Seo Dong-ju, the father of Seo Se-won, was saved for the last time.

Seo Dong-ju, a foreign lawyer and broadcaster, is staying with his estranged father, the late Se-won Seo, on his final journey.

Seo Se-won's funeral was set up at the funeral hall of Asan Medical Center in Seoul on April 30. The funeral was held in a Christian manner, and the name plate read 'Pastor Seo Se-won.' The mourners were her daughter Seo Dong-ju, her three children, her maternal nephew, her daughter-in-law, and her remarried spouse, Mr. Kim.

Seo Dong-ju, in his essay 'San Francisco Stranger' published in 2020, related to his parents' divorce by saying that his father, Seo Dong-ju, had committed domestic violence since childhood, attempted to take out a fraudulent loan in his daughter's name, and immediately after assaulting his wife, Seo Jeong-hee, committed suicide in order to make it seem like both parties were negligent. It was shocking to learn that he attempted self-harm and threatened to kill his daughter.

Seo Dong-ju's mother, Seo Jeong-hee, filed a divorce and alimony claim against Seo Se-won in the Seoul Family Court in 2014, and in the process, it was revealed that Seo Se-won assaulted Seo Jeong-hee. As a result, Seo Se-won was sentenced to six months in prison and two years of probation, and divorced Seo Jeong-hee by agreement the following year. Afterwards, Seo Se-won remarried a year later to a haegeum player 23 years younger than her.

Although they had an isolated relationship, Seo Dong-ju was said to have been greatly shocked by the news of Seo Se-won's death. At the same time, there was a conflict with his newly remarried wife regarding the funeral, but he took charge of the funeral and personally saw off his father on his final journey.

At Seo Se-won's funeral, Lee Yong-sik, a direct senior of MBC's publicly recruited comedian, was the first to visit and pay his respects. In addition, Eom Young-soo, president of the Korea Broadcasting Comedy Association, also visited the funeral and said, “I was on the corner from 1981 to the following year. While working with Seo Se-won, I learned everything I needed to learn in the entertainment industry. The deceased was a textbook comedian. “It would not have been possible for a comedian to host an entertainment program without Seo Se-won,” he said. Gyeongsangbuk-do Governor Lee Cheol-woo, former People Power Party floor leader Joo Ho-young, and singer Namgung Ok-bun also paid condolences.

Seo Se-won died on April 20th while receiving IV medication at a Korean hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Age 67. The bereaved family cremated the body on April 28 and moved the remains to Korea for a funeral. The funeral will be held at 7:40 a.m. on May 2nd, and the funeral will be held at 8 a.m. that day. Comedian Hak-rae Kim will emcee the funeral, Chairman Eom Young-soo will deliver a eulogy, and former Sisa In reporter Joo Jin-woo will deliver a eulogy. The burial site was set at Eumseong Rainbow Memorial Park in North Chungcheong Province.

Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr