WJSN member Dayoung has opened up about the painful family struggles she faced from a young age, revealing that her biological father left behind billions of won in debt under her mother’s name.
Dayoung shared the story on MBC’s “Playlist 109,” which aired on August 18. She explained that her parents divorced when she was seven and that her mother later remarried, making her current father her stepfather.
“My biological father left behind a huge amount of debt. It was all debt under my mother’s name,” Dayoung said.
According to SportsChosun, she explained that the debt reached several billion won at the time. For a young child, the situation was difficult to understand, but she quickly realized how serious it was.
“I was seven, but going through that made me feel like I became an adult in that moment,” she recalled.
Dayoung Recalls Helping Her Mother
Dayoung said she watched her mother work hard to support them. Her mother ran a restaurant and also worked another job, often leaving home early and returning late. Instead of going straight home after school, Dayoung would go to the restaurant and help.
“When I was little, I always thought about whether I could be a help to my mom instead of being a burden,” she said.
The experience changed how Dayoung viewed her own childhood. As an only child, she wanted to ease her mother’s load while holding on to her dream of becoming a singer. That dream was closely tied to the restaurant. Dayoung said she would sing and dance for customers there, and she began dreaming about becoming a singer when she was very young.
She later made a promise to her mother: “I will definitely succeed as a singer and lift this family up.” Her mother supported her decision and told her to go for it.
Dayoung eventually moved to Seoul alone while still young and continued pursuing auditions, AllKPop reported.
Her determination also followed her into her career. When she wanted to develop music as a solo artist, she took action herself, including traveling to Los Angeles and using her own savings for her project.