Actor Go Joon-hee breaks down during egg freezing procedure, says ‘dieting ruined my body’

Go Joon-hee / Captured from Go's YouTube channel

Actor Go Joon-hee has revealed that she is undergoing egg freezing procedures, sharing her emotional struggles during the process. She confessed that during her first procedure, she broke down in tears after learning that only a few eggs could be retrieved due to the toll dieting had taken on her body.

In a recent video uploaded to her YouTube channel, the actor, born in 1985, shared that she began freezing her eggs two years ago. In the video, she had a candid conversation with her mother, who expressed concern, saying, "It must be hard. You need to take supplements and get your body into its best condition. Your age is not considered young anymore."

Recalling Go’s first attempt at egg freezing, her mother said, "Even then, I thought it was getting late for marriage. Now that you are doing it again, I think it would be better to find a husband quickly." She added, "I always imagined that Joon-hee would marry before turning 30, start a family before her mid-30s and I would help raise the child."

In response, Go joked, "It would be nice if a child just appeared out of nowhere and called me 'mom.' Like, 'My dad said you are my mom.' Then I would ask, 'How old are you?' and if the child said '5,' I could think back five years and realize it made sense without even asking who the father was," prompting laughter. Her mother, despite being taken aback by Go’s imaginative comment, said, "I am just grateful that you are not against marriage. If you find a partner, you will share the good news with everyone."

Go Joon-hee / Captured from Go's YouTube channel

When asked what kind of son-in-law she would like, Go’s mother said, "Over the years, my requirements have disappeared. Now, I just hope for someone who will look only at our Joon-hee. I used to care about height and appearance, too." Go replied, "There were guys like that," referencing her ex-boyfriends. When her mother added that he should at least be older than Joon-hee’s younger brother, Go laughed, saying, "The ones hitting on me these days are way younger than my brother."

Go’s mother recalled that during Go’s first egg freezing procedure, she was in the middle of dieting for a commercial shoot and could not maintain her body in an ideal condition. Go said, "Even my mom doesn’t know this, but right before going into the surgery room, they told me how many eggs they expected. They said, 'It looks like there will be about five.' I had heard that the basic expectation is about fifteen eggs and one of my close friends even had over forty retrieved. I thought that was normal."

Shocked by the small number, Go said, "Tears started falling, and I just broke down sobbing. My whole life flashed before my eyes. I wondered why I had lived the way I did — ruining my body through dieting for an entertainment career — and now I only had five eggs."

Later, Go consulted a doctor, who explained, "Even if you freeze ten eggs, only about seven or eight will be usable. The more you gather, the higher your chances of a successful pregnancy later. The data show you need around twenty to twenty-five eggs to have a healthy chance at one cycle of IVF." The doctor added, "You should aim to continue until you reach your target number. It seems you will likely need to go through three to four rounds."

Though she appeared overwhelmed, Go resolved to continue the process for the sake of her future child.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.