[Sportschosun Lee Ji-hyun] Football player Kim Seung-gyu held his daughter in his arms for the first time since birth after returning home from his FIFA World Cup schedule. Actress Kim Jin-kyung also drew attention as she began working on her figure in earnest just a little over a month after giving birth.
On the 10th, Kim Jin-kyung shared a glimpse of her family’s parenting routine on her YouTube channel, which began with Kim Seung-gyu’s return home.
In the video, Kim Jin-kyung expressed her excitement the day before Kim Seung-gyu came back, saying, "Tomorrow, Dalbami’s dad is coming." Dalbami is the couple’s baby’s prenatal name. She added, "I heard babies smile when you call them by their prenatal name," and said, "I’m so curious whether Dalbami remembers Dad’s voice." During his time away for the World Cup schedule, Kim Seung-gyu had only seen his daughter through video calls, making this their first real meeting.
After arriving home from an overnight flight, Kim Seung-gyu cautiously approached his daughter. Seeing her for the first time, he was surprised and said, "She’s so tiny," while Kim Jin-kyung laughed and replied, "She’s grown a lot." Holding his daughter in his arms, Kim Seung-gyu could not take his eyes off her face. He kept marveling that she was "much smaller than on video calls" and carefully looked at every detail, from her fingers and hair to her chubby little chin.
When the baby looked momentarily puzzled by the unfamiliar man, Kim Jin-kyung laughed and said, "She was surprised because it was a man she was seeing for the first time," adding, "Who is it? It’s Dad." Kim Seung-gyu also kept talking to his daughter so she could hear his voice. A little later, when the baby broke into a bright smile, the couple cheered, saying, "She’s smiling at us." Kim Jin-kyung said, "I think she recognizes his voice," and Kim Seung-gyu could not hide his smile at every expression on his daughter’s face.
The two also talked about which parent their daughter resembles more. Kim Jin-kyung said, "When her eyes are open, she looks like me, but people all say she looks like her dad." She added, "When her eyes are closed, she looks like her dad, but when she opens them, she looks like me," while examining the shape of her daughter’s eyes and ears. Kim Seung-gyu also said, "She’s much cuter in person," and rarely put her down. Kim Jin-kyung laughed and said, "He won’t put the baby down. There’s a bed, so why won’t he put her down?" She added, "Dalbami was awake early yesterday morning because she wanted to play with Dad. She adapted to Dad’s time difference right away."
Kim Seung-gyu also fully joined in on childcare as soon as he returned home. After burping his daughter, he once fell asleep holding her for an hour. When the baby often spit up, he even looked up and studied the proper way to burp her.
Kim Jin-kyung said, "I’m studying parenting," and explained, "It’s not enough to just pat her back. The position matters a lot, and the details are very specific." Kim Seung-gyu quickly adapted to his role as a father by watching tummy time and weighing the baby together with his wife.
Kim Jin-kyung also shared her postpartum figure-management routine. She said, "I still haven’t lost the weight, so my clothes don’t fit," and pulled out her husband Kim Seung-gyu’s clothes to wear. She tried on several pairs of his shorts and chose an outfit for going out. Saying, "The length fits me perfectly," she picked a pair of elastic-waist pants, and Kim Seung-gyu praised her styling, saying, "It looks better than I expected."
Kim Jin-kyung also kept up with her diet. For breakfast, she prepared and ate yogurt, granola, coconut yogurt, and coffee. For dinner, she said she planned to eat lightly and then work out.
She said, "I’ll eat something simple for dinner and go work out," showing her determination to keep managing her body even after giving birth. Despite being busy with childcare, she drew attention for her realistic postpartum routine, balancing meals and exercise by making use of the time when the baby was asleep.
Kim Jin-kyung said that caring for the baby together after her husband returned has been a great source of strength. She said, "My husband has been here recently helping me take care of the baby, and I realized how much strength comes from my mother and my husband’s presence," adding, "I learned once again that parenting is something you can never do alone."
She continued, "Raising a child comes with a great sense of responsibility and a heavy financial burden," and added, "I realized that childbirth is not the end, but the beginning of something else."
The couple also revealed that, based on what they learned through parenting, they made a donation to an organization that helps pregnant women in crisis and single mothers in Ulsan, Kim Seung-gyu’s hometown. Kim Jin-kyung said, "It wasn’t a huge amount, but we gave what we could," adding, "This is not the end, and I want to keep donating steadily in the future." She went on to say, "I hope our small beginning can become a warm source of help for someone," and offered encouragement to parents everywhere.
Meanwhile, Kim Jin-kyung married football player Kim Seung-gyu in 2024 and gave birth to their daughter on June 4.
olzllovely@sportschosun.com
