Kim Jaejoong [YouTube channel 'Kkondaehui']
Kim Jaejoong [YouTube channel 'Kkondaehui']

Singer Kim Jaejoong, a former member of Dong Bang Shin Ki, has opened up about being a victim of school bullying.

Kim recently appeared as a guest on "Kkondaehui," a YouTube channel hosted by comedian Kim Daehee.

When Kim Daehee marveled at Kim Jaejoong's looks and asked, "You were born handsome, right? You didn't even get acne during puberty," Kim Jaejoong replied, "I never really went through any notable puberty changes. Life was too hard for me to even notice puberty. I kept wondering why they kept hitting me" — revealing that he had been subjected to school violence.

Kim said his family was not well-off and he was not a strong student, which meant he was surrounded by troubled peers — something he hated and desperately wanted to escape.

"From my school days, kids would pick fights with slightly fairer-skinned kids, ones who were different from them, and drag them into back alleys," he said. "There was a pretty girl at school who liked me. The older guys found out she liked me and dragged me off because of it."

He also said, "I have a slight case of tech neck — it's because I spent so much time as a kid walking with my head down, looking at the ground. I didn't want to make eye contact." He added that even though there was a straight path from his home to school, he would take a detour up a hillside trail just to avoid running into those students.

Kim Daehee expressed sympathy, saying, "You've really had a rough road — even with all your popularity." Kim Jaejoong replied, "That's exactly why I really root for good-looking people. Guys who are really handsome have it so hard. It's uncomfortable."


paq@heraldcorp.com