Hong Hyun-hee and Jey-ssun Tear Up Watching 4-Year-Old Son Junbeom on His First Errand... "Raising a Child Ends in Independence"

[Sportschosun Reporter Jeong An-ji] Hong Hyun-hee was moved to tears as she watched her 4-year-old son Junbeom on his first errand.

On the 12th, a video titled "Hongssun TV" was uploaded to the YouTube channel "4-Year-Old's First Errand."

In the video, Jey-ssun said, "Should we send Junbeom on an errand?" and explained that he wanted to help his son build independence. Hong Hyun-hee, meanwhile, worried about possible mishaps and said, "He is not even four yet, so I don't think he can do it."

After much discussion, the couple decided to trust Junbeom and gave him the mission of buying a toy car from a stationery store.

Junbeom hesitated and said, "I think it will be hard," but he set off bravely after his parents encouraged him, saying, "Be brave." The round trip from home to the stationery store is about 1 kilometer, making it a rather long journey for 5-year-old Junbeom. Hong Hyun-hee and Jey-ssun secretly followed behind him in case anything happened.

Once he left home, Junbeom seemed to forget his earlier fear and started running with full energy. Watching her son move farther and farther away from behind, Hong Hyun-hee shed tears and said, "It is so touching to see him moving away like this." She added, "It felt like I was seeing life itself. It also felt like a child becoming independent, and parents leave first, don't they? That was the feeling I had."

During the errand, Junbeom even went to the restroom alone and handled the payment by himself, turning the adults' worries into admiration.

Jey-ssun said, "I think parents need to do more of this, watching from behind and letting them try. Isn't the end of parenting independence?" He added, "Trusting them seems important. You learn a lot in a very short moment."

When Junbeom returned home, he looked proud and said, "Dad, look at this. I bought it." Hong Hyun-hee and Jey-ssun praised him generously, saying, "Our Junbeom did it."

The two also shared different views on how they watched over the errand. Hong Hyun-hee said, "Jey-ssun wanted to go home first and greet him there, while I said no, we should keep following behind so he knows we were there the whole time." She added, "I don't know what the right answer is."

anjee85@sportschosun.com