Kim Yo Han Talks About Giving Up Athlete Career, Malicious Comments After "Produce X 101," And More

Aug 26, 2020

On the August 26 episode of MBC’s “Radio Star,” Kim Yo Han, HyunA, Jang Young Nam, and Shin So Yul appeared as guests.

During the show, Kim Yo Han talked about his career as an athlete, singer, and more. “I did taekwondo for 13 years,” he said. “I won twice at the national sports festival. I went to university on a scholarship, but I was injured while training. My ankle hadn’t been in a good condition since middle school and it developed into a chronic injury.”

He continued, “My father was very strict. He was in charge of a taekwondo team in another country at the time. If he had been in Korea, I would’ve been too scared to tell him, but after I realized that this path wasn’t for me, I told my coach that I was going to stop taekwondo.”

Kim Yo Han shared that he made up his mind to become an entertainer, auditioned as an actor, and joined an agency. “The first time that I sang in the practice room was for the ‘Produce X 101’ video,” he said. “I worked hard because I’d been given a chance and the results were good.”

Just before X1’s debut, Kim Yo Han sustained an injury that prevented him from fully participating in promotions. “As I said before, my ankle wasn’t in a good condition, and I twisted it during the pre-taped recording so that the ligament tore,” he explained. “I wanted to do the recording again, but I couldn’t move because of the pain. I went to the emergency room and got a painkiller and came back. The other members told me not to get back on stage, that there would be other opportunities and it wasn’t like this was the last chance. But from my perspective, we had prepared for so long and I felt apologetic about not being able to show the group’s complete performance on our first music show. I said that I would do it just for that day, wrapped up my ankle, and went back up on stage. After that, my takes were included separately in the performance.”

Kim Yo Han also talked about the malicious comments that arose after his rise to popularity on “Produce X 101.” “I didn’t know anything about the entertainment industry when I came in,” he said. “I received so much love on ‘Produce X 101,’ but along with the popularity came a lot of malicious comments and rumors. The nature of the show was so strong. I suddenly became anxious about going outside and meeting people who might curse at me.”

He continued, “But I thought, ‘This is just the beginning,’ so I worked hard to overcome it.” HyunA said sympathetically, “When I see my peers and people like Kim Yo Han work so hard to promote, I feel pity for them and want to cheer them on.”

Kim Yo Han shared his experience working with Jessi on the music program “Battle of the Musicians.” He said, “The first time I met her, I heard her swear and I froze in shock. But as I got to know her, I realized that she’s very sweet and has a lot of aegyo [acting cutesy].” He demonstrated his own “aegyo” in the way he calls the older female members “noona” on the show. Asked about Jessi’s response, Kim Yo Han replied, “She said, ‘Kim Yo Han, stop acting like a baby.'”

He then showed a little of the hanbok performance that he had performed with Jessi and Song Ga In on the show.