Kim Jae Joong

Jaejoong sings...so cute...full of feelings (gallery.asianfanatics.net)

I choose Kim Jae Joong as my hero because of this story about his life that I read. It really touched me, and motivated me to do much better. Here’s the motivating story about Kim Jae Joong or popular with his stage name, HERO Jae Joong:

He was born in Korea, on 26 January 1986 at Chung Nam, South Korea. Actually, he was named Han Jae Joong, but his parents got divorced, so he was adopted by a family, and got a new name, Kim Jae Joong. The family, who adopted him, was not rich. They lived in suffering, until Jae Joong found out about an audition by SM Entertainment, who wanted to find new artists. He left his homeland, and went to Seoul, to follow the audition. He was 15 years old, and with a few pieces of luggage, said goodbye to his 8 sisters and parents. They cried as he went to the station, the fastest way to go to Seoul. He didn’t turn back for the last time to see his family, because he knew if he looked back, he wouldn’t have the heart to leave, but he didn’t want to throw away his dreams, and also, he didn’t want his family to see his tears. In conditions like that, only with a very thin jacket in the freezing winter, Jae Joong left his homeland and went to Seoul, the city that he saw only in dreams. After a few hours, the train stopped. Jae Joong knew that he was in Seoul now. He went out from the train and saw a very different city from his homeland. He saw a very big city, busy streets, limelight, it was very strange in his eyes. But, his heart began to weaken. He hesitated. “Can I fing my place in a big city like this?” he asked himself. He knew it would be very hard for him to get his dream, but, he didn’t stop. He kept on his way, he would never forgive himself if he stopped like a weak coward. So, he tried to find a new home for himself.

He got a new home, an apartment just the size of tuna can, meaning very small and narrow. He had no choice, so he called that place ‘home’. After that, he went to where the contest was held. The other contestants were well dressed, and with MP3-players on their ears, they practiced. Jae Joong looked himself, with only a grey T–shirt and jeans, very different from the others. He felt that he had already lost half the battle, though the contest hadn’t started yet. He was number 12, he heard his name called by the judges, and then he entered the room. The judges, all expressionless, made him a little nervous. One of the judges told him to open his mouth, and sing. When he started to sing, all people in the room were touched. His voice was very soft, pure, and full of emotions. Once you hear it, you can’t stop, and want to hear his voice more, more and more. But still, his voice was too soft, too weak. He got signed by SM Entertainment, with a 7 year contract, two years of training; he had to pay for all of his music, dancing and other classes, that’s all to make his skill more perfect. The next five years he would actually become an entertainer, seeing him that much closer to his dream, the boy signed the contract, knowing in the next two years, his life will be extremely hard, hard like he’s never experienced before, but he knows this is his dream, so he will not give up. The classes were all hard. More, he ran out of money. But, remembering his family condition, which have no big difference with himself, he made up his mind not to ask them for some money. He did 3 different jobs everyday, and he also walked about 3 hours to his part-time job in a noodle restaurant. It was a very heavy job for a 15 years old boy. Other boys who had the same age as him were maybe now having a school and a wonderful life.

After all suffering classes, he was chosen to enter a new boy group which was named Dong Bang Shin Ki. There, he had 4 nice little brothers who loved him so much. But, life was still heavy for him. One day, after they made their first single, which got a very good response from music fans in Korea, they made their first fans gathering. The other members have a very long queque of fans in front of them, but there was no one in from of Jae Joong. He felt very sad, and he wanted to cry that time, but he didn’t do it. He just bit his lips. The staff didn’t want anyone to recognize this weird situation, so they asked some fans to move. Then, there was a girl standing in front of him, with a cold expression. Everyone who saw her would recognize that she didn’t want to be there. JaeJoong realized this too, but he tried to open a conversation with the cold-looking girl fan. But the girl answer coldly, ”I was forced to stand in your line, I don’t even like you.” JaeJoong was really sad, he wanted to cry, but he didn’t want to cry in front of anyone, especially himself. So he bit his lip, and let it bleed. He didn’t know why the fans didn’t like him. But, he also didn’t know, that his fans are waiting outside the building, because the meeting room was so full. Then, as the time flows, Jae Joong knew why the girl fans didn’t like him. It’s all because he was too pretty, much more pretty than a girl. It was so silly, that Jae Joong chuckled. But, because of that JaeJoong started to watch his actions. He knew that everytime he did something wrong, he will be nervous, and all of the show will be broken. He stopped smiling at the camera, and become a really serious person, different from the old him. But the fans just said that he was pretending to be cool. And that made them started to dislike Jae Joong. The company realized it, and wanted to switch him out from the group. JaeJoong was really scared with this. He already thought the company his second home. But in the end, he didn’t get switched because of his fans who roamed in the street, trying to protect him, and one of his group members, Chang Min, who said that if JaeJoong got switched, then he will tear his contract with the company, which meant that he wouldn’t be one of the group members again.

Jae Joong was touched by this, and he practiced more and more. Then, because of that, his fans increased more and more. He was really happy. Than, one day, in a New Years celebration, he was caught by the police because he was drunk and driving. YunHo, the group leader, picked him up at the police station without saying a word, like the other members did when they met. But Jae Joong knew that he had disappointed Yun Ho and the others. He got a very light punishment from the company because of this, it was light because the other members begged the company many times not to punish him heavily. Then, at a fan meeting, for the first time, he cried and apologized to everyone, the fans, and the members. And the fans said that they forgave him, and still loved him.

The boy started to get more and more popular, people started seeing him for more than just a gorgeous face; he’s a passionate musician with a beautiful voice and he’s a brave soul who isn’t afraid to face his mistakes. Three simple words “we forgive you“ from the fans gave him all the faith he needed to carry on. He got a stage name from the company, Youn Woon Hero JaeJoong. So whenever the boy wants to cry, he reminds himself he can’t, because he’s Hero JaeJoong and a Hero doesn’t cry... A hero will fight 'til the end and win the battle. Once a DBSK fan said that the first time she saw JaeJoong, she thought his name couldn’t possibly be Hero because it didn’t suit his fragile image, but she knows now why his name is Hero, because underneath his beauty, lies the soul of a true hero.