, who appeared in the studio immediately after, gave an update on her current situation, saying, “I gave birth to a child alone without a boyfriend in July 2023,” and then added, “I decided to appear because I had something I wanted to tell the child’s father, who left behind only a letter.” The current daily life was revealed.
Shin Yeo-jin was staying with her 42-year-old mother, her younger sister in the second year of middle school, and her 6-month-old daughter. When her mother and younger sister went out, Shin Yeo-jin invited a high school mother of the same age, whom she met at 'Mom Cafe Born in 2005', to her house and shared her concerns through 'co-parenting'. When her high school mom friend passed away, Shin Yeo-jin showed anxiety by turning up the TV sound especially loud. In relation to this, Shin Yeo-jin confessed to the aftereffects of her boyfriend's 'evaporation', saying, "I'm scared when I'm home alone."
Moreover, Shin Yeo-jin was unable to climb up to the second floor where she lived with her boyfriend in a two-story house, and was only living on the first floor, revealing a more serious trauma than expected. While everyone was surprised and asked, “That much?”, Shin Yeo-jin said in an interview with the production crew, “The police came to the house the day my boyfriend left. “They said my boyfriend died in the fire and was taken straight to the morgue,” she said, revealing the truth hidden in her heart. At the same time, she revealed a shocking story, saying, “It turned out that I owed my boyfriend 30 million won, and after checking the CCTV at the scene, I found that she had set herself on fire.” Shin Yeo-jin, who was unaware of her boyfriend's abnormal signs, felt guilty about herself and suffered from lethargy. Her family tried to help her, but they had a hard time because her condition did not improve.
Accordingly, psychologist Jo Young-eun, a member of the 'High School Mom Dad' expert panel, visited Shin Yeo-jin's home to help her. Jo Young-eun, who heard the story of Shin Yeo-jin, who received counseling for the first time after the accident, reassured her, saying, “(The death of her child’s father) is absolutely not (Shin) Yeo-jin’s fault.” Afterwards, as part of 'behavioral therapy', Shin Yeo-jin went up to the second floor with Jo Young-eun's psychologist and looked around the room containing her memories with her child's father. Then, she cried profusely, saying, “I miss (my child’s father),” and wrote a handwritten letter saying the words she had not been able to convey to her child’s father. He then read a letter that said, “If I can see my child someday, I will see him as much as I did not then. He will be fine even if he is bored alone, and I will also be fine,” which left everyone speechless.
After psychological counseling, Shin Yeo-jin said, “I have sorted out my mind a lot,” and when she met her family, she said, “I thought that I should raise my child better in the future. “I will also try to change a lot in the future,” he pledged. Shin Yeo-jin's mother supported her daughter's decision, saying, "From now on, live bravely and confidently." 3 MCs Park Mi-sun, In Gyo-jin, and Seo Jang-hoon also said, “I’m proud of the fact that they went through such a big ordeal at such a young age. He expressed his sincere support, saying, “Once the mourning period passes, you will be happy enough.” Lastly, psychological counselor Cho Young-eun said, “I recommend changing the space on the second floor. “I hope you can overcome your trauma by redoing the interior and decorating your room with family photos,” he advised.
Ten Asia Reporter Kim Seo-yoon seogugu@tenasia.co.kr
