Former ZE:A member Kim Taeheon recalled his difficult idol days.
The YouTube channel ‘NextTaeheon’ released a video on the 20th titled, “‘Back then this was the \’norm.\’ A Story of 2nd Generation Idol Culture Unimaginable to Today’s Idols | [NXTH_NextTaeheon]’.”
On this day, Kim Taeheon drove a late-night taxi. A passenger who boarded his car remarked, “I briefly saw your face before getting in and you looked very youthful. You must be quite popular.”
Kim explained, “I used to be an idol for a long time, in a group called ZE:A,” to which the passenger responded, “I really liked that group. I even worked as a staff member at a broadcasting station in the past.”
The passenger commented on the extreme difficulties faced by idols, stating, “Idols work so terribly hard. Watching the group managers was even scary for us.” Kim corroborated this, revealing, “We were cursed at, spat on, kicked, and even hit.”
Reflecting on his early idol years, Kim said, “I didn’t realize it was such a tough job. We didn’t even have phones back then, and there was no concept of human rights.”
Image source: YouTube ‘NextTaeheon’
