Park Kyung’s Hardships of Being an Idol
Block B, who are known for their mischievous image and scandalous existence, made listeners laugh with their playful attitudes during the broadcast that sometimes could come across as rude in some cases. This has been a point of trouble for the members in the beginning as they have been involved in several attitude scandals regarding statements that have been considered rude and inconsiderate by others. This even led to their hiatus, before coming back, after leaving their old agency, and establishing Seven Seasons to handle their activities so on and forth.
With the lack of schedules during their hiatus, problems with their agency regarding unfair treatment and management, it had become a point of contention between the members and led to some very extreme reactions. The first prominent instance of this came on January 5th, when Park Kyung spoke to BBC Korea about the psychological hardships faced by him personally and some other idols he knew of. Park appeared during a lengthy Facebook Live in an interview where he addressed the pressures of becoming a K-Pop idol that fans might not be aware of.
He revealed, “There are many people who debuted with no sense of self yet, and they come to realize later that every move and every word they say is being observed so they become cautious and lose their freedom,” he said, according to a translation. “So personally, I think celebrities have a hard time dealing with their emotions… they don’t have many opportunities to express how they really feel since their job requires them to hide their emotions.”
When asked, Park said he had not seen a professional therapist but that he turned to prayer during hard times. This seems to refer to himself and the band during the times where they were involved with the rude personality claims, as the interview was done behind the scenes, thus, at the time they were not aware of how they should have acted as a barely debuted idol.
In another group appearance, when asked, “Who is the member that is most sensitive to online comments?” members B-Bomb and U-Kwon chose Zico, while Taeil picked Park Kyung. U-Kwon said, “I have seen Zico look himself up online multiple times. When news about this comes out, he will probably see it.” Taeil also joked, “I never talk about him as a lot of articles get written when Zico is mentioned, and [Zico] has cursed at me before [about this].” Park Kyung added, “That cursing, I have received a lot also.” He went on to explain that since Zico is the most well-known member, he gets mentioned a lot.
B-Bomb said, “We are going to get another phone call when this information gets published in an article,” making the listeners laugh at their jokes as they showed off their realistic friendship. Seeing as how the members are able to joke about these things nowadays, it seems that they have gotten over their most self-conscious days. Despite it, Block B are living proofs that negative comments on social media do impact the people subjected to it and can become a very big burden for each of the members and other idols out there.
Park Kyung, it seems though, has found a way to overcome those stressors that come in the form of negative comments. He revealed that he leaves comments on articles about himself without comments or ones with overwhelmingly negative comments, in order to lift his spirits and cheer himself up. He confessed, “I am actually the one with the username ‘Jjongie’s Mom.’ In the past, I left a lot of comments such as, ‘It is nice to see Park Kyung because he feels like a son.’”
In that same show, Block B also reminisced about their past as they talked about their most unforgettable moment despite all the struggles that they have gone through, which they chose to be the first time they won No. 1 on a music show. Taeil revealed that he had been crying alone in the bathroom when he noticed that P.O was actually crying in the next stall, and the members expressed their shock by saying, “I can’t believe the manliest members of Block B, Taeil and P.O, cried in a bathroom together!” This could be proof of all the burdens that are suddenly released due to winning the trophy, as surely the tears cried are all happy tears but surely it must’ve been a big relief for them to have won that No.1 after all the hardships they went through.
A more recent example of a conflict that arose and was blown up by the media is the fact that in November of last year, Block B member Zico decided to end his contract with Seven Seasons and establish his own company to handle his solo activities. After the announcement of his departure, members of Block B, Park Kyung included, made light of the situation with sarcastic jokes on their SNS, with a photo of a carton of ZICO coconut water, Park Kyung wrote, “Why are you alone?” He added in the hashtags, “It’s especially tasty today,” “Tasty,” and “It’s just a drink,” causing misunderstanding and uproar within the public. While appearing as a guest on MBC every1’s Video Star, Block B’s Park Kyung took the opportunity to explain the said situation and his recent Instagram post about Zico.
In the variety show, Park Kyung explained, “Zico and I have been friends since elementary school. He decided not to renew his contract this time. I thought that the fans might be upset, so I jokingly posted it thinking that it would be nice for the fans to laugh about it.” He added, “Before I posted it, I asked Zico, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if I posted this?’ in our chatroom, and Zico laughed too. It was something I posted after receiving Zico’s consent.” Park Kyung concluded with a video message to his members by saying, “There are members going to the military and we haven’t been on stage together because we’re busy individually, but I hope we can quickly put on a great performance together soon. I love you.”
Park Kyung’s Latest News
One of Park Kyung’s most recent ventures is in the world of radio DJ-ing, as he has recently started as one of the guest DJ’s called to fill in MBC FM4U’s Dreaming Radio. He will be filling in for Highlight’s Yang Yo-seob, as he is soon due to complete his mandatory military enlistment, for the next 4 weeks, starting from January 6th, 2019. On one of his first shows as the radio’s DJ, Block B members have come together to visit and support his new project. Block B members B-Bomb, U-Kwon, Taeil, and P.O came as guests to support the special DJ Park Kyung and share some of their anecdotes about the new DJ. Despite originally being unable to attend due to a conflicting schedule, P.O hurried over after his schedule to make it in time before the end of the radio broadcast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTGApkR6Z0c
Park Kyung and his fellow Block B members spent the time on the radio recalling some old anecdotes of their time as idols, answering fan questions and requests, while also testing Park Kyung’s DJ-ing abilities. Although Park Kyung jokingly said, “I’m not sure if the members came here to support me or to attack me,” the members showed their support and loyalty to Park Kyung in the end. The members supported him by saying, “Honestly, we came here to bother you, but you didn’t even stop us, and you were very good.” Park Kyung earnestly showed his skills as DJ, handling his fellow member’s purposely lousy reactions for jokes and overtly adult language with ease.
So what do you think of Park Kyung’s sudden interest in Bitcoin? Is it wise to suddenly dive into the world of cryptocurrency? Comment your thoughts and opinions in the section below!
