[Sports Chosun Reporter Jo Yoon-sun] Comedian Jo Hye-ryeon shared a story about temporarily severing ties with her close friend Lee Sung-mi due to religious issues.
On the 9th, the CBS channel ‘Renewal Please’ uploaded a video titled ‘The Gospel Was Delivered to My Family Through Me! | Comedian Jo Hye-ryeon’.
In the video, Jo Hye-ryeon revealed, “I stopped contacting Lee Sung-mi for a few years because of evangelism.” She explained, “We lived together in Ilsan and were very close. Then, suddenly, Lee Sung-mi went to Canada. I missed her presence, so I went to Vancouver to see her.” She recalled, “Lee Sung-mi told me, ‘I pray for you every morning. Out of 200 names, you are number seven.’ She was praying for me to believe in Jesus.”
Jo Hye-ryeon continued, “I had to return to Korea the next day, so that night I wrote a letter to Lee Sung-mi saying, ‘Thank you so much, but please take my name off the list.’ It was too burdensome.” She also shared, “Since childhood, I was urged to adopt a religion and felt my existence was denied by my parents. That’s why I didn’t like the idea of depending on someone and believed my life was about working hard to earn money and go to college, which may have been a wall for me.”
One day, Lee Sung-mi returned to Korea and invited Jo to have a meal, saying, ‘I have a favor to ask, let’s attend a worship service together just once.’ Jo agreed out of gratitude for Lee coming from Vancouver, explaining, “I crossed the street to the church, attending as if crossing the Jordan River.”
She continued, “That day happened to feature a special on cults, and my picture appeared in the materials. I hated it. Then, suddenly, Lee Sung-mi went up on stage and introduced me as a ‘prayer subject’. Lee meant it as a blessing and was sincerely happy, but when she asked me to stand and come forward, I left the church and broke off ties from that day.”
Jo admitted, “I’ve lived a strong-willed life, not easily swayed by others. I cut off ties for a few years.”
However, she eventually began attending church through her current husband. Reflecting on that time, she said, “After registering at the church, the first person I thought of was Lee Sung-mi. Until then, I hadn’t been in contact and had erased her number, but I remembered it in my mind. When I sent a text, she replied immediately. When I called her, we both cried continuously.”