Noel (birth name Jang Yong-jun), the son of former lawmaker Ko Jang Je-won and a rapper, confessed to his troubled childhood despite a wealthy upbringing and his feelings while being held at a detention center.
Noel appeared on the YouTube channel "SPNS TV," released on the 25th, and opened up about the sudden fame he experienced before his identity had formed. He said, "I'm someone with a basic sense of anxiety, but after appearing on 'High School Rapper,' when my followers skyrocketed, it felt like making 10 billion won with Bitcoin," adding, "As I became famous, I experienced a duality where my life, my past, and the family background of my father being former lawmaker Jang Je-won were all exposed."
He also shared specific anecdotes about his past time in the detention center. Noel said, "I started crying as soon as I entered solitary confinement," and added, "My request to change cells was denied over concerns about harm, so I used a cell alone for a full year." He went on, "With nothing to do, I got by eating Choco Pies and sausages, and my weight went from 58 kg to 95 kg. I barely spoke and even experienced a state similar to aphasia," he recalled.
He also expressed remorse toward his parents. Noel said, "Even though I was loved more than others and grew up well, at some point I developed a paranoid delusion about my family and kept my distance," adding, "Only after I first made big money at 19 did I begin a human conversation with my father, former lawmaker Jang Je-won, saying, 'So this is how lonely it is for a man to make money. I'm sorry.'"
As for future plans, he said he wants to "take on responsibility now because I had a chaotic childhood, and start a family early." He showed a determination to focus on his main job of music while devoting his personal energy to his family and children.
Meanwhile, in 2019 Noel received a sentence of one year and six months in prison, suspended for two years, for a drunk driving accident. Then, in Sept. 2021 during the suspension period, he drove without a license and caused a fender bender, and he was arrested and indicted on charges including assault for refusing a responding officer's requests for a breath test and identity verification and headbutting the officer. The Supreme Court finalized a one-year prison term, and he completed his sentence during the investigation and trial process and was released in Sept. 2022.