Singer Choi Ye-na. [Yonhap]
Singer Choi Ye-na. [Yonhap]

Singer Choi Ye-na has opened up about a life-threatening battle with childhood cancer.

Choi appeared on the MBC variety program "Jeonjijeogin Chamgyeon Sijeom" on Saturday, sharing glimpses of her daily life with her family.

Her mother, who visited that day, fussed over her busy daughter, urging her to take better care of her health. There was a deeply personal reason behind her mother's sensitivity to the subject.

"I had childhood cancer as a baby — I was around 4 or 5 years old and my life was hanging by a thread," Choi said. "I was so ill that when the hospital said there was no hope, my parents took my photo to a shaman." She recalled being told that the shaman looked at the photo and threw it aside, saying, "Why are you bringing me a photo of a dead child?"

"From that moment on, my mom and dad raised me with everything they had, determined to keep me alive," she said.

Another health crisis came during her elementary school years. Choi said she injured her leg as a child and was told by doctors that she might have difficulty walking again.

"My mom took me to a large public bathhouse and threw me into the big event pool," she recalled. "She wanted me to kick and struggle — because I had to move to survive." Choi said she was walking again within a month.

"I believe my parents saved a life that was never meant to survive," she said, and went on to say that the thought of repaying them had driven her throughout her career. "I've worked hard with the mindset that I absolutely had to succeed and find a way to be a good child to them."

When co-host Hong Hyeon-hee asked whether she had treated her parents to something extravagant, Choi surprised everyone by revealing she had bought them a house and a car.


choigo@heraldcorp.com