Jungmin: I discovered a sift of warmth in showbiz [02.02.11]

Source: http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2011020203081459403
English translation: ode@ss501ode.blogspot.com

Singer Park Jungmin feels melancholic. It’s a lonely February. The dates on his calendar are in black. Dates that are in red, which consists of Seol holidays, are only 7 of them. It’s been an illusion that was formed since 5 years ago. Life in showbiz is, as usual, harsh.

This year’s New Year, too, will be separation from his family. He has to do recording in the studios for the Japanese version of his recently released single ‘Not Alone’, “Last year’s new year was spent as I prepare for album”, “And again, this year’s new year is the same, seems like will be spending it with my agency’s staff”, as he showed sadness.

It’s been 6 years since such happened, including the visiting of graves. The place where his ancestors are buried at is Kyungsangnam-do’s Hapcheon-gun, and that is approximately 320km and further from where he’s residing now – Seoul. Jungmin expressed sadness, “I couldn’t even bear to have the thought of dropping down”, “Even the faces of my relatives feels blurry”…

Longingness is just as deep; he can’t get to see his family often. And it’s because of his busy schedules. He’s always greeted by the fresh of dawn air whenever on the roads back home, as well as the gloomy, dull silhouette of the illuminated star up in the high skies.

Right before he debuted, his New Year was just like no ordinary. Like anyone else, he anticipated eagerly for his holidays. They will all come to gather and excitingly share their food. The food that he loved the most is the wheat sweet (yak-gwa), “It’s sweet and tasty, its taste stimulates my buds”, “When I was young, when my friends ate sweets, they also enjoyed eating wheat sweets”.

But now, it’s just but memories. The main components in wheat sweets is the amount of sugar. Just 30g of wheat sweets consist of almost 100 kilocaleries, “I stayed away from it because I may put on weight with those”, “I forgot the taste already because it’s been more than 5 years since I last ate it”, as Jungmin revealed.

There’s also another food that he misses, and that is seafood kimchi. The first and foremost ingredient that he needs to add is oyster and cuttlefishes. “Mom gave me alot of those when I was young”, “Her skills could be called as expert already”, as he said.

Whenever he thinks of his mom, his heart turns heavy. His mother has recently retired, “She looks really lonely at home”, “I feel so sad that I’m not able to be with her”, and so he’s suggested also to “go on a holiday with his dad” because he feels apologetic that he can’t render his help to change his mother’s mood even with that little bit.

With this family love that has enriched his life as an entertainer, life in showbiz for Park Jungmin will never be harsher, but instead much more heart-warming than ever.