Comedian Oh Ji-heon on cutting ties with his father — who once earned two Apgujeong apartments' worth a month

Comedian Oh Ji-heon, 47, has opened up about a childhood that was materially comfortable yet emotionally painful, shaped by his parents' divorce and an eventual estrangement from his father.

Oh appeared Sunday on MBN's "Dangsin-i Apeun Sai," a health and life-story talk show, to share his personal history.

"My father was one of the top Korean history lecturers in the early 1990s," Oh said. "He taught from morning to evening in a hall that combined five classrooms." He added that a single apartment in Apgujeong cost around 20 million to 30 million won ($21,100) at the time, while his father's monthly income was about 50 million won.

Oh grew up in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam — one of Seoul's most affluent neighborhoods. He recalled living in a house of more than 330 square meters with a yard and a swimming pool, with a private driver for his father.

"You'd think a rich man's son would have nothing to envy and be perfectly happy, but I wasn't," he said. "My mother wanted my father to be devoted to the family, but he put work before us. By the time I was in my final year of high school, things between my parents had gotten so bad that they divorced."

Oh said he moved in with his father after the divorce and fell into a deep depression that hurt his grades. "My grades weren't bad to begin with, but my father had seen so many top-tier students that, even though he didn't mean to look down on me, his words came across that way — and it weighed on me," he said.

After his college entrance exam, Oh left his father's home and went to his mother, only to find her in difficult circumstances. "After the divorce, my mother left the house with nothing and was living at my aunt's place," he said. "She had never worked before and was living hand to mouth, so she was in no position to look after me." He spent a year at a boarding hagwon to prepare for a retake of the exam.

Despite her hardship, his mother scraped together the money to support his education, and Oh went on to university. He worked part-time jobs to cover tuition and living expenses.

Oh had never planned on becoming a comedian, but everything changed when he entered a celebrity impressions contest to earn some extra money and won first prize — 10 million won. That victory led him to make his debut in 2003 as part of KBS's 18th class of recruited comedians, where he went on to perform on "Gag Concert."

He was estranged from his father for eight years before a call about his grandmother's failing health brought them back together. His wife gradually persuaded him to rebuild the relationship, and the two have since reconciled to the point where his father has appeared on Oh's YouTube channel.

"As I gained more experience in the world, I came to understand my father to some degree," Oh said. "It wasn't until I became a father myself that I realized he did care about me — he just hadn't shown it."