Kahi Reveals Shocking Childhood Abuse: “Hit with Belts and Hangers, I Slept at School to Escape Home”
Kahi, former leader of K‑pop group After School, bravely opened up about her heartbreaking experiences with domestic violence during childhood in an interview on the YouTube channel ‘Make Us New CBS’ released on June 16.
She revealed that after her birth, her mother developed a herniated disc and Kahi was immediately sent to her grandmother’s care. Around age three, she returned home, but couldn’t recognize her mother. “When I came back, they said I didn’t even know who my own mom was,” she recalled.
Kahi described her father as deeply patriarchal and authoritarian, highly educated yet emotionally distant. She said the household felt more like a battleground than a home, leaving her “always lonely, craving love.”
She shared painful memories, “I remember mom’s blood soaking the blankets after Dad beat her. I was also beaten—cords, belts, coat hangers… I tasted discipline so often I thought it was normal. I didn’t feel loved at home.” The emotional toll was so intense that she sometimes slept at school desks to avoid going back.
Despite this, Kahi still expressed affection for her parents. “After my dad’s business failed, he couldn’t bounce back, maybe because of the pride he held onto. My mom had to live without any financial support, so she was mentally and financially exhausted. Looking back now, I just feel so sorry for her. And I’m so grateful that she didn’t divorce my dad. My dad has passed away now. I wonder—if I were in her shoes, could I have lived like she did?”
Kahi rose to fame with After School in 2009 and married a non-celebrity businessman in 2016. She is now a mother of two sons and continues to inspire others with her resilience.
