Ryu Ji-won, who is also a former member of the girl group Good Day, recently confessed to battling leukemia. She announced her diagnosis on August 14 through her Instagram. While sharing photos of her ongoing treatment, Ryu Ji-won, 28, wrote (translated from Korean by allkpop), “It’s already been three months since I was suddenly hospitalized and diagnosed with leukemia without even knowing what was happening.”
Ryu Jiwon (IRRIS I.L, former RedSquare, Good Day, The Unit) has revealed in a recent Naver blog that she has been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (a type of blood cancer). pic.twitter.com/wy1lRyMp5e
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She also revealed having completed her first and second rounds of treatment. As per her post, J-won is undergoing her third phase of treatment. The actor further wrote, “I am grateful that the first two rounds went by smoothly, to the point where I sometimes forget I am fighting a serious illness.”
Ryu Ji-won also reflected on her emotional journey to date and wrote, “When I was first diagnosed, I did not want comfort or contact from anyone and felt like I had fallen into a deep pit. But the calls and messages from my family, friends, and loved ones warmed my heart and made me feel better. I realized that humans cannot live alone.”
The former Good Day member also seems to have struggled with her self-image during treatment, as she mentioned, “With my hair gone and significant weight gain, I felt so unfamiliar with myself, as I was used to showing only a polished image. I was afraid of how others would see me, so even posting a single photo was terrifying.”
Later, Ji-won talked about finally finding the courage to share her story with everyone and said, “I have finally reached a point where I can post photos and updates to show that I am managing relatively well. After a long time, I am writing to let everyone know how I have been.”
Lastly, she added, “I still have a big challenge ahead, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, but I want to overcome it quickly, return to my daily life, and be even healthier than before I got sick. I hope everyone stays healthy in their own lives.”
This confession by Ryu Ji-won has left many of her fans emotional, who are now praying for their favorite artist to get well soon.
On the work front, she debuted with the name Genie in the girl group Good Day in 2017. Unfortunately, the group disbanded soon, and Ji-won debuted as a member of another group, IRRIS.
Later, she decided to bid goodbye to her idol career and transitioned to acting. Ji-won played the role of Chae Ah in Idol and also played the younger version of Kim Ha Neul’s character in Red Swan. Later, she played the lead role of Yoo Jung in the web drama titled READY TO BEAT.