Korean Reality Show ‘Divorce Consideration Camp’ Highlights Heartbreaking Childhood Trauma

On the June 15 broadcast of JTBC’s reality show Divorce Consideration Camp, viewers were introduced to the emotional story of a young couple from the 11th group of participants. The show, which aims to give estranged or divorced couples a chance to contemplate reconciliation, featured a 20-something couple who had rushed into marriage and parenting at a young age.

The couple’s history is complicated: they met and became pregnant within just 40 days back in August 2021, during the husband’s military leave. Their first child was born in April 2022, and by July of that same year, the wife became pregnant with their second child. The couple legally registered their marriage in September 2022.

However, merely ten months after the birth of their first child, the two separated and finalized a divorce. Taking part in the reality show was their attempt to evaluate the possibility of reconciliation, but what unfolded was far more emotional than expected.

The young woman opened up about her deeply traumatic childhood, marked by domestic abuse. “I’ve grown used to being hit—it’s something I’ve been conditioned to endure,” she stated. She recounted episodes of violence from her older brothers and described how she once fled to the southern city of Busan to escape her abusive household.

While there, she became involved in a traumatic incident that led her to seek help at a government-supported center for abuse survivors known as the Sunflower Center. Unfortunately, returning home on the advice of the center only led to more violence—she was physically assaulted by her brother again, resulting in hospitalization.

Most heartbreaking was her account of betrayal from her own mother. She recalled, “Because of something my brother did when I was young, he was sent to a detention center. My mom stood by him and told me: ‘You’re the reason this family is falling apart. I’m ashamed you’re my daughter.’”

Faced with this emotional abandonment, she eventually moved to a city where she had no roots, seeking distance from her family. It was there she met her partner, hoping for a new beginning, only to find herself in yet another difficult chapter.

Episodes like this are shining a light on the social taboos surrounding domestic violence, child abuse, and the complexities of young marriage in Korea. Divorce Consideration Camp continues to evoke a national conversation, exposing raw emotional wounds from participants’ pasts while challenging viewers to reflect on their own views about relationships, trauma, and healing.