Gree clarifies rumors regarding stepmother's treatment of him

Broadcaster Kim GuRa's son, Gree (Kim Dong-hyeon), has directly addressed malicious comments surrounding his stepmother. Regarding viewers speculating about his family dynamics based on brief broadcast clips, he drew a line, stating, “What appears on broadcast is not everything,” and emphasized that there are no issues within the actual family.

On the 4th, Gree released a video titled 'I will directly clarify the suspicions so far' on his YouTube channel 'Gree,' answering various misunderstandings surrounding himself and his family. In particular, he explained in detail the controversy regarding his stepmother that arose following content related to Parents' Day.

The controversy began when footage aired showing Gree visiting Kim GuRa's house to deliver a gift. After seeing the scene where Gree leaves without eating after delivering the gift, some viewers reacted with the sentiment that his stepmother was not taking proper care of him.

Comments such as “How can you send a child who bought a gift away without even feeding them a single meal?” and “Dong-hyeon must have wanted a home-cooked meal; they should have told him to eat before leaving” followed, while some netizens speculated about an awkward atmosphere within the family, saying it felt “detached.”

However, the actual situation conveyed by Gree was significantly different from what was shown on screen. He revealed, “In fact, when I went, she prepared juice for me and gave me cake. She never sends me away empty-handed.”

The reason Gree did not eat was also not because his stepmother failed to offer him a meal. He explained, “There were cameras, and I declined everything because I thought it might be awkward if Mom entered the camera angle unnecessarily.” He meant that in the specific situation of a broadcast shoot, he personally decided not to eat; as a result, certain scenes captured on screen led to erroneous speculations about the family relationship.

Gree also said, “I can eat everything myself, and actually, that is also our house. It is a house I can naturally come and go from.” This explains that he does not view his stepmother's house as a stranger's space, but rather as a place where he moves back and forth naturally.

Above all, he emphasized, “First of all, I have no grievances.” Beyond simply saying there were no past conflicts, he stated that he still exchanges daily messages with his stepmother.

In fact, as of the time the video was released, Gree revealed, “I was in contact with my stepmother just the day before yesterday.” He also shared an anecdote where he gifted her a drink he enjoyed, and received a reply from her saying, “I enjoyed it so much. Son.” This illustrates how different the actual daily life of a family can be from the scenes captured for a few seconds on broadcast.

Kim GuRa's family has undergone somewhat complex changes from the framework of traditional family relationships. After divorcing his first wife in 2015, Kim remarried a non-celebrity woman who is 12 years younger in 2020, and had a late-born daughter the following year. Gree is the son born from his first wife, and after his father's remarriage, he welcomed new family members. The age difference between him and his late-born younger sister is 23.

Gree has been active in broadcasting alongside his father since his childhood. He made a name for himself appearing on MBC's 'Radio Star' with Kim GuRa, and the relationship between father and son was largely revealed to the public through MBC's 'Dad! Where Are We Going?'. Because of this, his family relationships have been subject to public observation for a long time, unlike the private lives of ordinary people.

The problem is that the amount of observation does not necessarily correlate with the depth of understanding. Especially in observational variety shows or family content, there are many cases where a few edited scenes are consumed as if they are the entirety of the actual relationship. In the process of selecting specific scenes for laughter, tension, or narrative context, many daily moments outside the screen are naturally deleted.

This is exactly the point that Gree emphasized through this clarification. Repeatedly emphasizing, “There are no problems between us,” he conveyed his intention that people should not judge family relationships based only on scenes shown on broadcast.

Ultimately, this controversy boils down to not a question of how well the stepmother took care of Gree, but a question of how much the public can interpret relationships outside the screen. It is an inevitable gap that occurs when the most private relationship of a family is revealed through broadcast content.

Gree clearly stated that he has no grievances. Rather, he revealed that they are in a relationship where they naturally exchange messages and give gifts even now. By explaining the reality of the relationship that was not visible on screen, he revealed that the speculation of being a “detached family” was far from the truth.