Singer Yang Hee-na opens up about caring for disabled brother and ailing parents

Singer Yang Hee-na has shared the heavy reality of her family life, revealing that she is single-handedly caring for a younger brother diagnosed with an intellectual disability following school violence, a mother suffering from Parkinson's disease, and a father battling cancer.

In the 755th episode of the MBN close-up documentary 'Scoop World' aired on the 3rd, Yang shared the daily life of her 51-year-old brother, Tae Hwan. During the broadcast, Yang spoke affectionately to her brother while he was eating, but Tae Hwan continued his meal silently without much response. Yang explained that her brother's cognitive and daily living abilities are currently at the level of a "kindergartener."

According to Yang, Tae Hwan was diagnosed with an intellectual disability during middle school. Her family explained that prior to that, his academic performance was exceptional, even ranking first in his entire school. "I think the classmate next to him hit him a bit. It seems like violence was used," Yang said, adding, "My mother said that's how he became like this after that incident."

However, the content revealed in the broadcast does not confirm a medical causal link between the violence at the time and his current disability. Yang's explanation was based on her mother's memories rather than her own direct judgment. Rather than concluding a causal relationship between school violence and disability, the focus remains on the family's memory of how a brother who was once an outstanding student saw his life trajectory change significantly after an incident during his adolescence.

Yang's caregiving does not stop with her brother. Her mother has suffered from Parkinson's disease for about 10 years, and as her symptoms have recently worsened, she is experiencing difficulties with walking and daily life. Yang confessed that her mother once fell and injured her face, damaging her teeth, and that she worries about her mother's declining cognitive functions.

Her father is also fighting illness. According to Yang, her father underwent surgery for bladder cancer eight years ago and was declared cured, but he was later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and underwent surgery again this March. He is reportedly undergoing rehabilitation due to walking difficulties caused by the side effects of chemotherapy.

Ultimately, Yang has been staying at her parents' home since February this year to personally care for her parents and brother. Even though she is married and has her own family, she made this choice because she determined there was no one else to fill the caregiving gap. She expressed her sense of responsibility toward her family, saying, "If I don't set my mind to it, I would be abandoning my parents and my brother, but there is no one else to do it."

To support the family's livelihood, she even took over the farming work her parents used to do. She cannot give up farming if she is to afford hospital bills and the costs of caring for her brother. Yang stated, "Since it is our family's source of income, if I let it go, the hospital bills will be a problem, and the care costs for my brother will also be a problem." This highlights a reality where caregiving goes beyond simply looking after family members and involves simultaneously managing livelihoods, medical expenses, and labor.

In this process, Yang also expressed feelings of guilt toward her husband and children. She revealed that while her family initially did not understand her choice and even grew angry, they came to understand the situation after visiting her parents' home following her father's surgery. While apologizing to her family, Yang explained that she could not turn away from her duties.

Yang's musical activities have been interrupted several times while caring for her family. She previously appeared on KBS 1TV's 'Morning Forum - Challenge Dream Stage' and revealed that she was unable to sing for a year due to her mother's illness. After her official debut in 2022 with 'Flower Cosmos,' she has been active through broadcasts and events, but her family's health has become a priority higher than her musical career.

During the broadcast, Yang shed tears while expressing her fear, asking, "Can I overcome this situation all by myself?" In reality, family caregiving is a complex issue that is difficult to solve through individual sacrifice alone. In a society where aging, chronic diseases, disabilities, and changing family structures are occurring simultaneously, the concentration of caregiving responsibility on a single family member can lead to severe economic burdens and psychological burnout.

This is why Yang's story is drawing attention. While she is a singer on stage, her daily life is that of a caregiver—managing her parents' medical needs, meals, her brother's daily life, and the family farm. The broadcast highlights the weight of caregiving, moving beyond the simple label of a "filial daughter" to show the guilt, fear, and responsibility one individual must carry.

The memory of a top student becoming disabled, parents losing their daily lives to illness, and Yang's own career being sidelined reflect a broader issue in Korean society regarding the heavy reliance on individual family members for care. Beyond whether Yang can return to the stage, the broadcast poses a deeper question: how should society view the lives of those who must constantly put their own existence on hold to sustain their families?