Brother-In-Law’s “Humiliating” Speech At Song Jieun’s Wedding Sparks Intense Reactions
On October 9, 2024 (KST), Secret member Song Jieun and her YouTube content creator fiancé Park We tied the knot with a gorgeous “fairytale” wedding ceremony. A video of the wedding, shared to Park We’s Weracle YouTube channel, captured the ceremony filled with laughter, tears, and absolute love and support for the newlyweds.
One speech, though, has since gone viral across social media platforms—and caused some divide among Korean netizens.
As part of the ceremony, Park We’s younger brother, Park Ji Woo, welcomed Song Jieun as his sister-in-law with a heartfelt speech about Park We’s accident, their lives after his paralysis, and immense gratitude toward Song Jieun.
Hello, I am Park Ji Woo—bride Song Jieun’s brother-in-law for life. A decade ago, my hyung got into an unfortunate accident and was thought to be quadriplegic for life. It was tough on our family… After receiving visitors in the ICU, spending all of his allowed 30 minutes on them, hyung would look exhausted. And that would break my heart. But I couldn’t cry… I could not cry in front of my parents, who now had a quadriplegic son. I don’t tell him often because I don’t want him to get frustrated, but I have always been worried about what I would do if there came a time when he needed help and I would not be able to provide it for him. But that’s when my sister-in-law came into the picture.
— Park Ji Woo
In the speech, Park Ji Woo shared a short story about Song Jieun’s reaction to Park We soiling himself at the gym. The story was shared to highlight the newlywed’s unbreakable bond, trust, and love…
Not too long ago, I heard my brother and my sister-in-law went to the gym to work out together. There, he pushed himself a little too hard and ended up secreting something smelly. Hyung asked Jieun, ‘It smells a lot, doesn’t it?’ She told him, ‘(Sniffs) Yeah, I smell it.’ But she also told him, ‘Don’t worry, oppa. Let’s get you into the wheelchair and see. If there’s a problem, I’ll take care of it.’ Never in my life have I ever heard more reliable words coming from someone. Have you? When I heard this story, I decided that I would finally be able to let hyung go from my heart. Hyung, I’m handing you off to Jieun, whom I trust so dearly now. Goodbye.
— Park Ji Woo
…except, when the speech went viral, some Koreans believed it was “unnecessary” and even “inconsiderate” toward Song Jieun and her family.
When people asked, ‘Ji Woo. What does disability mean to you?’ I would answer that it’s a tight rope that bound my family together. And using that rope, my hyung has bound my sister-in-law to us forever, too. Jieun! Thank you so much for becoming my family. And hyung! Congratulations on your wedding. Thank you and I love you.
— Park Ji Woo
Korean netizens butted heads in the comments section of posts featuring the speech, with some pointing out the brother’s lack of respect for “humiliating” the newlyweds with such a story. A few even voiced concern over the fact that the younger brother’s speech seemed to suggest “an undeniable ‘Dobby-is-free’ vibe” and that he was “passing on” the caretaking of Park We to Song Jieun.
- “The worst speech ever, humiliating his older brother and dubbing his sister-in-law as nothing but a caretaker… This should not have been given if he had respect for the bride and the bride’s guests. He could have just wished them a happily-ever-after… Too bad.”
- “Not only is the story itself unnecessary, but also he is referring to his sister-in-law as a reliable caretaker who came into the picture when his family was struggling… Like, the vibe of that entire speech felt like ‘Dobby is free!’ He made it sound like his family is handing him off to Song Jieun to take care of.”
- “I’m shocked at what I learned from this speech. One, I had no idea Park We couldn’t clean up after himself. Two, I thought Park We and his brother were close, but it sounds like the brother had a lot of pent up feelings…? Like, what kind of a speech is this? Three, the couple filed for their marriage license before the actual wedding… IMO, things were decided way too quickly. Four, did no one look over the speech before the brother read it out loud?”
- “Not a congratulating speech, but one that recites the hardships the Parks had to go through. It looks like the Parks are very sorry for themselves. I bet you the Parks would never have accepted Song Jieun as family if she were quadriplegic.”
- “Listening to the whole speech, I got the feeling that the younger brother was handing off his burden of an older brother to someone he could trust. Why include such a humiliating story in the speech, too? Just thoughtless and inconsiderate, I think.”
- “It’s hilarious how it’s supposed to be a speech congratulating them on their wedding but there is not a single congratulatory message in it.”
Others criticized the naysayers for “ruining” a perfectly acceptable moment between family members for the sake of hating.
- “What’s wrong with you all, getting so worked up over someone else’s celebratory moment?”
- “Seriously. Get a grip, you people. LOL. This isn’t YOUR wedding. Don’t get so mad, haha.”
- “Look at all these comments berating the Parks for no reason. You all have no idea that your comments are more hurtful to the newlyweds than the younger brother’s speech.”
- “The story was actually already shared on Park We’s channel, LMAO. Like, people are worried about nothing.”
- “Everyone, stop… Park Ji Woo is not even a celebrity. If the speech didn’t sit well with the newlyweds, they would have talked it out off camera. Frankly, none of it is your business. Why is everyone so upset?”
- “Do we really want to be doing this to a couple who just got married? Sure, the speech could have been better. But the speech was not for us in the first place. We need to stop meddling with everyone’s business.”
One even pointed out that the story had already been shared on the Weracle channel with 295K views—with Song Jieun present in the video.
Amid the buzz, fans of Park We and Song Jieun are focusing on congratulating the newlyweds and blessing their holy matrimony—pointing out that the buzz obviously has no impact on Park We and Song Jieun themselves who have moved past the talk and dedicated their lives to building a future together.
Watch the full video here.
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