[Sportschosun reporter Jung An-ji] Lee Man-ki, a former ssireum wrestler and broadcaster, admitted that caring for his triplet grandchildren has been "so hard."
On the 9th, a video titled "A champion is just a rookie grandfather in front of his grandchildren" was uploaded to the YouTube channel "MankiTV."
In the video, Lee Man-ki, who was exercising in the morning, smiled and said, "I have somewhere to go right after working out. I'm going to see the triplets." But he soon shook his head and said, "It's harder than when I was a champion..." He added, "I've raised two sons, but raising grandchildren is different. They haven't even reached 100 days yet, so I don't know how to handle them or how to take care of them. Parenting is so hard." Earlier, in May, Lee appeared on KBS1's "Morning Forum" and personally shared the news that his eldest son and daughter-in-law had given birth to triplets, saying, "I became a grandfather," which drew many congratulations.
A little later, Lee visited his eldest son's home carrying gifts including Korean beef, seaweed, and freshwater snails, and immediately began helping with the triplets.
Lee tried to hold and soothe the third baby to sleep, but the child started fussing as soon as he put the baby down. In the end, he had to pick the baby up again, showing none of the charisma of a champion and instead looking like an ordinary grandfather flustered in front of his grandchildren.
The next day, Lee returned to his son's home for childcare and put the youngest grandchild to sleep in his arms. Unable to take his eyes off the baby, he said, "He'll be cute when he grows up," and his daughter-in-law replied, "He looks like the youngest. He smiles with his eyes a lot." Lee then said, "Soyul has the makings of a celebrity," and his daughter-in-law made everyone laugh by replying, "Leave the celebrity path to Grandpa."
Lee said, "There's no way to win when the triplets get fussy and cry," but added, "Still, seeing them grow up healthy and beautiful makes me proud and grateful as their grandfather," expressing his deep affection for the children.
anjee85@sportschosun.com
