1. I have hardly heard of this person since September 2019, when I got off the broadcast program I was working on.
Almost two years have passed, so there was a rumor that he was preparing for a comeback, but I didn't hear anything like that.
Then I heard that this person had published a book, and I wondered how he was living.
I asked to meet through an acquaintance.
I thought I would refuse, but I gladly accepted the request.
He seemed to have a lot to say.
-Why haven't you been broadcasting?
"I didn't want to hear that I was getting benefits. I didn't want to be noisy because of me. Whatever it is, once it's noisy, you don't do it. So, you can't do it. If it's noisy, I'm very sorry to others. For example, in the case of KBS, my The license fee goes up because of the appearance fee, so that's what it is... Is it okay? Then I just have to quit?
I am a person who is good at observing other people's feelings, so I knew what I wanted to say just by looking at the eyes of the production team, and I can't stand being uncomfortable with others because of him, so I left the program on my own before the other person spoke out.
He focused on lectures in direct contact with the public, but this was also stopped due to controversy over high lecture fees. As the corona crisis broke out, all six of the agency's employees were sent out. It is practically closed for business now. Of course, you drive yourself. I read and write in my own space. The most important task is to walk a dog named 'briquette' twice a day. It is also a big deal to solve three meals a day by yourself. I knit, study English, and meditate. Occasionally, he visits the mountains and gives video lectures to young people with Zoom twice a month. Two months ago, I got my excavator and forklift driving licenses. You say you're very busy, but there will be a lot of time when you can't do anything.
-I heard that you do 108 times every morning
. "I do 109 times. My mother is a member of the church, and she said 108 times would kill me, so I said 109 times, that's okay... It started a year ago. It takes about 20 minutes, but then it's completely on time. . All kinds of thoughts come up. I know that I have these thoughts. As I bow down, my mind also bows down."
His slim body, which appeared to have a waist of less than 30 inches, was clear evidence that this person was constantly moving his body regardless of his broadcasting activities. It was depicted that he was training his body as if sharpening a sword.
I first met this person who covered his face with dark sunglasses and a black mask in the SBS lobby on June 2nd. Broadcasters must be the second most comfortable space after home, and since the meeting was made through the introduction of a trusted acquaintance, there is a belief that at least the other party will not attack him maliciously, but he was not slowing his vigilance. It was a gesture of caution and caution that a celebrity with a known face could show, and it was a gesture of vigilance that went far beyond that. He was a person who had the idea that he should never be vigilant when meeting strangers. The thought that some of the people he meets may come to his SNS account and comment more than filth, the thought that he might suddenly come up to him and use abusive language, and that he is eating rice like someday with a Taegeukgi. The thought that it might be pricey must have made it this way.
-When we first met in the lobby, I got the impression that they were wary of us.
"When they go out, celebrities are working hours no matter how others see them. It's always a job where you have to set up tentacles like a gazelle, and there's always the thought that if you catch even a small pod, you'll really die. Maybe that's what happened to you."
- You seem to be very afraid of getting hurt.
"Yes, I'm afraid of getting hurt. Of course I'm afraid. My senior once said that. 'Cheer up. Cursing will come after you.' That's why I said, 'Because I've tried my best, I'm not immune to criticism. I think"
He said he hadn't looked up his name on the Internet for years.
"When I search for my name, there are hardly any good articles, and there are overwhelmingly bad articles. When I read bad articles, I purposely do not search because I think it will be difficult for me to protect myself."
I didn't want my living and working space to be exposed. He said it was because he needed a space free from the gaze and interest of others and a space where he could fully rest. Even when he showed his excavator license, he hid personal information and showed it. He did not give out his contact information. Additional questions and answers were also provided through a third party in the interim. It was uncomfortable, but it was understandable given what this person had gone through.
-Is it because you don't like having your privacy invaded by blatant anti-fans?
"It has nothing to do with that. I thought that I should have my own private space unknown to others, where I could live completely as myself, not just a celebrity, Je-dong Kim. Whether physically or psychologically…"
The image of a person who is extremely sensitive and cautious, with a clear boundary between the inside and the outside, did not disappear even after the four-and-a-half hour conversation ended.
2.
He was blacklisted by the National Intelligence Service during the Lee Myung-bak administration because he attended the funeral of former President Roh Moo-hyun. It was a clear persecution by power.
After the progressive government came into power, the microphone had to be released again amidst the controversy over whether the government received special favors. The current situation in which broadcasting activities cannot be performed properly under the conservative regime and the progressive regime is likely to be unfair, but I struggled to refrain from expressing that it was unfair.
"Regardless of right or wrong, it is the result of what I did. When what I did was accepted as a political act, symbolized, and then, how could someone else have been created instead of the uncontrollable me… I didn't intend that, but someone I want you to know only my good intentions. I can’t do that either… I have to accept the consequences of that.”
It was difficult when he was persecuted during his time in conservative power, but he had a cause and a cause. But it must have been even more painful for him in that the controversy over him in the progressive regime evoked words such as privilege, negligence, and hypocrisy.
Depriving celebrities of the opportunity to appear in public means more than losing their jobs and losing their income. It means that there is no way to express yourself. Revealing and expressing oneself to celebrities is like confirmation of being alive. When such opportunities disappear or are blocked, there is no means to confirm that they are alive. The past 1 year and 9 months must have been a time of healing and reflection as well as a time of death. During this time, he seems to have thought a lot about the fate of being a celebrity.
"Celebrities are one of those jobs where you have to keep erasing yourself. If you say, 'He doesn't like that,' delete that part, and if you say 'She likes that', then don't they maximize that part and instinctively move like that. You're not in an environment where you can express yourself."
He said that the most painful thing about dying is panic disorder, the suicidal ideation that wants to kill me, and suicide is what kills me. These three symptoms are especially common among celebrities. This can be said because he himself suffered such pain and is still not completely free from it.
Born in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, he was the youngest son of a poor family.
Upstairs, there are five in a row.
100 days after this man was born, his father, who was the director of the Chosun Ilbo, died.
I grew up listening to my mother's deaf ears to hear that I was a child who ate a father, and told me not to be told that I was a bastard without a father.
He had been working hard on a construction site since his sophomore year in high school, and even now he was thick enough to carry ten beer bottles in one hand as a part-time job at a bar.
My older sisters worked in factories, and my eldest sister and her husband, who worked for Daewoo Shipbuilding, died of an industrial accident.
He went to the army as a national guard due to a lack of livelihood.
He was a Protestant Christian, but in 2014, he was baptized at the church using former Doosan Chairman Park Yong-man as his godfather.
He said that he had a dream to become a Korean language teacher, but he couldn't go to college because his grades were bad.
My best grade in school was 7th in my class.
Sungkonghoe University professor Kim Chang-nam selected this person as one of the four genius candidates in Korea after singer Min-ki Kim, Professor Shin Young-bok, and comedian Yoo-seong Jeon, and I did not understand that this brilliant person who memorizes the entire Constitution did not do well in school. Considering the circumstances of the family, where he had to work at the construction stage and live in the same room with his five older sisters, it seems he was not able to concentrate on his studies.
There is no other way to explain the talent of this person who makes people cry and laugh other than that it is a gift from heaven. Based on his experience honed at Moonseon University in the military, he made a name for himself as a university festival and baseball field host in Daegu before entering the broadcasting industry in 2002. In just eight months after making his face on TV, he appeared on six entertainment programs of the three terrestrial broadcasters and became a star known to all the people. After 4 years of entering broadcasting, he won the KBS Entertainment Awards and reached his heyday. It was a high-speed career that made you feel dizzy.
3. If it was because of this person's popularity that he hosted the pre-inauguration ceremony of President Lee Myung-bak in February 2008, it was his fate that he hosted the funeral for former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2009, the following year. He couldn't have known the political meaning of being on that stage, but he wouldn't have thought that it would be such a big deal. Among the many people involved in the funeral in May of that year, I remember this man's voice and appearance particularly clearly. This would have been a presence, but since then, this person has become a symbolic existence.
It is not the result of one's own active choice, but by some chance it seems to be involved in the situation. It was not that he raised his hand to stand on that stage, nor did he have a special relationship with the deceased during his lifetime. It was difficult to humanly reject the request of the bereaved family in grief, and he only worked harder than ever at what he did best on the stage.
"It may seem like I'm caught up in a certain situation, but in fact, I have to make a personal choice. The old society also had a request from the bereaved family, but if I said I wouldn't go, I couldn't go. Every year from the 1st to the 5th anniversary of President Roh, Bongha The things I did at concerts and performances were because I wanted to do it.”
This was not what he wanted, but he became a 'political' figure. Politics is about belonging to one side and being the enemy of the other. The enthusiastic cheers of one faction provoked condemnation close to the curse of the other camp. It has gone from being loved by all people to being praised and criticized at the same time. From the perspective of the progressive camp, it was a 'concept entertainer', but from the perspective of other camps, it was the epitome of a 'introvert' armed with an unripe idea. When the university student tuition problem, the Sewol ferry, and the THAAD deployment problem broke out, I ran to the scene and grabbed the microphone. If you give him a microphone, he is a person who listens to thousands or tens of thousands of people. He has his own thoughts and his own philosophy, so this person is the best agitator. Like some celebrities, he was not someone who made a concept statement once or twice, so from the opposing camp, he was an enemy that must be shot.
-Why do you think the conservatives are attacking you intensively?
"My talent is too great to cause damage to me. (Laughs) No matter where you block it, it somehow breaks through. It breaks through at a talk concert and comes out with the Constitution… The more I get attacked, the more I take it one step further. I think I've grown up. Looking back, I'm grateful, but I don't want to go through that again."
No matter how you look at it, he is not a person with nerves made of wire. I am not a person who specializes in fighting, and I am not a person who enjoys fighting. It doesn't even look like they've been fighting a winning battle. It is true that this person is being beaten even more in a situation where progressive forces are dominant. He didn't appear to be strong enough to stand firm on his own. I wondered if there would be any regrets for doing something I couldn't handle, but I said there was no such thing.
“Even if I went back, I would have made the same choice because… I don’t think the impact would be too big compared to what I was doing. There may be unfortunate things…”
He said he didn’t regret it, but his voice did not sound resolute and determined. Recently, the comment function on YouTube with interviews related to the new book has been blocked. This is a hard work to prevent criticizing comments. This person says that he avoids the poop because it is dirty, not because he is afraid, but in a way, it can be interpreted as giving up the fight.
"I told you to stop it. We have to open comments and discuss, but coming here and using double swearing is like a bathroom. It's not made for them to poop and pee. It's a place made for talk...This is communication. I think it's different from that."
This man's words got a bit harsh when referring to the conservatives' attacks on him. I struggled to figure out the position of those who attacked me, and while they said it was possible and it was a matter of values that it was difficult to say that I was necessarily right and they were necessarily wrong, I could not handle my anger at those who attacked me. As for why the Moon Jae-in administration did not discuss the THAAD issue and why did he remain silent in the country's affairs, he dismissed the attack in one word. It was an attitude that I did not want to mix with such people.
"Because of those people's stories, it's too cheesy for me to tell and explain these kinds of stories. Historically, the newspaper that had the most selective anger attacks me by creating such selective anger. "
He explained that he did not want his explanation to be the start of another controversy, but that he was only answering when he asked for confirmation, and that he was not silent on such matters.
He said that he had mentioned this issue several times, including a visit to Seongju in September 2017, after taking office, and urging that the THAAD issue be resolved. Jung Yoo-ra said that the criticism that silence during the national crisis is not selective anger is also different from the objective truth.
"When we were doing <Tonight in Kim Je-dong>, a lawyer who is now a member of the Democratic Party (Rep. Kim Nam-guk) came out and discussed the issue of the Minister of Justice of the country. During the live broadcast, he protested, 'What if Kim Je-dong is like this, too partial?' I said, 'I don't know anything else, but I'm the Justice Minister, so I should ask,' and I talked about it in both the opening and closing words, but (the conservative media) doesn't mention that."
Just saying something doesn't mean you've done your job. There are not a few people who question this man whether he has done what he has to say to the progressive regime as much as the loudness of his voice shouting at the conservative power. This man seemed to think that these people were swearing and trying to get pods no matter what he did, and he said he didn't want to fight them any more. It was difficult to fathom whether it was because he did not have the confidence to win the battle, or because he knew that he could win, but in the process of fighting, he had no choice but to get hurt and exhausted.
4. Support and support a party with a rather unfamiliar name, the Future Party, which is neither the Democratic Party nor the Justice Party. The Mirae Party is a political party founded by young people in their 20s and 30s. It has been actively encouraging young people to participate in politics for the past 10 years. He argued that the age to be elected should be lowered and that students should be given a choice in the superintendent election.
“I’ve been saying since the time of the tuition struggle that the young generation should be interested in politics so that politicians will come forward to solve the problems of the young. Now, the 20-30 generations are now becoming the main pillars of politics. The votes, the fact that we have to listen to them, was unimaginable 10 years ago.”
It is a party that has been supported and supported for decades, but when these young people become established powers over their 50s, he said that he would stop supporting and support another party.
The eyes of this not-so-great man twinkled as he recounted the constitutional story line by line while memorizing the provisions of the Constitution. The constitutional essay written by this person was mentioned at the hearing of the candidate for the Prosecutor General of the National Assembly, and it became a topic of discussion to the point of mentioning this person's book, saying that we should not let the progressives monopolize the constitutional values.
"I don't think Rep. Seung-Min Yoo said this with malice. I don't know why they call me a progressive, but as Kim Je-dong and other liberals publish and lecture on constitutional books like this, the conservatives also need to talk more about constitutional values. I took it for granted."
- Do you find it fun and rewarding when you talk about the Constitution?
"Whether it's insults or whatever, the Constitution has never been a topic of discussion. I feel rewarded and happy. It's not because of me, but young people read the Constitution and wrote a book containing their feelings. In fact, we met while dating and playing under the pretext of the Constitution. Then, if there is a difference of opinion, they look at the Constitution and do so.”
At times, he looks like a warrior who has lost his fighting spirit, but when it comes to the constitution and youth politics, it is unlikely that this person will raise the topic of 'politics' easily. For this person, politics is not a matter of power, but a matter of dealing with our lives and happiness. A yellow ring commemorating the Sewol Ferry was attached to the bag that was supposed to keep books and drink bottles.
5. He said he had come too far to return. When he said that it would be difficult to go back to the past, this man's expression looked a bit lonely.
"It's hard for me to go back to being just a very cute, funny and funny person. The first thing that comes to mind when I look at myself is 50-60% leftists, then Chinese cabbage in Infinite Challenge, or something. It's not that they overlaid it, but it's hard to go back to when these representations weren't overlaid."
Yoo Jae-seok, Kang Ho-dong, Shin Dong-yeop, and Lee Kyung-gyu, who were once shoulder to shoulder with this person, are still active at the top of the entertainment industry. I wanted to ask if you are envious of such people.
"I think it's difficult for me to keep up with the people who are broadcasting now. However, I think that I performed a performance that is not shameful no matter where in the world it is presented at a talk concert. I think that I have done everything that can be done through broadcasting. At the three broadcasting companies I've won almost all the awards given."
Still, if there was an opportunity, he did not hide his desire to broadcast.
“I want to do a program that suits me, such as Talk2U, after the corona virus is over. Of course, I think it will not be easy in reality. There are so many stories outside of broadcasting… If there is a program that we want to do together, we should
do it.” There is nothing more terrifying than being forgotten by a celebrity who lives on the love and interest of the public.
It has been less than two years since I left the show, but there are people who do not know Kim Je-dong of the world.
"Sometimes in middle school, people don't know me well. That's the saddest time. When I meet something I want to help with, there are times when I think it would be good if I had an influence."
There are those who say that the celebrity's stagnation is not only because of political winds, but because his talents can't keep up with the changes of the times, but it is clear that this person's current appearance has nothing to do with political winds. Perhaps these words come and go in the entertainment industry. 'You have to build a wall with politics, look at Kim Je-dong, that's what happens when you get on the wrong side of politics' That might be the most fearful word for this person.
After I got off the show, I started a talk concert. I couldn't find a stage on the show, so I made the stage myself. Traveled around the country and met people.
I met as few as 5,000 and as many as 20,000 people a month, and I laughed with them and made them laugh. Through more than 500 talk concerts, he told his own story and listened to others.
Kim Je-dong's true nature is more clearly revealed in these public performances than in broadcasting. I feel like I'm wearing clothes that fit my body and enjoying the game that I can do best.
“I met and talked to more people than anyone else and I think I learned a lot through those people. If you don’t understand people, you can’t make people laugh, but they tell the real story. It's a job, but it's a blessing to be able to meet so many people and study."
Through such meetings, I was able to speak the language of the public and see the world from the perspective of the public. Even though the current situation is unreasonable, the silence and self-reflection may be because they know what the public wants.
This person's lecture is a performance. Just as a singer sings, a dancer dances, and a musician plays, this person performs verbally. He described his performance as pansori without a melody. This man's words are art performed on stage. The controversy surrounding the high cost of lectures surrounding this person is not that difficult if we change the terminology. When it comes to lectures, 15 million won seems like a lot of money, but when it comes to performances, the story is different. Considering that he is willing to pay hundreds of thousands of won per ticket to see an art performance, it is questionable whether the amount is too much for an artist named Je-dong Kim.
He has written five books and has sold about 700,000 copies. He is not far from becoming a million-seller writer. If you look at this person's book, you can see that Kim Je-dong's sayings are not the product of a celebrity's wit, but come from deep heart study, reading, and experience. If you read the transcript of the conversation with this person, the feeling you get when you speak and how you feel in writing are quite different. Talking to this person and writing to him are two different things. While this person's speaking is mainly done on a public stage, writing is a work done alone in a closet. He likes to be alone and thinks a lot, so the title of a writer is not so awkward. The future of 'Writer Je-dong Kim' is also promising as there are thoughts that have been forged through time of trial in his innate sense of language.
6.
Starting with the donation of 100 million won from MBC <Exclamation Point> in 2006, he has donated a lot of money so far.
When I asked the specific amount, he said he did not know how much it was. In 2015, when he founded <Kim Je-dong and Shoulder Companion>, he donated 100 million won as seed money and donated all the proceeds from the books he had written so far. With 700,000 books sold, the royalties alone will probably exceed several hundred million. 114 laptops and 25 tablet PCs were delivered to the children sponsored by Insero, the first edition of <The Moment When Questions Are Answered>.
“If you buy a used product, you can send more, but I told you to send a new one. Brands and brands are important to children. No one knows except for the children who receive them. If you reply, they have to write another letter."
I have received a lot from society, so I think I should pay back as much as I received. Free lectures, donations, and volunteer work all work in that dimension.
- You once said that you have to pay back what you want to pay back to society. Do you think you've almost paid off now?
"I think I've paid off almost everything now. Of course, I have to continue doing what I've been doing, but I don't think it's necessary to live with an excessive sense of debt and suppress me. I think there will be."
Now that he has almost paid off, he also read that he has taken responsibility for the controversies caused by his words and actions. After publishing the book, I interviewed several media outlets. Now, I wondered if he was going to prepare for a full-fledged return to the entertainment industry, but he said that the interview was taking the publisher's position into consideration.
Since you come from a difficult family, you will not have one or two family and relatives around you to help. More than anything else, the more money you have, the more you want to have it, and this person must also be someone who cannot be freed from such desires, but this person usually opens his wallet. This guy's donations aren't that loud. The donations of so-called celebrities don't feel like a pre-investment to get more income or a quasi-tax demanded by our society on celebrities, but this person's donation smells less like that.
There were things that money could help, but he seemed more interested in things that he could help with his body. For free lectures, I am willing to run to wherever there is a call, and I try to go to disaster sites that need their own hands with the shoulder-to-shoulder members. There are 1,700 members who agree with this person. The reason I recently got my excavator and forklift license is because I have to drive an excavator and forklift while doing volunteer work.
7. Counting the breaths of everyone present at the interview site and eliciting responses, they answered the questions as if they were performing. Almost all of the answers contained humor, so sometimes the line between seriousness and jokes was blurred. It pierced the mind of the person asking the question. He has a better ability to listen than to speak.
A famous producer said that this person's face was a sad face, but I felt loneliness more than sadness. The names of the people that come out of this person's mouth are brilliant, but the familiarity of the brilliant stars and celebrities does not alleviate this person's loneliness. That is not to say that the friendship between this person and those people is light. In fact, there are not so many burdens that people can share to reduce the weight. It's not lonely without friends or family. It was hard because I had to tell my friends to stay away from me because if you hang out with me, you too could be harmed. This person did not hide his regrets from his friends who were attacked just because he wrote a recommendation for his book.
The distinction between Je-dong Kim, a natural person and Je-dong Kim, a celebrity, is like a knife. There is no middle ground, no gray area. It's almost like a cliff cut. I know that it is an almost instinctive action to protect Kim Je-dong, a natural person, but it did not seem comfortable. I must say that it looked rather dangerous. 7-8 years ago, I went to a psychiatrist on my own feet and studied after receiving counseling for over 2 years. A person who knows how to listen to the warning bells ringing from within.
When I went to the mountains, I got caught in a stone beak and I fell absurdly, and I often spilled food while eating.
We are 48 years old this year.
It must be evidence of getting older, but he said he wished there was someone who could talk about the sadness he felt at that time.
They said that it doesn't matter if they are married or living together, or if they live together and then return to their own house.
Jukmagou, who knows his entire life, recently heard a late marriage song.
It seems that he felt more like that while watching his friend's wedding.
He said that the thing he wanted to do the most was to laugh a lot with the person he loved, and the next thing he wanted to do was to laugh a lot with other people. Whether laughing with the people he loves or laughing with the public, this melancholic genius wishes to laugh a lot. He believes that in order to laugh a lot, there should be no irrationality and absurdity in society. Even in order to do the funniest thing that other people do best, it doesn't fit this person's constitution, but it seems difficult to stop fighting.
*This interview was conducted in a two-to-one format with Man-Hee Yang, editor-in-chief, at SBS headquarters in Mok-dong on June 2nd.
*The full interview video will be released for the first time on SBS News YouTube at 8:20 pm today (12th).