A K-Pop idol opened up about her difficult family background during her childhood and confessed the story behind why she had to grow up quickly.
On August 18, Dayoung from WJSN (also known as Cosmic Girls) appeared on MBC‘s Playlist 109, where she shared stories about her childhood and family.
On the show, Dayoung revealed that after school in her early years, she didn’t go straight home but instead headed to the restaurant her mother ran to help out with work.
When Lee Seok Hoon asked, “Wasn’t that uncomfortable at such a young age?” Dayoung replied, “When I was young, I always thought about not being a burden to my mom and whether I could be of any help.”
Dayoung cautiously opened up about her family situation. She said, “Our family is a blended family. My current dad is my stepfather,” and added, “My biological parents divorced when I was seven.”
She went on to explain, “My biological father left behind a lot of debt at home. In fact, all of it was in my mom’s name.”
At that time, the debt was in the tens of billions of won. “My mom had to take full responsibility alone. Even now it’s a large amount, but back then, tens of billions felt completely overwhelming,” she said.
For Dayoung, who was only seven years old, it was a reality that was hard to bear. She recalled, “At seven years old, going through that felt like suddenly becoming an adult. I thought, ‘This isn’t a joke. This situation is serious.’”
Through the eyes of a young daughter, her mother was living a life busier than anyone else. Dayoung said, “From a certain point, my mom started leaving the house early in the morning. It turned out that besides running the restaurant, she was also working another job in the evenings,” and added, “So I wanted to help my mom.”
Watching her hardworking mother up close, Dayoung matured earlier than most. As an only daughter, she was not only precious to her mother but also someone who sometimes shared each other’s feelings like a friend.
On the show, DinDin expressed his sympathy, asking, “How do you think your mom felt when you left for Seoul and was alone?”
Dayoung didn’t keep her dream of becoming a singer as just a simple wish. She recalled the promise she made to her mother: “I promised my mom, ‘I will definitely succeed as a singer and lift up this family.’” She added, “Looking into my eyes, my mom said, ‘Okay, do it.’”