Faith vs. Family: Soccer Coach in Religious Rift

MBN

Soccer coach Ha Seok Ju mentioned an anecdote where he broke a wardrobe due to a high-level conflict.

On the MBN entertainment program Dongchimi, broadcasted on April 6, they discussed the topic “We’re busy making a living, Mom.”

Ha shared, “I didn’t realize religious conflict was so tough. Our family has been Buddhist for generations. Only my wife is a Christian. After we married, I thought she wouldn’t attend church, but that wasn’t the case.”

Ha explained that his wife relied on attending church while he was often away from home due to national team training camps. One day, he heard that his mother had fainted. “My wife asked my mother to allow her to go to church. But my mother, who was strongly against the church, fainted,” he explained.

Ha held a family meeting and said, “I asked, ‘Is it wrong for my wife, who is raising the kids alone and struggling a lot, to pray?’ Then my family even cursed at me.” He recalled, “In the end, I broke the wardrobe. I told my wife that we should divorce, asked my family to remove me from the family register, and left the house. I even said I wouldn’t play soccer anymore.”

Ha added, “Religious conflict can’t be resolved unless it’s done this way. I caused a commotion with the mindset of getting divorced and cutting ties. I was responsible for the financial part of the family. And when I left, everything was resolved. My mother and wife still have different religions. But they’re doing better now.”