A former first-generation idol recently became a hot topic in online communities, and not for the right reasons.
The idol in question is Kang Junghoon, a former member of the iconic boy group Sechs Kies, who left netizens utterly flabbergasted with his confusing “apology” video on TikTok.
Kang Sunghoon | Chosun Ilbo
The former idol has been consistently active on social media after his departure from the group, and he often recreates online trends on various social media platforms, including TikTok, under the username @hoony222.
The “apology” video that recently caused a stir in Korean online communities was originally posted by Kang in 2022. It was made with an audio that went viral on Korean social media back then. In the clip, the idol is lipsyncing to the words, “I know it’s sudden for all y’all, but sorry for being so cute!”
[Video could not be displayed]
Kang acts out the words with accompanying “cute” expressions, what typically would be considered exaggerated “aegyo.”
[Video could not be displayed]
Though it was a trend back then, some Korean netizens were not impressed by the video even when it was originally posted. Some of the comments expressed surprise at the fact that a man in his 40s would post something so “cringeworthy.”
#너무귀여워서죄송합니다 #틱톡순삭 #cute #KANGSUNGHOON #KPOP #fyp #추천 #おすすめ #parati
| @hoon2y22/TikTok “Grandpa…?” “Why are you behaving like this?” “Someone, please take away this uncle’s phone.”
Two years later, when the video recently resurfaced online, netizens didn’t have much of a different reaction to it. While some were initially confused that he was apologizing for a new controversy (given his multiple past controversies), others criticized Kang for “not acting his age.”
| Instiz “Oh…”
— “LOL.” “A legend at not acting his age.” “Whoa, that was shocking. Got me angry in the middle of the night.” “Wow.” “I’m so jealous that he has so much hair despite bleaching it constantly even though over 40.” “This darn curiosity of mine…I thought maybe he caused some new trouble I didn’t know about…”
