SBS Plus·E Channel‘s ‘Because I’m Solo’ concluded season 1 with the honest story of Oh Jung-yeon and Sa Kang.

Episode 8 of ‘Because I‘m Solo’, which aired on the 17th, showed Oh Jung-yeon visiting an infertility specialty hospital, and Sa Kang visiting a psychological counseling center for insomnia treatment.

Oh Jung-yeon aroused curiosity by visiting an infertility specialty hospital. In response, Oh Jung-yeon said, “I came to freeze my eggs,” and “Actually, I never thought that I wouldn’t have children until I got to my current age. When I turned 39, I thought, ‘If I continue to be single like this, should I give up hope of having children?’, so I went in for egg freezing right away.” Oh Jung-yeon, who has undergone three egg retrieval procedures and has a total of 22 eggs in cryopreservation, said, “I thought it was time to stop, but I came back to the hospital because they said it gets harder to retrieve eggs as you get older,” and announced that she is about to undergo her fourth procedure. After a while, the doctor in charge said, “It is rare for an unmarried woman to undergo four procedures,” and also diagnosed, “Oh Jung-yeon‘s ovarian age is 39, which is two years younger than her actual age.” Oh Jung-yeon could not hide her relief and joy. The doctor then advised, “Instead of strenuous exercise, try walking,” and Oh Jung-yeon returned home after getting an ovulation induction injection for egg retrieval.





At home, Oh Jung-yeon injected herself with an ovulation induction injection. Oh Jung-yeon, who struggled and finally succeeded in injecting the injection by herself, confessed, “Usually, my husband gives me (the injection), but honestly, I’m not sad, but I feel a little lonely.” ‘Solo sister’ Chae Rim, who watched this in the studio, sympathized, saying, “I also had a son Minwoo after 1 year and 6 months of IVF treatment”, and then replied, “Not everyone is like that (having a husband give them an injection). Do you still have that dream?”, turning the scene upside down.

After a while, Oh Jung-yeon transformed into a ‘delivery rider’ and walked for healthy eggs. Everyone was surprised by the ‘walking delivery’ scene of Oh Jung-yeon, a ‘pro N-jobber’ who earns money and exercises, and Oh Jung-yeon, who worked hard at her part-time job, mentioned comedian Jeon Young-mi and entered a restaurant, saying, “12 years ago while doing ‘My Hometown at 6 o‘clock’, I have a companion in my solo life who I became close with’

He then said, “It’s a hellish memory. At the time, I just gave up (on life), but my sister was by my side. After I moved to my sister‘s neighborhood, things got so much better, and after that, I started living a real life,” and expressed his gratitude with tears in his eyes. Chae Rim, who was listening to Oh Jung Yeon’s story, said warmly, “It‘s nice to have someone by my side who can cry for me,” and MC Shin Dong Yup said, “I think the most important thing in life is your companion,” cheering on their friendship.

Following Oh Jung Yeon’s bittersweet day, this time it was Sa Kang‘s story. That day, Sa Kang visited a psychological counseling center, saying, “I’m having trouble sleeping because of insomnia.” In front of the counselor, Sa Kang explained, “It‘s been about 10 months since I’ve been able to sleep,” and was careful with his words when asked about the reason, saying, “Just let it go.” After looking at the pre-test, the counselor diagnosed, “(Sagang) suffers from insomnia, and his suppression index for depression, pain, and anger was quite high. His “burnout syndrome” score was 97.7%, meaning he was psychologically and physically discharged due to excessive stress.” Sagan trailed off as he said, “It’s true that it’s hard, but I thought I was overcoming it well…” before eventually turning red in his eyes. The counselor said, “I think the problem is that you’re pushing yourself to do your best and be perfect right now,” and advised, “I think it would be good to have some time for yourself.” After the counseling session, Sagan said, “I now have homework to do for myself. I decided to take some time for myself and try things I like.”






After that, Sa Kang visited Bukak Skyway to enjoy a cup of coffee, and the next day, he met his close friend, actor Oh Man-seok, to get advice about his ‘return to acting.’ Meanwhile, Oh Man-seok asked, “Wasn‘t there a ’Sa Kang retirement rumor‘ in 2008?” Sa Kang replied, “I never once said anything about retirement,” and explained, “At the time, I went to the airport to go to the United States with my family. Coincidentally, many singers were at the airport because they were having a concert in LA. The photographers who were taking pictures of them saw me and asked, ’Where are you going?‘ So I told them, ’I‘m going to immigrate,’ and the next day, there were reports that ‘Sa Kang is retiring from acting to focus on raising his children.’” Amid the hearty laughter, Oh Man-seok, who plays the younger brother of actress Go Hyun-jung, gave Sa-gang customized acting training with a drama script that will soon be filmed. Sa-gang, who finished a fulfilling day, said, “My goal is for the children to see my acting and not think of me as their mother,” receiving applause from everyone.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com reporter, projecthong@donga.com