Yoo Eun Sung reveals divorce crisis and brain tumor battle

Actress Kim Jung-hwa and CCM singer Yoo Eun Sung have candidly revealed that even in their 13th year of marriage, there were moments when they contemplated divorce. In particular, Yoo drew attention by confessing that during times when marital conflict reached its peak, he went as long as one to two weeks without speaking to his wife.

On the 17th, a video titled 'Listening from the husband's perspective after the divorce news' was released on Kim's YouTube channel. Following Kim's previous disclosure regarding moments she considered divorce, Yoo explained the situation from his own perspective.

When the production team asked Yoo, "Have you ever thought about divorce?" he answered "Yes" without hesitation.

When it was mentioned that Kim had also thought about the end of the relationship when communication between the couple failed, Yoo empathized, saying, "I feel the same way."

He explained his feelings of resentment at the time, saying, "There are times when I feel, 'They don't realize this,' or 'They don't understand even though I've said it this much,' and then I feel like, 'They can't accept this.' In those moments, I feel like 'I am not an important person to this person.' I thought it could be like that."

The professional nature of Kim's career as an actress also influenced the couple's conflicts. Yoo revealed that he has expressed discomfort regarding things like kiss scenes that his wife experiences while working.

He said, "I told her, 'Kiss scenes are hard,' but she replied, 'Then you shouldn't have married an actress,' which made me feel like she didn't understand my heart."

However, he noted that his resentment was easily resolved when Kim showed consideration for him ahead of her filming.

"I'm the type where if she says, 'Honey, don't watch because I have a kiss scene on air that day,' my resentment completely disappears. Men are simple," Yoo said, drawing laughter.

The problem was that when conflicts arose, Yoo's tendency was to choose silence rather than actively explaining his emotions.

He recalled, "Actually, when I am upset, I don't speak well. I'm the type that thinks, 'If I don't say it, will you know?' My longest period of silence was about one to two weeks."

At that time, Kim struggled with the prolonged silence, and Yoo said, "Jung-hwa was having a very hard time then, and she wrote to me via KakaoTalk, 'How am I supposed to know if you don't tell me like this?'"

Ultimately, Kim's honest expression broke the dam of the blocked conversation.

"If I say, 'It's so hard for me to be in such a bad period with you,' doesn't that lead to a conversation about the things I was upset about?" Yoo said. "I really didn't know why I was upset for those one to two weeks."

To this, Kim replied, "How am I supposed to know if you don't tell me?" The couple's conversation also lightheartedly addressed the common marital issue of "silence and misunderstanding."

In the end, much of the couple's conflict stemmed from the way emotions were conveyed rather than the emotions themselves. One side waited for the other to recognize their feelings, while the other could not know the partner's inner thoughts due to the silence that followed without any explanation. It was a paradoxical situation where the desire to understand each other actually amplified the conflict due to the lack of communication.

Having overcome such crises several times, Kim and Yoo have continued their marital bond for 13 years. Beyond marital conflicts, the couple also faces another practical challenge: Yoo's health issues.

Since being diagnosed with a low-grade glioma in 2023, Yoo has been undergoing treatment. He recently revealed his condition, stating, "It is a brain tumor called low-grade glioma. It is a glioma that grows slowly in the frontal lobe, but fortunately, the growth has stopped now."

It was reported that when he visited the hospital last February, he received an opinion from medical staff that he could simply monitor the progress without separate treatment.

Kim is also closely monitoring her husband's health. While it is fortunate that the tumor's growth has stopped, she is known to be paying close attention to her husband's health management, who is active, due to concerns about the possibility of the situation changing in the future.

Marriage may mean more of how one passes through conflict rather than a state of having no conflict. Kim and Yoo also passed through moments when their relationship shook enough to consider divorce, but they ultimately maintained their relationship through the process of bringing their emotions to light.

Kim and Yoo married in 2013 and have two sons. Throughout their 13 years of marriage, the story they shared was less about a perfect couple and more about the reality of a couple who, despite repeated misunderstandings and resentment, continues to choose conversation.