Roo'ra's Kim Ji-hyun Says Her Math-Prodigy Stepson Quit Music School After Six Weeks

Kim Ji-hyun of Roo'ra said her husband's son, a math prodigy who once appeared on SBS's "Discovering Gifted Children," enrolled in a practical music department, even served as class representative, and then "quit after a month and a half." She spoke about it with a laugh, but she responded as a down-to-earth mother.

From math prodigy to music dropout

The subject came up when Lee Sang-min mentioned that Kim's son had been a math prodigy on the show. He added that the son had once said he wanted to become a pro gamer, and he asked how the young man was doing now. Having stood out in math from an early age, the son's later path was a natural thing to wonder about.

Kim's answer was unexpected. "He said he was going to sing, not become a pro gamer, so he went to the practical music department, even became class rep, and then quit after a month and a half," she said. He entered the program out of an interest in music and took on the role of department representative, but his school life did not last long.

The twists, from the math-prodigy title to the music program, the class-rep role and the abrupt exit, suggest that no single talent or résumé line makes a future easy to predict. Early recognition for math skill does not mean a person must stay in that field, and finding new interests can involve trial and error. Kim hid none of her candid reaction to her son's career choice. Her affection for the family is the same, but she showed firm trust toward her husband and practical concern and interest toward her child.

A stepmother's story, told on camera

The video featuring Kim was posted on Sunday the 16th on the YouTube channel Neoui Han. She spoke frankly about her husband and two sons and looked back on how her life has changed since marriage. Her family story, little known to the public for a long time, and the anecdote about her son's career drew attention.

Kim married her current husband in 2016. At the time it was not widely known that he was raising two sons. The fact that she was raising them with him became a talking point later. Whether or not they were her own children, she has kept up the bond that formed as a family and has been part of both sons' growth.

"A person like a fence": the husband as Zhuge Liang

Lee Sang-min described Kim's husband as "someone with the ability Ji-hyun needs." A shaman who appeared alongside them compared him to Zhuge Liang, the strategist of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms." "The husband does well as a lifelong partner, a lifelong manager. He's like a fence around her, so Ji-hyun has still come this far upright," the shaman said. The reading is that her husband played a large part in her settled life after the ups and downs before her marriage.

Kim agreed. "I had many ups and downs before marriage, but it has been smooth since," she said. In the past she leaned on Lee Sang-min, calling him with any worry, even small ones. Now she says she seeks her husband's advice first. Her life has shifted from relying on a longtime colleague to relying on the spouse closest to her. Her remarks showed both confidence in her husband and affection for him, and she kept up that mix of conviction and humor about her marriage, which added to the laughter in the studio.

"Who would I be doing it for?"

Questions about the couple's relationship followed. The shaman said, "The two won't divorce," predicting that her husband too will keep the relationship going, determined not to fail again. Kim smiled and declared, "I have zero desire to get divorced." She added, "As a joke I say, 'For whose benefit?'" and went on: "If he divorced me, he's someone somebody could take. I've finished raising the kids, so for whose benefit would I?"

Attention is also turning to the everyday family life Kim, who described a much calmer life after marriage, is building with her two sons.

Read the original (Korean)