Wife Secretly Worked at an Entertainment Bar While Husband Was Paralyzed: "It Was the Only Way to Make a Living"

"I Had No Other Way to Make a Living," She Says

The story has emerged of a husband, who was left paralyzed from the waist down after an unexpected accident, contemplating divorce after discovering that his wife—who had been supporting the family in his stead—had been working at an entertainment establishment. This revelation has prompted further discussion on how to distinguish between legal judgment and moral responsibility regarding the wife’s actions, which she chose amid financial hardship.

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On June 7, a video titled "My wife secretly worked at a bar while I was injured to support our family. Should I get a divorce?" was released on lawyer Yang Narae’s YouTube channel. The story was submitted by Mr. A, a man in his mid-30s in his fourth year of marriage, who had been living as a dual-income household with his wife while repaying both their student loans and a jeonse (long-term rental) loan.

One early morning, however, Mr. A suffered a severe spinal injury in a motorcycle accident on his way to work, resulting in a diagnosis of lower-body paralysis. With long-term rehabilitation ahead, the responsibility of supporting the household effectively fell to his wife. Mr. A recalled, "My wife told me, 'You just focus on your rehabilitation. I will take care of everything,'" and remembered her devoted care immediately after the accident.

Afterward, his wife said she was working at a logistics center where she could earn night shift pay. However, over time, Mr. A became suspicious of the recurring smell of cigarettes and strong perfume on her. She explained, "The person I work with smokes a lot, so I use perfume to cover up the smell," but his doubts did not subside easily.

Eventually, Mr. A asked a friend to check where his wife was going to work. The friend found that, instead of a logistics center, she was working at an entertainment establishment. The friend sent Mr. A photos of his wife serving drinks, conversing, and singing for customers—typical hostess work. Mr. A was deeply shocked, as he had always thought of his wife as someone who neither enjoyed drinking nor had any connection to such places.

"It was impossible to handle the loans and hospital bills," she confesses

When Mr. A confronted his wife with the photos and asked her to tell the truth, she broke down in tears and shared her circumstances. She said, "I had to handle your student loan, my student loan, the jeonse loan, and even the hospital bills." She continued, "At first, I really did work at the logistics center, but I couldn’t physically endure it." She pleaded, "I ended up with no other way to make a living, and this was the only work I could find. It’s not something I ever wanted to do."

After this, it was reported that his wife returned to her parents’ home. Mr. A sought advice, saying, "I don’t know if this situation legally qualifies as grounds for divorce, or if actually getting a divorce is the right thing to do."

"Possible grounds for divorce, but difficult to judge based solely on right and wrong"

In response, lawyer Yang explained, "If the entertainment establishment work involved serving drinks or physical contact with customers, it could potentially be recognized as grounds for divorce." However, she added, "Given that the wife made this choice to support her family amid financial hardship, and that there were no particular problems in the marriage before the accident, it is difficult to make a judgment based solely on right and wrong."

She further advised, "While the wife’s actions cannot be fully justified, there is an aspect of her having made an extreme choice to take responsibility for the family following her husband’s accident. Rather than making an emotional decision, it is important for both to engage in sufficient conversation and carefully consider their future together."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.