"Puberty has an end, but menopause lasts a lifetime"... Malja Show delivers realistic parenting and relationship advice

Realistic concerns experienced amidst childbirth, parenting, and changing family relationships drew both laughter and empathy. On KBS 2TV 'Malja Show', various storytellers, from mothers with multiple children to parents with adolescent children and couples crossing religion and borders, appeared to share the weight of life.

"I am pregnant with my fifth, but my husband refuses vasectomy"... The hardships of a mother with many children

The first storyteller was a woman who had given birth to four sons all via Cesarean section and is currently pregnant with her fifth. Living as a weekend couple and raising the children alone, she expressed the physical burden experienced through five childbirth processes. In particular, she shared her concern that despite being her fifth pregnancy, her husband is refusing a vasectomy. The storyteller appealed for sympathy, stating that her body has been devastated by five births and mentioning that her surgical scars do not look the same as they used to even as time passes.

Detailed stories about the physical changes women experience during the childbirth process followed. The cast members mentioned experiences where not only the pelvis but also the joints throughout the entire body widen due to hormonal changes during pregnancy, emphasizing the great strain childbirth places on a woman's body. One cast member shared the hardship of weight increasing from the 50kg range to 80kg due to pregnancy-induced nausea and the difficulty of not being able to lose weight even after childbirth. Additionally, they mentioned that despite reading an encyclopedia of pregnancy and childbirth, they did not expect the difficulty of breastfeeding, noting the importance of breastfeeding and breast massage. In response, the cast members expressed respect for the storyteller's devotion, saying, "Giving birth to a child is an act of giving one's own body."

"Puberty passes, but menopause persists"... Keeping distance between parents and children

Concerns from parents experiencing conflict due to their children's puberty also followed. A mother raising two sons born in consecutive years confessed to feeling empty because her children, who are in their 1st and 2nd years of high school, only contact her when they want to. Regarding this, the cast members advised that rather than being overly attached to children, it is necessary to maintain emotional distance, comparing children to 'something that slips through your fingers.' In particular, they recommended focusing more on the relationship with one's spouse for the remainder of one's life rather than attempting to converse with the children, adding that maintaining an appropriate distance so that children can feel the parents' absence on their own can be a way to restore the relationship.

Meanwhile, in the debate over whether puberty or menopause is harder, laughter was elicited by a realistic analysis that "puberty eventually has a period when it ends, but menopause has the characteristic of persisting once symptoms appear." The opinion was presented that while puberty ends with only differences in intensity, menopause can continue after symptoms manifest.

Love that crosses borders and religion, and cheering for life

The scope of the stories expanded beyond individual family histories to international relationships. To the story of a man who wants to support his Vietnamese girlfriend who came to South Korea to study, encouragement was delivered saying, "You can do well as long as you do not give up." Following this, a long-distance international couple traveling between Indonesia and South Korea revealed they are having difficulty planning their future due to different religions (Islam and Christianity), throwing questions about the essential values of a relationship.

Source: original video (YouTube)