'Goodbye, Peter Pan': 80 Minutes With a Terminally Ill Father… A Six-Month Promise That Moved the World

A battle for his son with severe autism, who would be left alone—the six months of devotion brought to the screen

"Soon, I’ll be gone. I have a son who can’t live without me. I may be gone, but I want my son to stay here on Earth and live."

The anguished words of the late writer Jeon Gyeong-cheol, known as the “Peter Pan dad,” who cared alone for his son with severe autism, have been brought to life in a documentary film. “Goodbye, Peter Pan,” an MBC special documentary that meticulously traces his moving final journey before his death last September, met audiences in a special theatrical screening.

The documentary grew out of the story of Jeon and his son, which gained widespread attention on MBC’s current-affairs program “True Story Expedition” in March and July. It condenses into an 80-minute film the late writer’s six months of determined struggle to establish “Neverland,” an independent community for people with the most profound developmental disabilities, and the nonprofit “Peter Pan Foundation.” Even after receiving a terminal diagnosis of end-stage liver cancer, Jeon pushed through excruciating pain as his body failed, devoting all his strength to creating a home for his son and others with disabilities who would be left behind.

Beyond a father’s tender love, the story becomes a call for social solidarity and public care

Producer Choi Cheol-hun, who directed the film, recalled how it began at a special screening and audience Q&A held on the 12th at CGV Yeongdeungpo Times Square in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo district. “The writer earnestly asked me to ‘document without holding anything back the arduous process of establishing the foundation and building Neverland,’” Choi said. “His point was that even if he couldn’t see it through and failed, someone else might find the courage to try, based on the record he left behind.” He added, “While the original broadcast focused on the father and son’s heartbreaking story, the documentary film expanded it into a social discussion and built a deeper sense of empathy.”

The theater was filled with the tears of audience members deeply moved by the father and son’s heartrending daily life. Especially affecting were the scenes of Jeon’s solitary figure keeping watch in an empty room after sending his son to a care center as his illness worsened, and their tearful two-day, one-night farewell trip, taken with the feeling that it might be their last.

Choi said the most rewarding moment of the project came during the foundation’s application for authorization. “I felt indescribable emotion and fulfillment when, on top of viewers’ enthusiastic response, donations from so many people steadily came in and we met the formal requirements to apply to establish the foundation,” he said.

Lee Yeon-sil, CEO of publisher Iyagijangsu, which released the essay “Goodbye, Peter Pan,” also shared behind-the-scenes details. “The late writer asked us to publish the book within a month and donated all the royalties to the foundation,” Lee said. “Readers bought the book with a heartfelt sense of solidarity, as if placing one brick in the Neverland village, and made it the No. 1 overall bestseller.” She added, “The writer stressed, ‘Make sure history remembers that a father and son like this truly existed in some corner of the world.’ Seeing their vivid presence on screen, it feels as if the late writer’s burning passion is still alive and breathing.”

Preserving dignity even without caregivers… The 'Neverland Village No. 1' project moves forward

Jeon likened his son, whose cognitive development remained at the level of a young child, to Peter Pan, the eternal boy who never enters the adult world. “I steadied myself by thinking of my son not as a tragic person with autism, but as an innocent hero in a fairy tale. Isn’t that much more romantic?” he once said, turning despair into love.

The noble legacy the father left behind is becoming a solid foundation for real change. According to Im Ji-young, executive director of the Peter Pan Foundation’s founding committee, Jeon deposited all his assets in a public-interest corporation’s account just before his death, devoting the last of his strength to launching the foundation.

“We have officially submitted the application for authorization to establish the foundation to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the relevant government agency, and the approval process is underway,” Im said. “Once authorization is granted, we plan to secure a site near Gyeonggi Province or Chungcheong, with access to medical care, and begin construction on ‘Neverland Village No. 1.’” Im added, “We will establish a tailored housing system with ‘one person per room’ that fully protects the independence and human rights of people with developmental disabilities even when their caregivers are no longer there, and pursue nationwide expansion with Villages No. 2 and No. 3.”

Lee Seong-ju, president of MBC, who attended the special screening, said, “This work does more than shine a light on one father’s noble love. It prompts us to reflect on the shortcomings of the care system for vulnerable people—a challenge our entire community must confront head-on.” He added, “I hope the film’s powerful message will become a compassionate compass guiding improvements to social policy.”

Following its special theatrical screenings, the documentary “Goodbye, Peter Pan” is scheduled to air nationwide on MBC TV.