[tvN Story's 'Lee Ho-sun Counseling Center']
[tvN Story's 'Lee Ho-sun Counseling Center']

A 60-year-old mother shared her struggles with a daughter who graduated from a prestigious university but has been unemployed for seven years.

The mother appeared on Tuesday's episode of tvN Story's "Lee Ho-sun Counseling Center" alongside her daughter to discuss the situation.

"My daughter was so smart — she was always ranked first or second in her class," the mother said. "She studied on her own, so she went to a specialized private high school. Right up until she graduated from university, she never gave me any trouble. I naturally assumed she would do well in the working world."

But the daughter fell short of those expectations when she entered the workforce. Just two months into her first job, she quit without a word and has been unemployed for the seven years since. "She said it was killing her, that the workplace just wasn't for her," the mother said. "She's 30 years old and has worked for less than a year total."

After leaving the company, the daughter worked for a time at a cafe the mother ran, then briefly taught at an English hagwon. The mother said her daughter never once showed up on time during the cafe days. She also expressed worry about her daughter's future, saying she had wanted her to study for the certified real estate appraiser exam before closing the cafe. "She's always been good at studying, so I assumed she'd pass the first stage easily — but she failed even that," she said.

The mother said her husband's health had deteriorated and he had been unable to work since earlier this year, leaving her as the sole breadwinner. She has spent the past year working as a live-in postpartum caregiver. "Basically, you're watching a newborn around the clock," she said of the job. "The mother provides meals, but it's not easy to eat comfortably when you're in someone else's home." She added that after spending a week working at another family's house, she comes home wanting to rest — only to find that neither her husband nor her daughter has done any of the housework.

"I'm out there working so hard, and my daughter sleeps in, eats and does nothing," the mother said. "I worry about whether she could even function normally without me."

The daughter pushed back, saying she had been doing part-time work to gain experience for a business she is planning to launch — though her mother had taken all of it as simply playing around.

Counselor Lee Ho-sun advised the daughter to move out and live independently, and urged her to prepare at least one home-cooked meal a week for her hardworking mother while earning her own keep. Lee also counseled the mother to trust her daughter and give her time, saying, "Expecting too much of someone else ends up eating away at yourself."


paq@heraldcorp.com