Sayuri Shares Challenges of Being a 'Voluntary Single Mother' and Updates on Son Zen

Sayuri recently opened up about the challenges she faces as a 'voluntary single mother' while sharing updates on her son, Zen.

On the October 13th episode of tvN STORY's 'Each House Couple,' Sayuri was featured visiting Kim Jung-min's home in Korea to teach him Japanese.

During the episode, Kim Jung-min explained his motivation for learning Japanese, saying, "There's a group chat with five family members. I don't know Japanese, but they speak in Japanese. I felt like an outsider, so I'm studying hard. I want to confidently converse in Japanese in front of my family."

Before starting the lesson, Sayuri shared stories about raising her son. She proudly mentioned Zen's progress, saying, "He's 4 years old by international age and 6 by Korean age. We've communicated in Japanese since he was a baby, so it's his native language. He naturally picked up Korean by attending a local kindergarten." Sayuri had previously revealed that Zen can also speak English, Chinese, and Spanish.

Kim Jung-min noted that none of his three sons could speak Japanese, adding, "My wife is very fluent in Korean. Even after living in Japan for 20 years, I still can't speak Japanese. The kids barely knew any Japanese before visiting Japan."

Sayuri also discussed the difficulties of being a single mother. She shared, "There was a father-child sports day. Since Zen doesn't have a father, a local real estate agent stepped in to attend as his dad." She added, "I'm sure I'm not the only one. Many single moms face similar situations."

Tae Yuna, TenAsia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr