After arriving in Taiwan to promote his new album, Geng Xin, Hangeng appeared on the Shen Chun Hua Life Show and took the audience by surprise as he revealed intimate details about his life while with SM Entertainment.
With the life of not only an idol, but a member of one of the most popular boy groups in South Korea, Hangeng revealed that the tremendous stress ultimately led him to experience bouts of depression. Leaving China and traveling to South Korea for training at the young age of 19, Hangeng took notice of the different treatment he received for being a foreigner, “There is different treatment, the company may not have realized…but I always take note of the minor details, it made me uncomfortable at times.”
During Super Junior’s debut in 2005, Hangeng was only allowed to appear on three television channels because of the Korean laws regarding foreign artists. It was during a 2007 show that Hangeng decided to wear a mask to be able to perform on stage. “Before the performance, I was informed that I couldn’t perform on stage, but the routine of a 13 members group and the singing parts cannot be changed! I’m the only one wearing a mask, perhaps I can attract the audience’s attention even more easily!”
But despite his positive attitude, stress eventually took a toll on Hangeng. He began to grow frustrated and kept to himself as he found it hard to talk about it with his fellow Super Junior members. “When I was in Super Junior, I sometimes felt frustrated. There were days where I would lock myself in my room and just watch movies on my bed.”
“One day, I saw an article about a Korean idol committing suicide, it said that this idol was frustrated every day. I felt scared that I would become just like that idol and worried that I would follow in their footsteps,” Hangeng shared. It was after worrying about his future health that he decided to take action. “It is not due to one or two matters, I’m the kind of person who puts lots of matters in my heart and not voice it out, deciding to go solo is accumulated by many matters, I never wished to be a famous star, only wished to happily get along with members and staff…Everyone has a different desire… but I felt that being happy was more important.” Hangeng has now grown into a solo artist with a lot more control of his activities than before. Though throughout it all, he still worries about meeting his family’s expectations. On the previous day, Hangeng received a letter of encouragement from his father that caused him to tear up.
Hangeng hopes that in the future he’ll be able to have a steady relationship with a non-idol girlfriend. “Now that I have a new album, concert, and I still have a movie to work on, I want to stabilize my career first before I talk about relationships.”
Meanwhile, Hangeng’s Chinese activities are going well as his latest concert was a great success.
Source: XinMsn Entertainment + Yahoo China Entertainment
Translated by huiwensg@geng-bao.net + bulletproof@sj-world.net
