Big Mama Lee Hye-jung Says She Brought a Dowry Loaded on an 8-Ton Truck, Even Land Deeds, but Endured a Hard Married Life: "I Even Packed Lunches for My Sister-in-Law"

[Sportschosun reporter Jo Yoon-sun] Lee Hye-jung, known as "Big Mama," revealed that she brought a dowry large enough to fill an 8-ton truck, but still suffered emotionally through a difficult life with her husband's family.

On the MBN healing story program "During Your Illness," which aired on the 21st, culinary researcher Lee Hye-jung appeared as a guest.

That day, Lee said, "There used to be a saying that if you wanted to marry a doctor, you needed three keys to the storage room," adding, "People would say I had lost my mind if I said this now, but my mother prepared a dowry that filled an entire 8-ton truck."

She continued, "A 12-pyeong mother-of-pearl wardrobe was standard. My husband was the eldest son, and my mother-in-law decided every item in the dowry and even specified gifts for my husband's family. I also brought land deeds and a car as part of the dowry. It would have been nice to still have the land deeds now, but my husband lost them along the way."

"I had a vague expectation that my in-laws would treat me very well, but that does not seem to have been how my mother-in-law felt," she said. "I cried so much while living with my husband's family."

Lee recalled, "What was frustrating was that my husband did not understand at all. At first, I thought he was on my side, so when my mother-in-law scolded me, I complained to him. But he would immediately go to her and say, 'Mom, did you say that?' That left her flustered."

She added, "After my husband left for work, my mother-in-law would sit me down and say, 'If a woman keeps running her mouth like that, the house will fall apart. Never tell anyone what happened at home.' After that, I never said a word again."

"My sister-in-law was a resident at the time, and I even packed her lunch before dawn," she said. "I wanted to tell my husband to at least leave the lunch box lid open, but I could not say anything because I was afraid of what my sister-in-law might say. I held back the urge to tell him."

She went on, "Later, my husband and I appeared on a TV program together, and he said, 'I had no idea you went through something like that.' I was not quiet because I was naturally reserved. I just held back so I would not be scolded by my mother-in-law." Her remarks drew sympathy.