Park Mi-sun opens up about breast cancer battle after 10 months away
Comedian Park Mi-sun / Captured from "You Quiz on the Block" YouTube channel
Comedian Park Mi-sun shared her experience battling breast cancer, speaking publicly about her illness for the first time.
TvN’s "You Quiz on the Block" posted a video Monday, titled “The sister we missed, Park Mi-sun! Her courageous story and a surprise letter,” featuring Park returning with a bright expression after months out of the public eye.
Appearing with short hair, Park said, “I think many people will be surprised to see me like this. I gathered my courage to come here.”
Park halted all activities in January after experiencing health problems. Her agency Cube Entertainment said she needed a period of rest. During her recovery, fellow comedians Sunwoo Yong-nyeo, Cho Hye-ryeon, Lee Kyung-sil, Ahn Young-mi and Kim Shin-young expressed public support for her.
Rumors spread that Park had been diagnosed with breast cancer, but her agency said it could not disclose personal medical information. On the show, Park confirmed for the first time that she had indeed been fighting breast cancer and said her stamina has not yet fully returned.
“Breast cancer is not something you can casually say you have completely recovered from,” she said.
She described being hospitalized for two weeks with pneumonia, adding, “They didn’t know the cause, so I was given antibiotics and many kinds of medication. It was treatment to keep me alive, but it felt like I was going to die.”
Despite the ordeal, Park said she tried to maintain a sense of gratitude throughout her treatment. “I was thankful that I got sick in winter, and thankful that I could receive treatment in a cool place in the middle of summer,” she said. “Keeping that mindset made the whole process feel lighter.”
She added that she felt deeply supported during her illness. “I realized how loved I am. So many people worried and cared about me,” she said.
Park’s episode of "You Quiz on the Block" will air on Wednesday on tvN.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.