Comedian Lee Sung-mi revealed her connection with the late Im Yun-taek of the group Ulala Session.
On Wednesday, a video featuring Lee was released on the YouTube channel 'Pray and Be Renewed'.
In the video, Lee mentioned her past battle with breast cancer, saying, "It is truly something to be grateful for that I got cancer. I am still grateful now, and I was grateful even when I first got it."
Mentioning the late Im Yun-taek, Lee recalled, "Yun-taek used to attend church but eventually left, and while he was wandering, his health deteriorated significantly.
His manager told me, 'Please meet him once.' Since I had not yet been diagnosed with cancer at that time, I did not fully understand the situation, so I went together with Kim Ja-ok, who was battling cancer. I thought we would get along well as 'cancer friends.'"
She recalled, "Yu-taek and Ja-ok (eonni) empathized with each other and had such a fun conversation. As we talked for a long time, I looked at him quietly and thought, 'That person seems to be feeling empty inside.'"
She continued, "At that time, Yun-taek had a baby who was one month old. When I got home, I prayed, 'God, please save Yun-taek. Please put this child in the Book of Life. Even if you take me away, I would be grateful if you could take care of this child. The child is so young, and I have lived long enough.'"
Lee revealed that after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, she called Im Yu-taek first.
She said, "I told him, 'Yun-taek, they say I have cancer,' and he replied, 'Thank you for becoming my classmate.' He said, 'Now I can talk to you about (cancer),' and we became very close quickly. We talked about surgery dates and check-up dates, laughing together."
However, Im's health subsequently worsened, and he eventually passed away.
Recalling Im's final moments, Lee said, "At the end, he said, 'I want to worship.' While he was in the hospital room, a pastor went with him to the hospital for worship. The next evening, I received a message saying, 'He seems to be about to leave this world, so please come quickly.'"
She continued, "On my way there, I was extremely upset. I complained, 'God, how can you take him away so soon? The child is still young.' When I arrived at the hospital, he had already passed away. I felt so resentful. God had only granted half of my prayer. I asked for him to be healed, but he was not healed, and I got cancer. My emotions were a mess."
However, Lee Sung-mi said her perspective changed after seeing Im Yu-taek's final appearance.
She said, "When I looked at Yu-taek, he was smiling brightly. In that moment, I thought, 'I asked for him to live, but if he can smile this openly rather than dying in pain from illness, perhaps this is a path that should not be stopped.'"
She added, "The prayer I had made asking for his life began to change," and continued, "We believe that living is our answer. People think, 'I prayed, and I survived.' But I felt that if I can leave this world beautifully, I need to reconsider my thoughts on death as well."
Ulala Session is a group that debuted after winning the Mnet audition program 'Superstar K3' in 2011. The group's leader, Im Yun-taek, was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer in January 2011, underwent a partial gastrectomy in May of the same year, and continued his battle with illness through chemotherapy before passing away at the age of 32 in February 2013.
Lee was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer after a health checkup in 2013. She underwent surgery, 30 sessions of radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, receiving a full remission diagnosis five years later.
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