Comedian Kim In-seok. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]
Comedian Kim In-seok. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]

Comedian Kim In-seok has revealed that he was once physically assaulted by a sunbae who was older than him but entered the industry later.

A video titled "Scammed out of 3 million won ($2,210) by a famous chef, and the first comedian to get hit by a junior!" was uploaded Sunday to comedian Mickey Gwangsu's YouTube channel "Namu Mickey Heungsinso."

Kim said that day, "I was the sunbae, but I got hit," prompting Mickey Gwangsu to react with shock, saying he had never seen a comedian get struck by someone junior to them.

Fellow guest Yoon Seong-ho offered a clue about the person in question, saying, "He's older than In-seok but entered later, and the two of them worked together as amateurs."

When Mickey Gwangsu asked whether the two had previously been close as friends before Kim became his sunbae first, Kim confirmed it. "It felt uncomfortable receiving a 90-degree bow from him, so I tried not to accept it — I pretended not to notice," Kim said. "He misunderstood that as me ignoring him." Kim then described what happened next: the man pulled him aside in an alley and said, "Are you ignoring me? Why aren't you accepting my greeting? Accept it properly." Kim said he responded, "Yes, I'll accept your greetings properly. I'm sorry."

When Mickey Gwangsu pressed for a name, saying he would bleep it out, Kim replied, "Who else could it be but that guy?"

Asked about their relationship afterward, Kim said the man "doesn't seem to remember it." When Mickey Gwangsu suggested it was perhaps because he had done it so many times, Kim opened up further. "It was such a shock to me. I couldn't forget it because I was so ashamed and humiliated that I had nearly been beaten by someone junior to me," he said.

When Mickey Gwangsu asked whether Kim had ever seen the same person act that way toward other sunbae, Kim said, "As far as I know, the others probably couldn't say anything either. He was so aggressive that there was no one who could keep him in check."

After the video was released, the comments section was flooded with speculation about who Kim was referring to. Many users directly named one individual or used expressions that pointed to him.

Commenters left remarks such as "It's that guy again," "When are you going to bring him on?" and "With a story this detailed, you don't even need to search," suggesting the clues Kim provided were enough to identify the person.


choigo@heraldcorp.com