However, his early days in the K-Pop industry were marred by the shocking level of racist hate, as he recently revealed in a video on the YouTube channel “1Million Dance Studio”.
According to BamBam, while things have improved recently—especially as Korean fans have grown to appreciate him through his appearances on various entertainment shows like “EXchange (Transit Love 2)”—the years leading up to this change were incredibly tough.
BamBam shared that his time as a trainee at JYP Entertainment was relatively smooth. As one of the top trainees, he was confident about his debut, and with good reason—he was well-liked and consistently received high marks in evaluations.
However, his debut triggered a wave of unexpected and harsh reactions from the Korean public. BamBam revealed that the criticism was often rooted in racism, targeting his appearance and background.
BamBam recalled, “When I debuted, things didn’t go the way I had imagined. It was tough. I faced a lot of criticism… People pointed out how young I was, how my skin wasn’t as fair as it is now, and how my cheeks were rounder and my voice wasn’t the best. Some even said things like, ‘The group would be better off without him’ or ‘Get rid of that Southeast Asian guy.’ It really broke my heart. But despite feeling sad, I used that pain as motivation to push myself harder.”
Despite the painful experiences during his early debut, BamBam persevered and eventually found success.
Despite the challenges, BamBam has emerged stronger, now enjoying greater recognition and success in his career.
Source: Krb
