Lee Dong-gook, upset by the 'prejudiced views' toward his son: "He cried after playing soccer and even his character was mentioned," he confided.

Lee Dong-gook mentioned the prejudice and pain his son, who is growing as a soccer player, experiences because of his father’s name. In the 59th episode of tvN STORY’s ″What’s the Point of Leaving It Behind″ aired on the 7th, Lee Dong-gook and Lee Jong-beom shared their concerns as parents raising children to be athletes while having a meal with Park Se-ri and Lee Young-ja. Lee Jong-beom asked Lee Dong-gook, ″Your son plays the same sport as you. Don’t you feel the different looks from people around? You can sense jealousy because he is Lee Dong-gook’s son,″ to which Lee Dong-gook replied, ″That’s always there, inevitably.″ Lee Dong-gook revealed that even when he goes to watch his son’s games, he is not seen simply as a parent. He said, ″When I meet other parents, I go there as a parent, but they keep approaching me as a coach.″ He continued, ″Even if he reaches a certain level through his own effort, there are always rumors like ’It’s all about DNA’ or ’Who his father is.’ After my son missed a penalty kick, he cried because people said, ’How can Lee Dong-gook’s son miss that?’″ At that time, Lee Dong-gook quietly watched the game wearing a hat and sunglasses, and he revealed that his son heard those remarks directly from the officials. Lee Jong-beom also shared his experience of not going to the baseball stadium when his son Lee Jung-hoo was in the 6th grade of elementary school. He said, ″The looks from other parents were not good, and if it got out, they thought only Jung-hoo was getting special treatment.″ Lee Jong-beom added, ″I also heard things like ’Because his father is Lee Jong-beom, he plays even if he’s not good,’ and ’He’s not playing because of his skill.’″ Lee Jong-beom said that even harsher words could be heard when his son enters middle and high school, and Lee Dong-gook revealed that his name is mentioned even during physical confrontations or fouls in games. Lee Dong-gook said, ″In soccer, there are physical battles. If my son commits a foul during a physical battle, people say, ’He’s Lee Dong-gook’s son, so why is his character like that?’″ He added, ″Tackles are part of the game, but they talk about it like that.″