JunJin, "I wanted to be famous in order to find my birth mother."

JunJin, "I wanted to be famous in order to find my birth mother."

He has 3 mothers... "Hurt" from an unfortunate childhood
Shinhwa member who debuted as a solo singer "will work his hardest"

When "Billie Jean" was played, he came out with Michael Jackson's moonwalk. JunJin (Park Choong Jae, 26) who does this dance everyday could mimick Jackson's body movements almost perfectly. While he was looking at the "Step by Step" MV, he said, "Whenever I see this I get goosebumps.."

[The reporter] Met up with JunJin at a Bar filled with hundreds of LP records and old pop dvds in Seoul, AbGuJung, on one Autumn night. The songs [the reporter] requested wrote a story for "Dancing Machine" JunJin about a dancer's dream.

"When I was in Primary School, instead of wanting to be a singer or star, I had a dream of becoming a dance choreographer. At that time, I danced the same Brake dance just like Jackson. The 'line' is the life of a dance, and whenever I hear music while at a hotel with my family, I would get up and dance immediately upon getting permission from my father (Singer Charlie Park)."

After JunJin attained some popularity back in his high school days and through H.O.T. member KangTa's recommendation, he managed to enter SM Company and became a trainee. JunJin who had been involved in Shinhwa activities for the past 9 years since 1998, has finally debuted as a solo singer, and recently released his first single. "When I see the various idols, it seems like I had returned to the those times. When I see good songs, all the sadness and memories would surface." Unknowingly, JunJin's eyes filled up with tears.

◇My adoptive mother searched for my birth mother for me
JunJin has 3 mothers. His birth mother divorced his father after giving birth to him, and JunJin was brought up by his grandmother. His father met a 2nd mother when he was in Primary 4, but the family broke up once more. The hurt that scarred him then has not fully healed even up till today. Since Secondary 2, he managed to live happily with his current mother.

"I don't remember how many years before it was when I met up with my birth mother. One day my current mother came to me saying 'Let me give you an unforgettable present.' and then I realised it was the arrangement for me to meet up with my birth mother. She's still on this world."

4 years ago at the neighbourhood coffee shop in Seoul SaTang Area. Every time the entrance door was opened, JunJin would stare anxiously at it. That moment, a very tall and beautiful middle-age woman walked in. "The first time I saw her, I knew she was my mother. In my heart I kept saying 'She's here. She's here.'. She was totally unaware that her son had became a singer.. My mother asked me 'You are Choong Jae, right?' "

JunJin sat there for an hour with his mother and could not stop tearing. Although I wanted to ask "Why did you just leave that day?", but I could not stop crying. Even since then he never met up with his birth mother anymore. Later, he heard that his birth mother had remarry and had a son, and she did not want to inflict the same hurt onto his brother.

"No matter when I was a trainee at SM, or during Shinhwa activities, I didn't feel tired no matter how difficult it was. It was because all along I only had one thing in my mind and that is I could find my birth mother once I become a singer and get famous."

◇Depended on God during his teenhood
During his troubled adolescent stage, JunJin went through his primary and secondary school times with his 2nd mother relying on the strength of God. Whenever he said, "Mom, give me rice", he had to put up with her distasteful attitude and expression. This kind of life brought him a lot of unrest and he felt very lost. The Christian society in existence of God reached out a helping hand to JunJin.

"The people at the church cared a lot for me. When I was hungry, they gave me food. When I disliked going home, they prepared a place for me to sleep. All along until I was secondary 2, I could only go to a small shop to eat cuttlefish rice everyday. I felt embarrassed doing this, and I would flip the newspaper seriously while eating. When I could not study anymore, I dyed my hair using acidified water dye before going out. Upon returning to the church, my pastor made me dye my hair back to black, and he told me 'Fair skin matches black hair, it's beautiful ya~'. When I heard this, my tears started falling."

JunJin often prays. "Let me find my birth mother." Till now he still learns the guitar in the church chorale team. Everyday, he prays in his heart tens of times for both his birth mother and for his current mother.

◇Not a juvenile delinquent but a teen who thinks quite deeply
The public has a misconception of JunJin, like 'Juvenile delinquent' 'Playboy' 'Troublemaker'. But from the mouth of the Shinhwa members, their remarks were "Deep thoughts, sentimental, happy-go-lucky character and a person with great ambitions." Although he's a famous alcoholic in the entertainment circle, he still transformed into a ballad singer for his current 1st single album. He rejected all temptations around him and worked hard in his job. He always says, "I will work hard."

After the broadcast, JunJin accepted an interview and he said, "Lee Seung-Chul Hyung heard me singing my hit song 'Love Won't Come' when he was outside the recording studio. He praised me by saying, 'Isn't it AR now? (All Recorded) Jin-ah, I always knew you were capable of displaying your own singing abilities.' Everytime I hear praises for my efforts from around me, I would feel new courage surging through."

Recently, whenever he goes home he would watch his performance for tens of times. Every time he rewatches he would find flaws in himself.

"This is the period of my life when I feel most comfortable. I feel at ease going home."

He finally attained an inner peace of mind. 오빠 축하해.

Credits: o-six for original article + bestshinhwa for chinese translation + s-shinhwasarang.net