Yoon Shi-yoon opened up about why he whisked his mother away on a trip to Mongolia.
On the Aug. 24 episode of SBS’ "My Little Old Boy," the actor and his mom continued their Mongolian adventure.
Cruising in a Purgon off-road van, the pair got nostalgic, reminiscing about the days they lived in a tiny one-room apartment with a shared bathroom ― and the moment they finally had a bathroom of their own.
“Even though it was the previous owner’s toilet, you scrubbed it spotless and told me to try it first,” Yoon recalled.
His mother smiled, “I sat there hugging the toilet for a while. I felt like I’d achieved something.”
“That’s why I clean bathrooms,” Yoon added. “When I sit alone in a spacious bathroom, it hits me ― I’ve made it far enough to use a nice one. So I keep it extra clean.”
After their drive, they soaked in the vast Mongolian steppe, checked into a five-star ger (luxury yurt) and even tried camel riding.
“What a treat ― all thanks to my son,” his mother said, delighted by the firsts she was experiencing.
Yoon also cooked lamb for her right on the grasslands. “It tastes even better because my son made it,” she said, clearly pleased.
As the trip wrapped, both called it “a truly happy time.” Yoon then shared why Mongolia was the pick: “I wanted to take a young person’s trip with my mom ― because she never really got to have a youth.”
He explained that his mother once dreamed of going to a college festival but turned down a friend’s invite, worried people would realize she wasn’t a student. “Hearing that broke my heart,” he said. “So now I want her to experience those little pieces of youth, one by one.”
His mother admitted, “I always carried a regret about my education. I went back to school to finish what I started,” adding that being on campus brings her joy.
Yoon proudly revealed she aced four out of seven finals. “I bragged about her to everyone in the waiting area,” he said with a grin.
Under a sky crowded with stars, his mother made one more promise: next exam period, she’ll aim for perfect scores in every subject ― except math ― leaving viewers with warm smiles.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Hyo-jung)