Hong Seok‑cheon grew emotional as he sent his adopted daughter off to marry on TV CHOSUN's Chosun's Lover.
On the March 9 episode, Hong moved viewers with a poignant display of fatherhood during his daughter's formal meeting with her future in‑laws.
Having joined the series as a new cast member, Hong opened up about legally adopting his older sister's two children. He said he never planned to adopt, but worried the kids would hold his recently divorced sister back as she tried to start over. \"I'll take the kids—go find love again,\" he recalled telling her, and he decided to adopt after his sister fled late at night with the children to escape her husband. The daughter said she had accepted him as her father long ago. \"If people want me to call him 'uncle as dad,' I'll do it, though I'm not sure he'd want that,\" she said, adding that her life changed the day of the adoption and that she found emotional stability. \"I never regret being adopted,\" she said, a testament to the deep trust that visibly moved those watching.
Hong admitted he gets nervous meeting future in‑laws — \"I wouldn't even be nervous meeting the president, but meeting the in‑laws makes me anxious,\" he joked — but his warmth quickly put everyone at ease. While they were sorting out family titles, he quipped, \"Can't I just call you 'hyung' (older brother)?\" to lighten the mood, and later praised the groom‑to‑be's upbeat energy, visibly relieved.
In a letter to his new relatives, Hong wrote through tears, \"I'm an unusual person, and I'm worried I might be a burden to you. I pray you'll welcome our daughter warmly.\" One relative responded that her husband felt such concerns are nothing these days and added that, although Hong never raised children of his own, he had treated his niece like his own daughter — a gesture that suggested he is warm‑hearted.
Speaking to producers, Hong described family as both \"a big shield\" and \"a challenge to solve,\" admitting mixed feelings. He smiled, saying, \"Right now it feels like one more task, but later it will be a shield.\"
Meanwhile, the program is set to welcome national diva Insooni as a new cast member. The upcoming segment will revisit her romantic anecdotes — from a live‑on‑air proposal to the bold moment she told her husband, \"Let's share one blanket\" — and offer a glimpse into her laughter‑filled life with her spouse. The show airs Mondays at 10 p.m.
