[Article] Kim Hyunjoong talks about his life experiences on TVBS's "The Person"

Credit: koreaboo.com

We previously reported that Kim Hyunjoong became the first Korean celebrity to guest on Taiwan's TVBS "The Person", and the episode finally aired on August 28th. On the show, Kim Hyunjoong talked about his life experiences including his childhood, family, debut, acting career, singing career, and his love life.

First, Hyunjoong talked about how he was surprised when he first visited Taiwan 2 years ago. Many fans awaited at the airport for his arrival along with other SS501 members and he thought, "Wow so many people like us." When asked by the host if he has gotten use to it after being in the industry for a period of time, Hyunjoong said he has never really gotten use to arriving to the welcome of so many people. He said, "No matter how many times you experience this kind of thing, it always still feels mysterious."

The host then said many young people these days want to enter society early like Hyunjoong did, at the age of 19. Many young people admire him and want to also enter the industry and become a celebrity. The host then asked Hyunjoong if he had any advice for these young people. Hyunjoong said, "To these students, I want to say don't just have an empty dream. Walk the path one step at a time. Have a firm foundation before entering the industry. For example: practice acting, dancing, and singing. They have to begin when they are young and practice little by little. Even though they are young they will also have the opportunity to debut and may be even more colorful than those already in the industry."

Hyunjoong then talked about how he has become who he is today. It has been 6 years since his debut at 19 and he is now 25. He said that he thinks there are about 100 million people in Asia who want to become a celebrity. In order to stand out, you have to be willing to wake up earlier than others and practice longer/harder than others. He said anyone can become a singer and anyone can go into acting, but to become the top star you have to get use to waking up early and sleeping late. Hyunjoong then said the busiest times for him are the times before an album release and filming. When filming, Hyunjoong recalled in 5 days of filming he only got 5-6 hours of sleep. He said although it's somewhat hard to believe, that is the reality of it. He said for his singing career, he averages about 3-4 hours of sleep a day, dances about 7 hours a day, records for 5 hours a day, and exercise 2 hours a day.

He said that at 19, he filled out the withdrawal form from school on his own. At the time his parents did not really support his decision and he told them he would be responsible for his own decision till the end. He then said, "However, I would like to explain that cases like mine are rare. Only now do I realize some things like why you have to study/learn. Because I did not learn those things then, now I have to make up for it. Maybe a lot of students want to imitate my case, however I do not want them to be like me. I want them to use my case as an example and find a way to study as well as practice. This is what I want to tell them."

He said the most important lesson he learned from his parents is how to love others. He had once delivered pizza and worked at a fried chicken store to support himself after he withdrew from school. From these work experiences the most important lesson he learned was how to endure and not let emotions overwhelm him.

Hyunjoong also said he has changed his image for his mini album, "Break Down." He said he would like people to not see him as Yoon Jihoo ("Boys Over Flowers") or Baek Seungjo ("Playful Kiss"). Therefore, he shed these images by changing his image for the mini album. He said in the future, he will probably act in roles that are different from those.

Hyunjoong also revealed that he has had girlfriends just like any other normal person. However, in all his romantic experiences, he has always been the one that has been dumped. He said he's not sure what the reason is but it's probably just different views or opinions. He also said that although in the past he said he would marry and have a family by 30, it will probably not happen because he is currently very busy so he will probably delay thoughts of marriage until later.

To close the show, Hyunjoong got the opportunity to have some Korean BBQ. He said that the Taiwanese version of Korean BBQ is 90% similar to what can usually be found in Korea. When asked what his best dish is, Hyunjoong said it was instant noodles. He also revealed that he is the type that will eat everything that's put in front of him as long as it's edible, even if it's just instant noodles. The host then asked, "So if your future wife cooks only instant noodles, that will be okay?". Hyunjoong quickly said, "No, that won't be okay. I'll probably hate her."