Although these idols seem to have perfect lives, they had gone through hard times before they became famous.
- Aug 15, 2017
AceShowbiz - Everyone knows that being a K-pop idol is not easy. Idols have to practice very hard for years as well as compete with fellow trainees in order to debut. However, for some stars, harsh trainee life wasn't the only thing that they had to endure before becoming famous. These are some K-pop idols whose painful past would bring us to tears.
Infinite's Hoya
Hoya of Infinite has always had a strained relationship with his father since he was young. He was never close to his father, who often became angry at his family, and their relationship worsened after Hoya dropped out of high school to become a singer.
The "Special Girl" rapper tried to convince his father that leaving high school would allow him to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, but his effort went in vain. His father beat him up with a baseball bat. "To be honest, I wanted to cut him off from my family register," Hoya's father, Lee Jin Oh, said during an appearance on "My Father". Hoya eventually left home and didn't contact his father for 8 years.
Sandara Park
Before she returned to South Korea, Sandara Park was a pretty popular actress in Philippines. She rose to fame after finishing second on talent show "Star Quest". However, her fame quickly faded, forcing her to do sexy photoshoots. The money she earned was used by her father to gamble. He later left the family for another woman and took all of their money.
Sandara became the breadwinner of her family and worked hard to pay for her siblings' education. She then decided to return to Korea in 2007 and eventually debuted with 2NE1 in 2009. Her brother Cheondung a.k.a. Thunder also became a singer and debuted with MBLAQ the following year.
JYJ's Hero Jaejoong
Hero Jaejoong of JYJ was given up for adoption by his biological mother because she was too poor to support him. He was later adopted into a family, but he was still unable to escape poverty. At the age of 15, Jaejoong moved to Seoul all by himself to pursue a career as a singer. Since he had no money, the "Protect the Boss" star had to take so many part-time jobs to pay his rent.
Jaejoong also often donated his blood a lot to get extra money, although the money used to be exchanged for biscuits. The "Manhole" actor also revealed that he once walked for 3 hours to his dorm because he wanted to save up money.
Goo Hara
Goo Hara's parents divorced when she was 7 years old. She lived with grandmother after their split, but her grandmother struggled to support her. The former Kara member was bullied in elementary school because she came from a broken home.
Hara had to deal with bullying throughout her school years. When she was in high school, she was often bullied by female seniors because she was popular among male seniors. "It wasn't just simply bullying though, it was a lot more shocking. Girls would come to my classroom and beat me up," she revealed during an appearance on "Nocturnal", before adding, "They really did beat me up until I was about to die!"
IU
IU had always wanted to pursue a career in the entertainment industry since she was a little, but she had to give up her dream when her parents went bankrupt. Due to her family's poor financial condition, she and her brother couldn't live with their parents. She lived with her grandmother and cousins in a small studio.
During her middle school years, the "Good Day" hitmaker started to dream to become a singer. She went to over 20 auditions, only to get rejected every single time. She was also scammed by many fake agencies. "Before debuting, I was actually scammed on multiple accounts," she revealed during an appearance on "Happy Together 3".
"Usually when a company asks you for money, they're definitely trying to scam you out of your money. However, I was swindled by three companies before I realized what was happening," she continued. "These companies can demand up to 3 million Won. If you do succumb to their high price, all they do is give you a few stints as an extra. I actually lost a great deal of money to these guys."
Super Junior's Leeteuk
Leeteuk of Super Junior always looks happy and energetic, but he had a very tough childhood because his family was poor. His parents fought a lot of because of their financial state before splitting when he was just 5 years old. As a child, Leeteuk was often beaten up by his father, causing him to fear his father a lot.
Although he managed to become successful, Leeteuk's family condition only worsened. In 2014, his father killed Leeteuk's grandparents before hanging himself. He left a suicide note which read, "I will bring my parents with me. My children, I am sorry. Please forgive me."
