How Stardom Changed A Former SM Entertainment Idol For The Worse, In His Own Words

Super Junior‘s Hangeng (then called Hankyung) recently sat down for an interview where he reminisced on his past as a K-Pop idol.

He opened up about a variety of topics including his father’s teary reaction to his contract signing, being broke after debut, and more. He also delved deeper into the problems he faced after leaving the K-Pop industry.

For one, he lost the balance between being famous and being humble.

Hangeng explained that he had reached the “peak” of his popularity in the early 2010s. Super Junior had just released hits such as “Sorry Sorry” and “BONAMANA,” he led Super Junior M to a successful debut in China, and he broke off his contract with SM Entertainment in 2009 and started a successful solo career back home right after.

2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, five or six years like this, I tasted the peak of being an entertainer.

— Hangeng

He was honest that the fame made him feel exceptionally good.

I enjoyed the feeling of being a star especially back home.

— Hangeng

At the same time, he ended up changing for the worse, becoming less humble to the point where his friends noticed.

That’s when I felt like I wasn’t myself anymore. I lost it, and my friends and I even quarreled. My friends said they’ll tell me the truth and they didn’t like how I was. [They said] they don’t feel the same way they did before and so on and so forth. They opened up about their true feelings.

— Hangeng   

The former SM Entertainment idol refused to listen to his friends’ feelings at first, saying that he “didn’t want to hear these words.” He said that he’s “used to listening to compliments, nice words.”

Luckily, Hangeng grew more open to criticism with age. He now knows that his friends only had his best interests at heart.

Hangeng is now 40 years old and is focusing on his career as an actor.