Nobody Was Ready for Kim Gu-ra's Sweet Dad Moment on TV

Kim Gu-ra has been known for decades as one of South Korea's sharpest tongues on television. As the long-time co-host of MBC's Radio Star, the 55-year-old comedian built a reputation for his unflinching commentary and a wit that spares almost no one. So when a quiet moment unfolded on the April 16 episode of tvN STORY's Parenting Intern — Kim Gu-ra pulling out his phone and making a live video call to his six-year-old daughter Suhyeon — nobody in the studio, or at home, was quite prepared for how sweet it would be.

The daughter, waving from behind the screen with a toy in her hand, was making her first-ever appearance on national television. The studio atmosphere, thick with comedic chaos moments earlier, instantly softened. "If I show her like this every now and then, time flies," Kim Gu-ra said, almost to himself, his signature smirk giving way to something unmistakably warmer.

A Veteran MC Joins the Parenting Chaos

Parenting Intern (육아인턴) is tvN STORY's newest variety offering, placing celebrity "interns" in real-life childcare situations with young children. Episode 2, which aired Thursday evening, featured veteran comedian Lee Gyeong-gyu and former national soccer star Ahn Jung-hwan as the show's primary interns — and both were struggling.

Lee Gyeong-gyu, who has been a fixture of Korean entertainment for over 40 years, commands rooms with ease on screen. With a toddler, however, a very different dynamic emerges. Finding himself overwhelmed — "I can't handle two at once," he admitted — the show brought in reinforcements. Enter Kim Gu-ra and former soccer defender Kim Nam-il, summoned as emergency support staff for the struggling interns.

Kim Nam-il's contribution was immediately dramatic. Ahn Jung-hwan had spent the better part of the episode trying to get his assigned child to cooperate — and failing. When Kim Nam-il arrived and deployed pure athletic energy into the room, the child underwent a complete transformation. The same toddler who had been refusing food suddenly ate happily. The same child who avoided tooth brushing went along with it without complaint. Watching this from the sidelines, Ahn Jung-hwan — a man who has scored international goals in front of thousands — looked thoroughly deflated.

The former soccer star's visible jealousy became one of the episode's most beloved running gags, with viewers online gleefully noting that a national sporting hero had been outwitted by a fellow athlete's way with a spoon and a toothbrush.

The Lee Gyeong-gyu and Kim Gu-ra Dynamic

On the other side of the episode, Kim Gu-ra was stationed with Lee Gyeong-gyu — and proved himself a capable, if somewhat bossy, parenting assistant. Drawing on his experience as the father of a six-year-old, Kim Gu-ra assessed the situation with swift confidence. "The experts all tell me I'm good at this," he declared, before demonstrating a calm, measured approach with Lee Gyeong-gyu's young charges.

Where he failed, perhaps, was in the art of tact. Almost immediately, Kim Gu-ra began pointing out every mistake his elder colleague made. "You really don't know anything, do you, big brother?" he said at one point, not unkindly, but not exactly gently either. The commentary was relentless: the wrong food, the wrong pace, the wrong approach. Korean entertainment reporters aptly described it as a nagging bombardment — the 잔소리 폭격 had arrived, fully operational.

Lee Gyeong-gyu absorbed this for a considerable time. Then came the incident with the soup. When Kim Gu-ra began directing the feeding pace without being asked, something finally snapped. "Why am I taking orders from the guy who came to help me?" Lee Gyeong-gyu erupted. The rebellion drew instant laughter. The comedic logic was airtight: the assistant had somehow become the boss, and the boss had had enough.

What gave the dynamic its particular warmth was its obvious authenticity. These are two men who have known each other for decades in the same industry, and their bickering carried the comfortable edge of a relationship where neither side is genuinely offended. Viewers responded warmly to the push-and-pull, calling it one of the more genuine comedic moments of the episode.

The Daughter Moment That Captured the Internet

Then came the pivot that no one expected from Kim Gu-ra.

When Lee Gyeong-gyu casually asked, "Is your daughter six now?" — an offhand remark in the middle of the childcare session — Kim Gu-ra immediately pulled out his phone and initiated a video call. Within seconds, a small face appeared on screen: Suhyeon, holding a toy, waving cheerfully at the camera and at the children on set.

The moment carried significance beyond its lightness. Kim Gu-ra and his wife — a non-celebrity woman 12 years his junior whom he married in 2020 — welcomed their daughter the following year. He has spoken about Suhyeon in interviews and on air, but her face had never been shown on broadcast television before April 16. The video call was unscripted, spontaneous, and for many viewers, unexpectedly moving. "She's so precious," read one of the top comments on clips of the moment that circulated after the broadcast. "This is not the Kim Gu-ra I was expecting," read another — a sentiment that captured the general reaction from audiences who had long associated him with pointed wit rather than tender parenting moments.

A Second Act That Has Made Kim Gu-ra Richer

The tenderness of the moment is easier to understand with the full context of Kim Gu-ra's life over the past decade. His first marriage, which began in 1997, ended in 2015 under difficult circumstances. His former wife had accumulated debts exceeding 17 billion won through loans and financial guarantees, leaving Kim Gu-ra to shoulder the financial burden. In a candid revelation on a recent episode of SBS's Same Bed, Different Dreams 2, he noted the actual figure had been even higher than the widely reported number — but he had paid it back in full, over approximately three years, while continuing to work at the top of his profession.

From that chapter, Kim Gu-ra rebuilt steadily. He remained one of television's most reliable MCs throughout, continuing to host Radio Star without interruption. In 2020, he remarried, and the following year, at the age of 50, became a father again for the first time in over two decades. His son Kim Dong-hyeon, known publicly as Geurim, is now in his late twenties. Suhyeon arrived as something entirely new — a late-in-life chapter that Kim Gu-ra has spoken about with barely concealed delight whenever the subject arises.

On Parenting Intern, that delight was on full display. The video call lasted perhaps ten seconds. But in those ten seconds, viewers saw something the comedian has rarely put directly on screen: a man who has been through a great deal, holding his phone up toward a waving six-year-old, saying nothing that needed to be said.

What to Expect From 'Parenting Intern'

Parenting Intern airs every Thursday at 8:00 PM KST on tvN STORY. The show has already demonstrated an ability to generate the kind of genuine, unscripted moments that Korean variety television excels at. Episode 2's combination of physical comedy, unexpected tenderness, cast chemistry, and a first-ever television appearance from Kim Gu-ra's daughter gives it a strong foundation to build audience momentum.

With Lee Gyeong-gyu's exasperated reaction faces, Ahn Jung-hwan's comedic jealousy, and Suhyeon quietly stealing the final act of the episode, the show has given viewers several compelling reasons to return next Thursday. The next question is whether the remaining cast can sustain that energy — and whether Kim Gu-ra has any more surprises up his sleeve.