Singer Ahn Chi-hwan reveals stage 3 rectal cancer battle, 40-year marriage, and son's album art on MBN talk show

A cancer diagnosis, a childhood sweetheart, and a missed competition

Ahn Chi-hwan sat down for episode 47 of MBN's Kim Ju-ha's Day and Night on October 17 at 9:40 PM and spent the hour unpacking personal history he had largely kept private.

He was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer in 2014 and lost 15 kg during treatment. His wife—an elementary school classmate he began dating in the second year of middle school—stayed by his side throughout. "Life hasn't only had good things in the middle," he said, "but my current wife cannot be anything but first." He also described her as his first love.

The competition he accidentally skipped

Ahn Chi-hwan entered a university song competition to get an honest read on his singing ability. He cleared the first preliminary round. Then he mixed up the date for the second and never showed up.

"If I had participated in the university song festival back then, my musical path afterward might have been very different," he said—40 years into a career that clearly went somewhere regardless.

His son's drawings, on every album

For over a decade, Ahn Chi-hwan's son has been making the artwork for his album covers. It started when the son was in middle school. Ahn asked him to draw one picture to match a song, and the collaboration has continued for more than ten years since. (A folk singer quietly building a family art practice across 10+ albums is genuinely remarkable.)

Ahn Chi-hwan is marking his 40th debut anniversary this year. He will hold a debut 40th anniversary and 15th album release concert in Seoul on November 7. Kim Ju-ha's Day and Night airs every Saturday at 9:40 PM on MBN.