“Mother died 30 minutes before the news” ... Kim Joo-ha shares a senior anchor’s story

[Financial News] The story has emerged of an anchor who had to present the news despite learning, just 30 minutes before a live broadcast, that their mother had died in a traffic accident. Broadcaster Kim Joo-ha recounted how a senior colleague concealed their grief and continued the broadcast with a smile.
On the 3rd, comedians Kim Jun-hyun, Hwang Je-seong and Kim Hae-jun appeared on MBN’s “Kim Joo-ha’s Day & Night” and opened up about difficult experiences they had faced during their broadcasting careers.
Hwang Je-seong revealed that, because of his father’s debt problems, a creditor had once come to the filming set of “Comedy Big League.” His turn to go on stage was approaching, but he was worried about whether he could make the audience laugh.
“It was the first time I’d gone through something like that, and it was hard. Something like acrophobia came over me,” he said. “My turn was coming up, and even if I fell apart, I had to fall apart on stage, but I couldn’t do that well.” He added, “The audience had seen the whole situation. I wondered if they would laugh when they looked at me.”
He said Moon Se-yoon’s encouragement was a great help in getting through the performance. Hwang Je-seong, tearing up, said, “I was able to finish the performance because, just before I went on stage, Moon Se-yoon told me, ‘It’s an honor to be doing comedy in the same era as you.’”
As she listened to Hwang Je-seong’s story, Kim Joo-ha brought up the experience of a senior anchor she knew. The anchor had learned that their mother had died just 30 minutes before they were due to present the 6 a.m. news.
Kim Joo-ha said, “One of my senior colleagues had to present the morning news, which starts at 6, and heard at 5:30 that their mother had died. It was an accident, too. A traffic accident.”
She added, speaking about the circumstances of the accident, “The mother had probably gone out early in the morning for something else and been in an accident. I heard that, and they couldn’t replace the anchor at that point, could they?”
Even after losing their mother, the senior colleague had to deliver upbeat news and maintain a smiling expression. Kim Joo-ha recalled, “The thing is, morning news, by its nature, has quite a lot of cheerful, upbeat stories. You have to present the news with a smile, but your eyes are practically crying while your mouth is smiling.”
Kim Joo-ha also expressed empathy for Hwang Je-seong, who had to endure a difficult time on stage, saying, “I imagine that’s how you must have felt.”


[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter