Actress’s 13-year-old daughter cries for help after being abused by Grandmother for years
The daughter of late actress Choi Jin Sil revealed her horrific story of how her own grandma has been tormenting her.
Choi Jin Sil was considered “the nation’s actress” of the ’90s, until she committed suicide in 2008 due groundless rumors accusing her of driving a close friend to suicide.
Choi Jin Sil’s two children, a son and daughter, were taken in by their grandmother who received full custody over them, but the daughter, Choi Joon Hee, recently took to Instagram to reveal a shocking truth.
Their grandmother had been verbally and physically abusing Choi Joon Hee ever since Choi Jin Sil had passed, on top of other terrible acts that prohibited her from living a normal life.
For example, Choi Joon Hee had qualified to participate as a contestant in Produce 101, but due to her grandmother’s fierce objection, her dreams of becoming an idol were abolished.
“We went to [Choi Joon Hee]’s grandmother’s house to ask her to allow Choi Joon Hee to achieve her dreams, but we were rejected. She knew about the entertainment business ever since she was young, so we believed it would be helpful for her growth, but in the end, it never happened.”
— Insider of Produce 101
Below is Koreaboo’s full translation of Choi Joon Hee’s Post
First She Described Her Mother’s Passing
“Hello, I am the daughter of the well known, late Choi Jin Sil, Choi Joon Hee.
The reason why I’m writing this is because everyone probably thinks I live well, but I wanted to expose details about my life. So after thinking about it for a long time, I got up the courage to write this word by word.
I’m currently in my 2nd year of middle school, and I think my life started to become complicated after my mom went to heaven.
But if I really think about it, I think it started when I was in my 4th year of elementary school.
I thought I would live a horrible life after my mom died, but I was just a regular elementary student who lived an average life and wanted to watch Spongebob after school.
The only family I had left was my maternal grandma, older brother, my maternal grandma’s sister (other grandma) and paternal family.
I wanted to clarify about my other grandma, who everyone is curious about.
My other grandma is not related to me by blood, but she raised me since I was born and proudly cared for me like any other parent.
My maternal grandma was honestly too busy raising and only loving my older brother.
My other grandma loved me and lived the past 15 years just for [me].
She Then Revealed The Abuse Her Grandmother Put Her Through
Getting back on topic, my maternal grandma hated my other grandma since I was young.
I don’t know the reason why, but according to what other people said, she hated that my other grandma appeared to be raising me to steal my inheritance.
I had spent 11 years with my other grandma, but I was forcefully banned from seeing her by my maternal grandma. I was in my 4th year of elementary school.
I was young so I used to think ‘She’ll return after 5 days’ or ‘she’ll return after 10 days’, but my other grandma never returned home. I was only 11 years old when I was separated from the family member who I loved the most.
A few days later, while I was in shock, my grandma said to me, “I couldn’t stand the sight of that b**ch (other grandma) and you, so I told her to leave the house. If you stay with that b**ch you’re going to ruin your character.”
She gave me even more shock to a young me.
Since then I suffered from depression and there wasn’t a day where I didn’t cry.
Every night I would bury my head in my pillow and bawl, trying not to be found out by my grandma. I would cry like that for a long time and fall asleep. My days were just spent crying.
I missed my other grandma so much that I would dress my big teddy bear in the clothes, glasses, socks and perfume that she left behind, and I would fall asleep holding on tightly to the doll.
But my grandma heartlessly threw the doll and my other grandma’s belonging onto the floor while screaming at me.
I was so scared, and wondered what my other grandma and I did so wrong.
A few days later, my mentality was completely broken into pieces, but I got up the courage to secretly contact my other grandma through KakaoTalk behind my grandma’s back. Luckily, I got in contact with her right away.
She said she was sorry for not being able to protect me, and that we would only be able to meet when I become an adult.
I couldn’t help but cry.
And one day, I was napping in the living room when my phone disappeared. A few minutes later my grandma put on a disapproving face towards me and said, “Do you think I won’t be able to break your phone’s password (pattern)? I know you contact the other grandma.”
She would continually check my phone, and if she had even a little suspicion, she would take my phone and not give it back.
She Was Then Stripped Of All Contact From Other Family
Weeks later, the supervising teacher of my vocal club knew of my situation and contacted my other grandma to secretly come visit the school.
My other grandma would bring me things I enjoyed since I was young, like [candy], strawberries and more. While I would eat the snacks, I couldn’t bare cry in front of her, so I smiled and laughed instead.
That the was extent of my happiness.
I don’t know how she found out, but my grandma told my teachers to forbid me from seeing my other grandma. Even though the teachers understood my situation, they couldn’t do anything but follow her order.
That was when I first started thinking about suicide and I just missed my other grandma so much.
Her Depression Worsened As The Abuse Became More Violent
I entered the 5th year of elementary school, and my depression became worse.
My grandma’s threats and assaults became worse day by day, and I naturally started relying on my friends at school.
I even started liking a boy, and life become a little more bearable. However, my grandma hurt me by saying that I was boy crazy and we had a huge argument.
She tried to hit my with a clothes hanger and I blocked her out of instinct.
But then she suddenly bit my hand and even to this day, I have a scar in between my fingers.
Everyday was hard to live, and it felt like hell. I thought it would be easier to die, and I wanted to die. So I wrote a will late at night, and I hurt myself in every way possible.
I cut my wrists with a knife and I tried to hang myself with the shower head, but I apparently still had a will to live because I always failed.
It never killed me, but only left a scar each time.
A couple days later, my grandma found my will and yelled at me. I thought at the time, ‘Oh my grandma is still concerned about me’, but I was wrong. She was only angry that I left her out of the will, and only wrote my older brother and my other grandma.
She hit me again.
Her Grandmother Became Her Tormentor
What’s worse was when my older brother, my grandma and I went on a family trip to North Europe. She called me into her room and said that my mom mistakenly gave birth to me.
She hit me with a clothes hanger and strangled me.
However, what’s even more ridiculous was that my grandma would say ‘I was disciplining you because you wouldn’t listen to me’, but it just felt like when a bully tells the victim, ‘It was just a joke’.
She Was Granted Only Some Solace In America, Only For Things To Get Worse
To continue on the story of my will, my grandma told me that she couldn’t raise me anymore, and gave me two choices of going to America or living with my other grandma.
However, she told me that she wouldn’t give me a cent to live on if I chose my other grandma. I wanted to go to my other grandma, but I chose America instead when I thought about my future.
Afterwards, I received my mother’s Achievement Award and began preparing to study abroad without anyone knowing. If I remember correctly, I was filming a documentary for MBC.
I tried very hard, and thanks to the scene portraying happiness, but I was suffering unknown to the viewers.
Just a few days before I left for America, I ate out with Auntie [Hong] Jin Kyung at the Shilla Hotel. I secretly signed that I didn’t want to leave, and she took my side to say she wished I didn’t leave. But my grandma often cursed out Auntie Jin Kyung, saying that she was crossing the line by meddling.
Next, Auntie [Lee] Young Ja went around to reporter Kim Dae Oh and more, thinking of ways to help me when they reached out to my paternal grandpa. He completely disregarded the story and said, “Her last name isn’t Cho, so she isn’t our granddaughter. I’m not going to care.”
When I was leaving for America, I was supposed to be taken care of by an acquaintance family, but it was more like adoption.
What was worse was that the family I was supposed to stay with were very unstable, and I can’t go into it more.
I was more scared because I was in a different country.
I left for America and I continued filming the documentary. The school I was supposed to attend was a weird school founded by something like a cult. I was more scared and I had more doubts that I would live a better life.
I really didn’t think it was right, so I begged my grandma. I begged for her to let me return to Korea and that things weren’t right. Surprisingly, my grandma agreed after consideration. All of the plans were cancelled, and I thought it was a good thing.
But my suffering didn’t end there.
She Returned Home To Face More Abuse
After returning to Korea, my grandma bore all of her feelings of resentment toward me. I tried returning to Soong Eui Elementary School, but because I was recorded as leaving school – and not leaving to study abroad – I couldn’t return.
So I didn’t go to school for months and my grandma tried to send me to the international school like my brother.
During then, she made me study very hard, and it took a psychological toll on me because of all the pressure I had to get into the international school.
Each day was hard, tiring and painful, and I thought the war with my grandma was over, but it started again.
I had to study like it was my life.
One Sunday morning, I was sleeping in because I stayed up studying late on Saturday night, and my grandma was preparing to to go to church by putting on makeup.
But she suddenly woke me up and accused me of stealing her eye liner. While I was still exhausted, she called me a stealing b**ch and said I was stealing ever since I was young. She hurt me again.
She Ended The Letter With A Cry For Help
I’ll just write up to here for now. It’s August 5th, 2017 at 1:55 AM right now.
Our house is still a chaos.
Cops came to our house and everything’s a mess. I’m uploading this because I would hold a grudge if I died without getting the truth out.
Thank you for reading my long letter.
Please save me.”
— Choi Joon Hee
Those who read Choi Joon Hee’s post were so shocked at the content that they decided to flock to Hong Jin Kyung’s Instagram, leaving comments that asked her to help Choi Joon Hee.
While some are desperate to help Choi Joon Hee by any means possible, others criticized the commenters for flooding her personal Instagram instead of other, more private means.
“How would she help Choi Joon Hee, I have no idea. Are you all brainless?”
— @_hyxxniiii_
“Why is everyone bothering Hong Jin Kyung?; Let her do as she wishes; I don’t understand why people are asking someone who isn’t even related by blood to help her;; Are you going to curse at her if she doesn’t help when you asked her to? Now I feel bad for her.”
— @joyejin0225
“Why are you coming to Hong Jin Kyung’s SNS to say that? This whole thing is a huge deal, so how shocked and confused would Hong Jin Kyung be? If you have a brain, use it, this isn’t right.”
— @xornjsv0807
Currently, Choi Joon Hee is staying at a friend’s house while the police have been trying to contact Choi Joon Hee’s grandmother to hear her side of the story.
Source: TV Chosun, Sports Donga, and Sports Kyunghyang [1] and [2]
