Broadcaster Takuya on 'Salimnam 2' opened up about the pain of his childhood.
On the 10th, the KBS2TV variety show 'Salimnam 2' depicted Park Seo-jin's first national concert tour and Takuya's visit to his family home in Japan. Park Seo-jin received the grand prize for best entertainer at the 2025 KBS Entertainment Awards and drew warm applause.
That day KickFlip Kyehun displayed an articulate way with words uncharacteristic of a rookie idol. When Park Seo-jin said, "They say Kyehun and Lee Yo-won are the same age. Two cycles of the zodiac difference," Kyehun quickly replied, "I almost used informal speech when I met Lee Yo-won in the waiting room earlier," which made Lee Yo-won burst into a big smile.
Kyehun, watching the bickering siblings Park Seo-jin and Park Hyo-jung, said, "You look like a couple," and, "You look like a couple of nine years," which angered Park Seo-jin. Park Seo-jin huffed, "You are saying mean things twice today." Then Kyehun, Park Seo-jin and Takuya all calmly recounted their long trainee periods and years of obscurity. Lee Yo-won praised the three, saying, "All three of them seem like truly remarkable people." Then Kyehun immediately quipped, "Honestly, I feel like I'm at my peak right now."
Hearing this, Park Seo-jin rolled his eyes, and Takuya said in disbelief, "Do you have to be that desperate? Is it worth risking your life?" Park Seo-jin criticized Kyehun, saying, "There is really no sincerity," but Kyehun remained confident.
Takuya visited his family home in Japan to mark the new year. He had not been able to disclose all aspects of his life to family members who thought he was doing well in Korea. Takuya revealed his feelings, saying, "I debated whether to tell them that I'm not a popular entertainer in Korea." Eun Ji-won told him, "Don't say it then. Tell them later."
Takuya said, "When I was in Korea I felt very lonely. I lived in a place the size of a bathroom," and "I wandered the dawn market looking for costumes. There was a company, but 200,000 won came out as maintenance expenses."
He was especially close to his eldest sibling Momoka. That was because she was his full sibling. Takuya said, "At that time my mother, Momoka and I lived together. We went to my father's side and then to my mother's side, and a stepfather appeared when I was in the third grade of elementary school," and "After that the youngest sibling was born. There were times when I lived apart from my mother, times when I lived apart from my father, it was hard to adapt to a new school, and it was hard to be separated from friends."
Although his stepfather treats him very well now, Takuya said he wanted to tell his biological father—who he no longer even remembers—about himself. Takuya recalled, "I remember hiding in the car trunk because I didn't want to leave my dad. So the last thing was that my dad told me to stay here and we parted," and he added, "I remember my dad as someone who took very good care of me and was a good father," then broke down in tears.
[Photo source] KBS2TV variety show 'Salimnam 2' broadcast screen capture
[OSEN]