Actress Oh Yoon-AhAmply admired for his elegance and career longevity, he opened on the deeply personal battles he has endured behind the scenes, battles that go far beyond the pomp of red rugs and television screens.
Appearing in the episode of 8 April of “Because I am alone (temporary title)”, the veteran actress has revealed a concerning health development. Ten years after his recovery from thyroid cancer, his test results have again shown abnormal readings.
“They told me that my thyroid levels have increased for the first time since I recovered from cancer. I had no other choice than to increase my medicines”, Oh said. “Maybe it’s because I was too active … I didn’t rest enough.”
The co-protagonist Lee Soo-Kyung expressed concern: “I’ve never seen you take a break. You always work, you have to really rest.” But for Oh Yoon-Ah, rest is not a luxury that can afford.
The adamant devotion of a mother
Through tears, he confessed, “I have to earn money on my own, so I can’t afford not to work. My priority is not myself, he is my son. When you have a child, you realize that there is a life that exists not to receive, but to be given to. I feel this duty to protect it more than my life.”
Oh Yoon-Ah married in 2007 and gave birth to his son the same year, only to reveal later in 2015 that the marriage was over. At that time, autism was diagnosed with his son, a diagnosis that brought new challenges and modeled his future.
In a 2023 episode of Table for 4, Oh spoke about how he discovered his cancer while balanced the work and medical visits of his son. “I was constantly running in the hospitals while I was shooting a drama. One day, the director stressed that my neck seemed swollen. When I finally went to the hospital, they said it was a thyroid cancer.”
He underwent surgery after filming, losing his voice for eight months later.
Still standing for his son
Despite everything, Oh Yoon-Ah continues to grow his son as a single mother, fulfilling both parental roles with unconditional love. He has been opened on his conditions in public forums and varieties shows, not for pity, but to normalize and inspire.
He even shared his desire for another child, “I never thought about it before, but now I feel like I would have liked to have another.”
With honesty, resilience and boundless strength of a mother, Oh Yoon-Ah continues to move the public, not only through his acting, but through his life herself.
