Actress Youn Yeo-jung confessed for the first time that her son has come out as a homosexual.
According to foreign media on the 20th, Youn Yeo-jung revealed in an interview on the 16th (local time) ahead of the release of the Hollywood film "Marriage Proposal" that "my eldest son came out as a homosexual in 2000."
In response to a reporter's question saying, "I heard that one of the reasons you empathized with this character is because your son is a homosexual. Korea is said to not be very open about such issues," Youn Yeo-jung said, "Korea is a very conservative country and not open at all," and added, "So this role was very personal to me."
The film "Marriage Proposal," featuring Youn Yeo-jung, deals with the chaos that arises from two same-sex couples, who are American immigrants, planning a fake wedding. It is a remake of a work by director IAAN from Taiwan in 1993, directed by Korean-American director Andrew Ahn, and stars Youn Yeo-jung, Han Ki-chan, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, and Joan Chen.
Youn Yeo-jung said, "When same-sex marriage was legalized in New York, I held my son's wedding there." Same-sex marriage was legalized in New York in 2011. She continued, "Because it was still a secret in Korea, the whole family came to New York," and said, "I still don't know how my hometown people will react." She also joked, "Now I love my son-in-law more than my son," noting that parents of gay children in Korea may face difficulties.
In addition, Youn Yeo-jung stated, "The lines I say to my grandson in the film were written with the director after sharing my personal experience." In the film, Youn Yeo-jung tells her grandson, who is homosexual, "(Whoever you are) you are my grandson." To this, she said, "That came from my real life, and I included it in the film. I hope it helps."
Meanwhile, Youn Yeo-jung married singer Jo Young-nam in 1974 but divorced in 1987. They have two sons.