An academic who went viral after his kids crashed his live BBC News interview six years ago has shared new photos of his family.
Robert E. Kelly, a political science professor at South Korea’s Pusan National University (PNU), was commenting on South Korean politics from his home for the virtual interview on March 10, 2017, when his children burst into his room.
Marion, who was then celebrating her fourth birthday, was the first to waltz into her father’s room. Her school had just thrown a party for her, which explains why she was “in a hippity-hoppity mood,” Kelly said.
Seconds later, then-8-months-old James barged in with his walker.
At that point, the father-of-two said he knew “it was over.”
Kelly’s wife, Kim Jung-a, then entered the scene in a desperate attempt to retrieve their children and save the interview.
Subscribe to
NextShark's Newsletter
A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.
Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories to your inbox daily for free.
Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive.
But, as the story goes, it was too late, and the moment would soon be immortalized in a now-viral video with over 54 million views.
In an update tweet on Tuesday, Kelly shared new photos of his family, showing Marion and James all grown up.
“Some BBC Dad content since the 6th anniversary of the original video was last Friday,” Kelly wrote. “Marion had a singing performance this past weekend, so we got some nice family pictures.”
The doting father thanked those who have continued to support him.
“Thanks again to all of you who follow me because of the video. My family and I [are] flattered by your kindness.”
People responded with delight to what has become an internet “core memory.”
“I do think it’s the best thing the internet has ever produced,” wrote Brandon Stanton, creator of Humans of New York.
Journalist Benjamin Ryan replied: “I love your story because it gave everyone a chance to laugh at the craziness of family life.”
“You have a beautiful family. And you prepared us all for the post-pandemic world of Zoom. Trailblazer.”
