"Did you get pregnant without studying?" Mother-in-law buys seaweed, telling her to have a son

A guest who married into a family of doctors revealed the sense of alienation and conflict she felt among her in-laws. The story revealed through the broadcast contains the psychological pressure the daughter-in-law had to endure within the special environment of a doctor family in the past and the process of overcoming it.

"Mother-in-law who bought seaweed saying 'Have a son'"... The past in-law atmosphere centered on sons

The guest recalled the conflict with her mother-in-law experienced during the early stages of her marriage. At that time, the in-law's house had a strong atmosphere of valuing sons, and the mother-in-law showed a cold reaction to the guest who gave birth to her first daughter. In particular, the anecdote where the mother-in-law, having guessed the gender during pregnancy, said, "Did you get pregnant without studying?" while bringing seaweed shows the strict atmosphere of that time. The mother-in-law had a distinct preference for sons, and even when the guest had a second child immediately after her first daughter, she maintained the position that she must have a son. She even showed a cold attitude toward her heavily pregnant daughter-in-law, saying, "You are coming out, there is someone else to do the work."

In these conflict situations, the husband played a mediating role. The husband protected his wife by telling his mother, "You may be disappointed, but I married this person and must live with this person. If I don't, I will have no choice but to become distant from you." The guest reported that thanks to this attitude of her husband, the mother-in-law's attitude changed after the second son was born.

"I am a foreign object in the doctors' conversation"... The alienation of a daughter-in-law in a professional family

The in-law environment composed of doctor family members gave the guest another sense of alienation. Since the majority of the family members, including the father-in-law, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law, were doctors, conversations involving professional medical terms continued at every meal. The guest explained the psychological distance she felt at the time, saying, "The family members were their own people, but I felt like a foreign object stuck in between them." The guest, who had no medical knowledge, could not join the family's conversations and felt alienated, which led to the difficulties of living with in-laws.

To survive in this environment, the guest devoted herself to cooking. She studied and made foods that the doctor mother-in-law was not good at, striving to be recognized by the in-laws through cooking. In particular, she revealed that cooking was her way of survival and a breakthrough, as she heard praise from her father-in-law saying, "You married well." The father-in-law even showed a warm heart by putting donuts that the guest liked into a cement bag and putting them in the wardrobe.

"If only I had bought land in Gangnam..." Realistic hardships buried in wedding gifts and trousseau

Stories about the trousseau culture and economic situation of the doctor family at the time also continued. Since the guest's original family was in a quite comfortable situation at the time, they prepared expensive wedding gifts such as three mink coats and silver spoons to match the formality of the doctor family. The guest's original family had the economic capacity to prepare things like cars and color televisions at the time, but the guest expressed realistic regret hidden behind the flashy wedding gift culture of that time, saying, "If we had bought land with that money, we would have owned a few pyeong of land in Gangnam."

In particular, she added the mental suffering she experienced within the hierarchical atmosphere of the in-laws, such as the fact that there was a relative difference in the wedding gifts delivered to her compared to the gifts given to the in-laws. She revealed the disappointment she felt at the time, mentioning that while silver spoons were prepared for the five in-law family members, stainless steel spoons were prepared for her. Nevertheless, she recalled that the snacks or warm recognition given by her father-in-law became the driving force that allowed her to endure the difficult married life.

Source: original video (YouTube)