During an interview, the 3rd-gen idol disclosed that they had encountered racism while in South Korea due to being Southeast Asian.
On August 16, “Liality Show,”a web program hosted by top dancer-choreographer Lia Kim on the YouTube channel 1 MILLION Dance Studio, released its Episode 6. In this episode, Lia Kim invited GOT7 BamBam as a special guest and discussed a range of topics, including his experiences as a trainee and his debut.
During the conversation, the idol also revealed the negative, discriminatory comments he faced upon joining a K-pop idol group as a foreign member.
Despite the fact that most idols at the time were from East Asia, BamBam still pursued his dream of becoming an idol by moving from Thailand to Korea in 2010. He was aware that only a handful of Southeast Asians had been able to debut in a group, but he remained determined to achieve his goal.
The idol confirmed that his experience as a JYP Entertainment trainee was positive, as he had the opportunity to train alongside other foreign trainees.
“It wasn’t tough when I was a trainee. I lived with foreigners during that time, too. Some members from GOT7 were there, too. So we had so much fun. And the staff gave me a lot of attention and love, too.
To be honest, I got good feedback in evaluations we had every month and with my attitude, grades, etc., I debuted with confidence. But once we debuted, things didn’t go as I thought. That was the hardest time.”
After BamBam became a member of GOT7, he faced racism from Koreans who mocked his appearance and Southeast Asian heritage.
During the same period, 2PM Nichkhun was the initial Thai idol to make a debut in the music industry. However, unlike the positive reception his senior received, BamBam faced difficulties in gaining acceptance in the country.
“People were leaving bad comments, too. I was too young back then. My skin tone wasn’t this bright either. I had round cheeks and my voice, too. People would say, ‘If he wasn’t in the group, GOT7 would be a complete picture.’ ‘Get rid of that XX Southeast Asian,’ things like that, and I was really hurt.”
Despite being a male idol himself, the intensity of the difference in fans’ treatment between the group’s time abroad and in Korea was not lost on him.
“When we performed abroad, to be honest, a lot of my fans came to see me. But when I do concert in Korea, not many people come to see me. It was like that.”
Eventually, things took a turn for the better and he continued on his journey as a solo artist, where he was able to connect with dedicated fans who showed him unwavering love and support.
“But rather, when I started becoming a solo artist, from some point, Korean people started acknowledging me. It might be thanks to being on entertainment shows. Thanks to that, I got more support as an artist, too.”
After careful consideration, BamBam came to the conclusion that…
“I am doing great these days. I would say those 10 years were quite tough until people started acknowledging me.”
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