Celebrity

Lee Hyori, Kim Jaejoong, IU: Stars Who Lifted Their Families Out of Poverty

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Alongside her, singers Kim Jaejoong (38) and IU (31) have also confessed about their poor childhoods. Here are the stories of their vastly different pasts compared to their glamorous present.

On the June 16th broadcast of JTBC’s “Come travel with me, Mom?”, singer Lee Hyori traveled to Geoje with her mother.

lee hyori

During the trip, Lee Hyori’s mother asked her, “If you were born again, would you want to be born as my daughter?” She added, “Thank you for being born as my daughter, but I don’t think you would want that.” She expressed regret, “You were born into a very poor family; you probably wish to be born into a rich family and live a comfortable life in your next life.”

Hearing this, Lee Hyori said, “I think I’m living well now because of the hardships we went through. I would like to be born again as your daughter. But this time, I want to live in a different environment, not just struggling to survive but enjoying life with you.”

Previously, Lee Hyori’s poor family background had been revealed. On the broadcast on June 10th, her mother mentioned that they lived by collecting discarded coal briquettes, highlighting their impoverished past. It was also known that after Lee Hyori’s success, she gifted her parents a building worth 1 billion won.

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kim jae joong

Singer Kim Jaejoong appeared on KBS2’s “Convenience Store Restaurant” last month and confessed that during his school days, due to the poor financial situation of his family, he had to eat cup noodles instead of school lunches.

Born as the youngest of nine siblings, Kim Jaejoong said, “We were a large family, but we weren’t well-off. It was difficult for my parents to raise nine children. We couldn’t afford school supplies or textbooks.”

He recalled, “When I was in middle school, school lunches became optional. Because of our financial situation, I would take a cup noodle to school and share the side dishes of friends who brought lunch boxes.

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After his success, Kim Jaejoong gifted his parents a house. It was known that the house he gifted them had an elevator and a sauna, surprising many.

iu

Singer IU also lived an impoverished childhood. In 2011, she appeared on KBS2’s “Win Win” and revealed that she lived in a single room due to her family’s financial difficulties.

IU said, “I grew up comfortably, but my mother made a mistake by guaranteeing a debt, which left us homeless. My family was scattered. I lived in a single room with my grandmother, cousin and younger brother.” She shared that they lacked food in their cold house and humorously mentioned, “There were so many cockroaches. I caught so many that I could kill them with my bare hands.”

After her debut, IU released hits like “Good Day”, “Palette” and “Eight”, becoming a “national singer”. She has also been known for being a filial daughter, taking her parents on overseas trips and gifting her father a foreign car.

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