Actor Kim Yong-gun opened up about raising his youngest son and shared his honest feelings about late-life parenting.
On the April 6 broadcast of tvN STORY’s variety show Namgyeoseo Mwohage, Kim naturally brought up his family while sharing a life update. When his grandson came up, Kim said, "He’s about 30 months old now," before adding, "I have another little one to play with," drawing attention as he mentioned his six-year-old youngest son.
He didn’t hide the real challenges of parenting at an advanced age. Kim admitted, "It feels more like I’m just trailing after him than playing with him," and added, "It’s not like when I was young, so it’s definitely physically tough." He recalled, "When the child first came into my life, it felt even more overwhelming."
But over time, his mindset changed. "My first and second children told me to think of it as a blessing and cheered me on," he said. "The child didn’t do anything wrong, right? That helped me get a grip and refocus."
Born in 1946 and 79 this year, Kim drew massive attention in 2021 when he had a son with a girlfriend 39 years his junior. While the late-life birth sparked a range of opinions at the time, he’s now continuing parenting with his family’s support.
"Because I feel I don’t have much time left, I’m trying to be with him even more," Kim shared. "I want to stay by my child’s side for as long as possible."