Broadcaster Jeon Min-gi revealed that he feels uncomfortable about visits from his mother-in-law, who comes to help with childcare and household chores.
On the episode of MBN's variety show 'Sokpuri Show Dongchimi' aired on Saturday, which was themed as a special titled "Global Judgment Panel: Live It This Way? Or Not?", couple Jeon Min-gi and Jung Mi-nyeo appeared to share their concerns.
On the broadcast that day, Jeon mentioned having an uninvited guest who visits his home, saying, "My mother-in-law."
MC Lee Hyun-i reacted by asking, "Are you calling your mother-in-law an uninvited guest?" Noh Sa-yeon and Lee Hong-ryeol expressed concern, saying, "That's a sensitive topic" and "It's precarious."
Jeon Min-gi began by saying, "Since I have a son in the fourth grade of elementary school, my mother-in-law comes over about twice a week to help with housework and look after the child."
While stating, "I don't have any complaints about that," he confessed, "It's just that while I know which days of the week my mother-in-law visits, I don't know exactly when she arrives."
He continued, "When I ask my wife, since it's her own mother, she says something like, 'Mom will come whenever she wants.' But on the other hand, it wouldn't be right for me to contact my mother-in-law every time to ask, 'What time are you coming?'"
He added, "On the days my mother-in-law visits, I feel a bit tense even though I haven't done anything wrong. Since I don't know when she will arrive, I can't relax. It's uncomfortable that I can't dress casually."
Jeon Min-gi's wife, Jung Mi-nyeo, explained, "It's a bit awkward for me to treat my mother like a boss and say, 'Please come by [specific time],' even though she is coming to help. I am grateful that she comes freely to take care of her business. So, I told her not to set a specific time and to come whenever it is convenient for her."
She added, "My husband wants to rest at home, so he probably feels uncomfortable when Mom suddenly shows up. But I felt sorry to tell Mom to set a specific time."
Jeon Min-gi said, "My own mother doesn't even know our house password," and blamed himself by saying, "I am an unfilial son."
He mentioned that his mother-in-law enters the house unexpectedly after pressing the doorbell code, confessing, "As a grown man, I don't know what I might be doing at any given moment." He continued, "If I knew what time she was coming, I would shower or make plans before her arrival. But since I don't know when she is coming, I am startled when I hear the sound of the password being entered."
He also complained, "Even though she helps, doesn't she sometimes leave the house too messy? When I'm alone, I order delivery food and drink a beer, but if she suddenly shows up, it's awkward." He then added, "I have to finish drinking before she arrives, so my daytime drinking has increased enormously," which drew laughter.
MC Lee Hyun-i asked, "Isn't your mother-in-law coming to help rather than just visiting? What if she says, 'Jeon's husband is uncomfortable, so I won't go. You take care of the child yourselves'?"
In response, Jeon Min-gi sighed and said, "That would be a bit difficult."
Hearing this, Lee Hyun-i was baffled, asking, "What does that mean? Are you only taking what is good for you?" MC Kim Yong-man reacted by saying, "Then what are you supposed to do? Should your mother-in-law report to her son-in-law when she is coming and then come?"
In response, Jeon Min-gi said, "These days, even buses arrive on time," and pleaded, "I would like a bus arrival display board at home. If my mother-in-law presses a button when she leaves the house, it would be nice if it displayed 'Departed.'" He then asked, "Is wanting to know that such a big mistake?"
Hearing this, Robin, a French-born broadcaster, empathized with Jeon Min-gi's feelings, mentioning that he usually walks around without clothes after showering. He then pointed out to Jung Mi-nyeo, "It seems you didn't do a good job playing the middle role."
Lee Gwang-min, a psychiatrist, also stated his opinion, noting that Jeon Min-gi's mother-in-law looks after the child on weekdays: "I would feel more burdened if my mother-in-law gave me advance notice."
He said, "When my mother-in-law comes, I act like a ghost, present yet absent. When she leaves, I just let her go. I don't clean the house before she visits either. If I worry about it, I think my mother-in-law will worry even more."
He continued, sharing a different perspective from Jeon Min-gi: "I asked, and my mother-in-law says, 'Should I prepare fruit or meals? Will I be in the way?' She actually watches my reactions."
Subsequently, Choi Hong-rim criticized Jeon Min-gi by saying, "Pay for a housekeeper." He added, "Mr. Jeon Min-gi is really a bad person. I usually take the husband's side, but this is not respecting elders. Thinking it's uncomfortable when an elder visits, but expecting them to clean? That's not right."
Jeon Min-gi is a broadcaster who started as an announcer. He married Jung Mi-nyeo, a broadcaster five years his junior who was formerly a weather caster and show host, in 2015, and welcomed their son, Yoo-geon, the following year.
in ENTERTAINMENT
