Former basketball player Han Ki-bum. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) provided]
Former basketball player Han Ki-bum. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse) provided]

Former basketball player Han Ki-bum has publicly shared that his two sons are on the autism spectrum and that he has battled a hereditary disease.

Han and his wife Ahn Mi-ae appeared on MBN's "Teukjong Sesang" on Thursday to talk about their family.

"Both of my sons are on the borderline of autism," Han said, recalling that when the boys were young, they would have to run five laps around a restaurant before they could sit down.

Ahn said she first noticed something was different when she saw her sons lining up thin picture books in a row. "I watched a film about a child with autism and they were doing exactly the same thing," she said.

She added that because the children were a little different, she felt a strong sense of responsibility to carefully explain to them how their lives might unfold. "Making sure my sons truly understand is something I feel deeply responsible for," she said.

The family's challenges extended beyond autism — a rare hereditary disease also entered the picture.

Han said his wife grew suspicious after both his father and younger brother died of heart attacks. "She took me to the hospital and had me tested," he said.

The results confirmed he had Marfan syndrome, a genetic connective tissue disorder. "It meant I would die just like my brother," Han said. "They told me the aorta balloons up and bursts." He has since undergone two heart surgeries and survived.

Han said he researched Marfan syndrome and learned it is autosomal dominant, with a 50 percent inheritance rate. "I asked my wife, 'What do we do if one of the kids has the dominant form of Marfan syndrome like me?'" he said.

Both sons are now pursuing their own paths. The elder is at home writing and working toward becoming a novelist, while the younger works as a delivery driver and attends a hagwon to train as a voice actor.

Han joined the Kia Motors basketball team in 1986. Since retiring, he has run a basketball school.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com