When the kids crash your BBC interview

LONDON - There are well-known drawbacks to working from home: the isolation, the need for self-discipline. But here is a new one: The invasion of the toddlers. The New York Times reports how Robert E. Kelly, a political-science professor at Pusan National University in South Korea, learned this the hard way on Friday when he appeared as an expert on the BBC via Skype to discuss the South Korea impeachment scandal. He appeared to be in a home office, with a door closed behind him. Shortly before the interview, he innocently let his Twitter followers know he would be on TV. Then, as the questioning began, the door opened. A child toddled in. Then another strolled in, this time in a squeaky walker. And then their mother, Jung-a Kim, burst into the scene, skidding around a corner and frantically trying to herd the wayward young people out the door. She knocked books off a table before falling to her knees and grabbing the handle to close the door, finally, behind them all. The interruption, almost slapstick if it had not been real, was over within 40 seconds, during which Professor Kelly veered from apparent mild annoyance to repeated apologies to stifling smiles, while ultimately keeping his composure as he discussed the latest political drama underway in South Korea, where a court had removed President Park Geun-hye from office. The toddler intrusion starts just as the BBC World presenter, James Menendez, starts to ask him a question. “And what will it mean for the wider region — I think one of your children has just walked in,” he said to Professor Kelly. He continues, gamely: “Do you think relations with the North may change?” “Umm I would be surprised if they do … the um … pardon me. My apologies,” Professor Kelly said, closing his eyes and smiling - or grimacing - as the sound of the objects toppling off the table and squeals of protest came from behind him. While the professor appeared to do his best to keep the live broadcast on an even professional keel, the clip was inevitably destined to do what these things do: Spread widely across the internet. - Agencies