Baek Il-seob reveals emotional isolation after 11 years of 'jolhon'

Actor Baek Il-seob has opened up about the resentment he felt toward his family while reflecting on his 11th year of living a 'graduation from marriage' (jolhon) lifestyle. Recalling how he felt excluded from his family's daily life despite living under the same roof for many years, he revealed the emotional traces that have not easily dissipated even after the separation.

In the upcoming broadcast of MBN's 'Dongchimi' on September 5, which will cover the theme 'Various Family Stories Full of Talk and Trouble,' the show will address conflicts and wounds arising from family relationships. A recently released preview features Baek, often called the 'icon of graduation from marriage' due to his long-term separation, sharing his family history.

Regarding his current situation, Baek used a joking expression, saying, "It has been 11 years since I ran away from home. My overnight stays are becoming long-term."

However, the story that followed was far from humorous.

He recalled a time when he lived with his family and his daughter would greet him before leaving for school. Baek explained that when his daughter would say, "Dad, I'm going to school," he would try to get up and go outside just to see her face.

However, at that moment, he reportedly heard something to the effect of, "Don't greet him, Dad is sleeping, just go."

Recalling that memory, Baek said, "From then on, the kids didn't even greet me."

He continued by expressing the sense of alienation he felt within the family, stating, "I have nowhere to go."

His confession leaves a bitter lingering impression, as the sense of distance in the relationship built up over a long time is condensed into that single sentence, rather than just the fact that they didn't say hello.

For Baek, 'graduation from marriage' has become a relatively familiar term. He married in 1980 and has one son and one daughter, and he began living separately from his wife in 2016. 'Jolhon,' a form of living where a couple maintains a legal marriage but lives their own separate lives, drew significant interest in the domestic pop culture scene at the time.

In particular, Baek's case drew attention because it cannot be viewed simply as an 'alternative to twilight divorce.' This is because when the legal marriage is maintained but the actual living space and emotional relationship are separated, the roles and distances between family members are also restructured.

In that process, the relationship with children is also a significant variable. The way parents settle their marital relationship and the way children accept it can differ; what is a choice for a new life for the parents can be perceived as a change in the family community by the children. The fact that Baek remembers that one remark even after a long time demonstrates this complexity of relationships.

The most striking part of Baek's confession is the expression "I have nowhere to go." This is read not as a matter of physical residence, but as emotional alienation felt when one's place disappears within the closest relationship of the family. It is a passage that shows how repeated indifference or a breakdown in communication among family members can sometimes leave deeper wounds than direct conflict.

Although Baek has lived as a familiar face to the public through decades of acting, within his family, he was a husband and a father. Regardless of social success or public recognition, his story goes beyond the category of a special family history in that individual roles and emotions must be constantly adjusted within family relationships.

The 11-year separation has become a new way of life for Baek, but it does not erase the time he spent with his family in the past. Rather, as the time spent apart grows longer, there is an aspect of reflecting on the memories and the meaning of those relationships.

It is expected that the family story Baek will reveal in this broadcast will go beyond the mere topicality of a 'graduation from marriage variety show' and pose questions about how to view the emotional disconnection that occurs in long marriages and parent-child relationships.