Gu Sung-hwan Opens Up About Losing Kkotbuni: "I Cry Once a Day, But I'm Getting Better"

There are celebrity appearances, and then there are moments that stop you mid-scroll and remind you why you love a show in the first place. On March 27, 2026, actor Gu Sung-hwan walked back into the studio of MBC's "I Live Alone" — and what he said about the weeks since his dog Kkotbuni's passing left the audience silent.

Gu Sung-hwan had been absent from the show for some time following the death of his beloved dog Kkotbuni (꽃분이), who passed away on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2026. Kkotbuni had been a fixture of his appearances on the show for years — a small, cheerful presence who charmed millions of viewers and even starred alongside Gu Sung-hwan in a commercial. For longtime fans of "I Live Alone," she was not just a pet. She was a character.

The First Words Back in the Studio

When Gu Sung-hwan stepped onto the set, host Jeon Hyun-moo greeted him with a simple, warm "It's been a while. We missed you so much." The audience's reaction was immediate and genuine — not polite applause, but the kind of relief you feel when someone you've been worried about finally appears.

Gu Sung-hwan wasted no time being honest. "I didn't know so many people loved me like this," he said, his voice steady but quiet. "Thanks to the support and comfort from so many people, I was able to say a proper goodbye to Kkotbuni and keep her as a good memory in my heart."

He paused before adding: "Right now, I still get a lump in my throat about once a day. But I'm getting much better."

It was not a rehearsed speech. It did not sound like a celebrity managing a public narrative. It sounded like a person who had been through something real, was still working through it, and chose to be honest about both the pain and the progress. That combination — vulnerability alongside hopefulness — is exactly what makes "I Live Alone" worth watching.

The Grief He Carried — And How He Carried It

Kkotbuni died after being ill, and Gu Sung-hwan had previously shared on SNS that she was his "daughter, younger sister, and partner." On February 21, he posted a message telling fans she had passed, and the outpouring of sympathy was extraordinary — flooding his social media with messages from fans who had watched Kkotbuni grow old on their television screens over years of "I Live Alone" appearances.

In the weeks that followed, Gu Sung-hwan traveled abroad — a quiet decision to process his grief away from the familiar spaces where Kkotbuni used to be. On his YouTube channel "Kkotbuni (with Gu Sung-hwan)," he opened up more fully, telling viewers: "For the first two weeks, I really thought I might die. But I forced myself to walk more, look at beautiful things, and think positive thoughts. I tried to live joyfully. That was my own way through it."

Back in the studio, he shared one small regret that struck a chord with anyone who has ever loved and lost a pet. "If I'd known she'd leave like this," he said softly, "I would have fed her better food. I would have walked her more."

That sentence — so specific, so ordinary, so universal — is one of those moments that arrives on a variety program and becomes something more than television content. Nearly every person in the audience who has ever lost an animal companion understood exactly what he meant. And that is precisely the kind of moment "I Live Alone" creates when it is at its best.

Why This Moment Resonated So Deeply

"I Live Alone" (나 혼자 산다) has always been a show about more than solitude. At its core, it is about the small rituals, quiet joys, and unexpected griefs of living without a constant companion nearby. Pets have featured prominently in those stories — they become part of the show's emotional universe in ways that feel earned rather than forced.

Kkotbuni, over years of appearances on the program, had become one of the show's most beloved supporting presences. Her relationship with Gu Sung-hwan — his obvious delight in her, his gentle care for her as she aged, his willingness to rearrange his routines around her health — was one of the most genuine and quietly moving ongoing narratives the show has produced.

Pet loss is a subject that rarely gets the emotional honesty it deserves on television. For Gu Sung-hwan to stand in front of the "I Live Alone" studio audience and simply tell the truth — that he still cries once a day, that he's not fully okay, but that he's working toward it — was unexpectedly moving. Host Jeon Hyun-moo, whose instinct for these moments has always been one of the show's strengths, gently told him: "Next time you feel that lump in your throat, call us." It was a small thing to say. It landed like something much larger.

Kkotbuni's Legacy on Korean Television

It is rare for an animal to become a genuine television personality — not through tricks or spectacle, but simply by being present, being loved, and being shown honestly. Kkotbuni became that. Viewers who watched the show regularly followed her aging alongside Gu Sung-hwan, witnessed him change routines to accommodate her health needs, and understood that she was the emotional center of his life as presented on "I Live Alone."

The show itself honored Kkotbuni in the weeks after her passing, airing a montage of their shared memories that prompted a wave of online tributes. Fan comments described watching the segment through tears — the kind of response that confirms a pet's presence has meant something real to a wide audience, not merely to her owner.

In the broader cultural context, Kkotbuni's prominence on "I Live Alone" reflects a shift in how Korean television treats pet ownership — no longer as an incidental lifestyle detail, but as a relationship worthy of the same narrative attention as any human bond. Gu Sung-hwan and Kkotbuni's story, from its cheerful early years through its quiet, difficult end, became an unexpectedly complete arc within a show built around lives in progress.

Gu Sung-hwan's return to the studio on March 27 was not a dramatic comeback. It was quieter than that — a man walking back into a space he loves, carrying something heavy, and choosing to keep going. Sometimes that is exactly the story that needs to be told.

"I Live Alone" airs Fridays on MBC.