SHINee Member Key Gets Candid And Shares The Rebellion He Had Against His Parents

SHINee‘s Key got candid about his life as a K-Pop star in an interview with Allure Magazine.

The interview recently went live on Allure Magazine’s online website. During this interview, Key talked about numerous different topics, from his age, his androgynous outfits, to his family.

Key kickstarted the interview by talking about his current age of 30 and how different he thought his life would be at this age.

Technically, I turn 30 on September 23, but in Korea, I’m actually already 30. When I was younger, I thought I would be someone’s husband or a father by now. Thirty years old seemed so grown-up. My parents got married when they were 28. I’m already late. I can’t even imagine that now.

— Key for Allure

Key then talked about how he didn’t realize he would still be in the K-Pop industry at this age.

I didn’t think I’d still be a singer at 30, actually. When I looked at other artists, I noticed by 30 most of their careers would start to dwindle. I didn’t think I would still be doing this so actively.

— Key for Allure

The veteran boy group member continued on to talk about his family and what his parents had wished for his future.

My mother is a nurse and my father was a financial investment advisor. They always wanted me to study a lot and become a doctor, but hell no.

— Key for Allure

He continued with the interview by sharing about the time he rebelled against his parents, which ultimately turned out to be the right decision for his future.

I secretly studied dance in school, and of course, loved to sing. At 15, I started auditioning for SM behind my parents’ backs. After my SM audition, I sat my parents down and told them I want to be an idol. (I didn’t actually get it though.) After that, my parents didn’t sleep for 3 days, staying up all night talking about me. But I slept well. Eventually, they realized that even if they said no, I would still want to be a K-Pop star.

— Key for Allure

He then shared the struggles he personally went through in order to achieve his dreams.

Every weekend, I took a two-hour train ride to Seoul, trained, and went back to Daegu, my hometown. I envied the trainees who lived in Seoul. They could come to the company every single day.

I was desperate for every lesson and rehearsal. I cried a lot on the train. I never got to rest on the weekends. And still, I wanted to practice more. There was this uncertainty of my future. I had to make sure this went well so I could debut.

— Key for Allure

Key then talked about his famous androgynous looks and what that symbolized for him.

For me, there’s no boundary between femininity and masculinity, and I try to be even more natural in my own reactions to people expressing themselves. I modeled for Jill Stuart Accessory Korea. In the photo, I was holding a bag. I didn’t want anyone to think, ‘Oh, I wish my boyfriend would buy me the bag he’s holding.’ I wanted to look so natural that anyone could say, ‘I love how that bag looks. I want to buy it.’

I’m wishing for a day when seeing women only wearing men’s clothing, or this person doing this and this person doing that, is completely natural and no one will bat an eye.

— Key for Allure

Key has always been known for his candidness and this interview wasn’t any different. You can check out the entire interview, here!