The echoes of Professor Robert E. Kelly's hilarious video in which his children interrupt while interviewed live by the BBC are still echoing. Unwittingly, he and his family have become famous for starring in what is already considered the viral video of the year with 86 million views on Facebook.
Following the expectation caused, the professor and his wife, along with their two children, gave an interview for The Wall Street Journal and the BBC to tell the behind the scenes, what really happened at home in those fun minutes that catapulted them to fame.
"I made a small mistake that made my family a YouTube star."Kelly and his wife, Kim Jung-A, along with their two children, Marion (4 years old) and James (8 months old), gave their first interview, also live, but this time in a much more relaxed atmosphere.
Rebuilding the scene
Robert E. Kelly is a professor at the Pusan National University in South Korea, and a specialist in East Asian affairs. Due to the serious political crisis in that country, the BBC contacted him to ask him some questions about it. Being 7 pm in Korea, the easiest way was to do it on Skype live during the broadcast of the program.
Kelly sat in front of the computer to connect dressed in a shirt and tie, but behind the desk was wearing jeans that could not be seen on camera.
His wife was in the living room recording with her mobile phone her husband's interview in real time, although with a small delay. That is what the woman saw on the living room television had happened seconds ago in real time.
Her husband usually put the latch on the door of the office before making a videoconference, precisely because with children at home going around you never know ... But that day forgot to take that precaution.
"We understand why it has become a viral video that people enjoy. We've seen it several times," he confesses.The interruption
The woman, convinced that her husband was locked in his office, recorded the interview when he suddenly sees on television that his daughter Marion, who had celebrated her birthday at school that day, entered dancing and singing happily and approached her father. At that moment, "as soon as the door opened" and the teacher saw his daughter on the screen dressed in a yellow shirt, he knew that the thing was not going to end well.
Behind his sister, little James quickly and quickly entered his walker. "When I heard James shout, I knew it was over," Kelly says. Due to the delay in issuance, the woman did not realize that the children had entered the office until she saw them on screen. It was late.
Hence the desperation with which Kim bursts into the room to try to take the children as quickly and concealedly as possible. She is even crouched as if trying not to appear on camera, but it was the opposite. The professor confesses that "it was hard to endure laughter".
It's the mother, not the babysitter
The video did not lack controversy around the presumption of many people to believe that the woman in the video was the nanny and not the mother of the children. Kim herself clarifies in the interview: "I am not a babysitter, so I hope you stop saying that."
There were also comments on the way of acting of the teacher who separates the girl in a "little respectful" way for some and explained that when wearing jeans he did not want to get up, so he could not do more than move his arms to try to get the girl out of the room.
The way in which the mother removes the children from the room also received many criticisms, to which the professor considers that his wife handled the unexpected situation correctly.
Kelly acknowledges that when she sees the video she feels "a mixture of surprise, shame and fun. Also of love and affection, because she is adorable." In the end "They are young children and this is how things are."
