[Sportschosun Lee Ji-hyun] Hyunjoo Hwang, a counselor and former announcer, moved readers to sympathy as she spoke publicly for the first time about the domestic violence she endured after marriage and the process that led to her divorce.
On the 15th, the YouTube channel GOODTV released a video titled "The Hellish Domestic Violence Hyunjoo Hwang Endured."
In the video, Hwang said she went through unexpected hardship after getting married. She recalled, "By the time I was around 33, I thought it was time to get married, and I chose marriage because I wanted to build a family of faith," adding, "My partner was the child of a missionary family that had lived in Israel for 20 years, so I thought he would be deeply faithful."
But things changed soon after the wedding. Hwang said calmly, "I experienced domestic violence as soon as I got married," and added, "I went through things I could never have imagined." At the time, she was active in broadcasting while also pursuing graduate studies in social welfare and counseling, researching domestic violence and child abuse. She said the shock was so severe that she could not continue her studies after becoming a victim herself.
Hwang stressed that there was no clear reason for the abuse. She explained, "There is no reason for domestic violence," and said, "In many cases, the abuser experienced domestic violence in childhood, and even when they try to change, violence can surface without them realizing it." She added, "I tried to understand my husband's childhood wounds, and I hoped counseling might help."
But the violence grew worse. Hwang recalled, "One day, he threw an object at my face and injured me. After that, he took me to a dermatologist and begged for forgiveness. That pattern kept repeating." She continued, "He was so strong that he would spin me around and then throw me." She also said, "There were times when I tried to run away in the elevator and was dragged back. When I covered the CCTV, he seemed to stop, but then he took me to the emergency stairs and pushed me down the stairs," shocking viewers.
She said she consulted a lawyer at the time. "When I told him that this was happening while he was sober, not drunk, the lawyer said, 'Forcing you into the stairs to avoid CCTV and pushing you there is almost the same as attempted murder. You must get divorced,'" she said. As for why she could not bring herself to divorce then, she admitted, "I was afraid I might be destroying a family given by God on my own, and I did not want people to see me as a divorced woman. I was also proud and did not want to ruin what seemed like a perfect life."
In the end, she told her academic adviser everything. Hwang said, "I told my professor that I could not study anymore, and he told me not to talk about anything else, but to tell him only what happened yesterday." She continued, "When I said he had choked me and covered my nose and mouth so I could not breathe, the professor got very angry and said, 'Are you really studying domestic violence? You should have started living separately immediately.'"
Following her professor's advice, she left home, but even deciding to report the abuse was not easy. She said, "With a female police officer, I searched the house and found a hidden mobile phone, and I finally filed a police report for the first time." She added, "I entered the police station at 8 p.m. and started giving my statement, but I could not leave until 6 a.m."
Hwang said she continued counseling and tried to repair the relationship for three years after separating. However, even during counseling, her ex-husband did not acknowledge his problems. She said she eventually received advice from her church that "the situation was no longer recoverable, so it would be okay to decide on divorce." She added calmly, "I have no regrets because I truly did everything I could. I spent time trying to protect the family, and although there were wounds, I believe that process was not in vain."
Meanwhile, Hwang began her career as an announcer at MBC Yeosu and later worked as a weathercaster for SBS. After passing the announcer exams for the three major broadcasters, she went on to serve as a news anchor at YTN.
olzllovely@sportschosun.com
