Actor Jeon Won-ju. [Newsis]
Actor Jeon Won-ju. [Newsis]

Online viewers have expressed concern over the health of Jeon Won-ju, an actor in her 80s, after watching a recent YouTube video.

A video titled "82-Year-Old Sunwoo Yong-nyeo and 87-Year-Old Jeon Won-ju Visit the Jeju Home Built by the Late Yeo Un-gye" was uploaded Thursday to the YouTube channel of actor Sunwoo Yong-nyeo.

The video follows the two actors on a trip to Jeju Island together.

In the footage, Jeon and Sunwoo shared a hotel breakfast before Jeon began searching for a ring she could not find. "Where did my ring go? It's gone," she said. She eventually returned to her room and rummaged through her bag, where she found a crumpled tissue. Inside were a Rolex watch and the missing ring.

"Why am I like this?" Jeon said. Sunwoo scolded her, saying, "Don't wrap things up like that — you'll lose them."

After touring the Jeju home their late colleague Yeo Un-gye had built, the two headed to a Korean barbecue restaurant for dinner. During the car ride, a visibly tired Jeon remarked, "Oh, so this is Jeju Island. I thought we were in Seoul. I thought we were almost home — my house is at the foot of a mountain, so I figured we were nearly there." Sunwoo burst out laughing. "This is unbelievable. We've been in Jeju since yesterday, and now you're telling me, 'Oh, so this is Jeju Island'?"

A while later, Sunwoo looked out the car window and asked, "What neighborhood is this?" Jeon replied, "Chungcheong Province. Still." When Sunwoo corrected her — "We're still in Jeju" — Jeon was taken aback. "So we haven't even gotten to Chungcheong yet? I'm going to faint."

After dinner, the two made their way to Jeju Airport. While waiting at the departure lounge, Sunwoo gave Jeon a small pouch she said she had bought at the airport duty-free shop. "Put your watch and ring in here so you don't lose them," Sunwoo said. Jeon then pulled out a clove of garlic she had wrapped in a tissue at the restaurant and tucked it into the pouch. Sunwoo grabbed it back, saying, "It smells — throw it away," but Jeon insisted she was going to eat it Saturday morning.

Viewers left worried comments. "Her eyes, the way she talks — everything looks like dementia symptoms," one wrote. "Oh no. It's exactly the same as my grandmother when she was in the early stages of dementia," another said. A third noted, "People in the early stages of dementia often wrap their jewelry in newspaper or tissue like that."


jshan@heraldcorp.com