[SBS Star] Kim Jae Joong Shares His Adoption Story on Air; His Biological Mother Gains New Attention

Kim Jae Joong of K-pop boy group JYJ shared the backstory of his adoption.

Kim Jae Joong guested on the October 16 episode of MBC's talk show 'Radio Star'.

The singer, who has eight older sisters, revealed his family history.

"When I was three, I was adopted into a family with eight daughters. I grew up not knowing that I was adopted. It wasn't until some time after my debut that I found out about it."

"Even after I found out, it was hard to talk about it with my family since it felt awkward.", Kim Jae Joong shared.
Kim Jae Joong then revealed how he found out he was adopted: through a phone call while he was a member of K-pop boy group TVXQ!. 

"My parents didn't tell me about my adoption until then. One day, while shooting a music video for 'I Believe', I received a call from an unknown number.", he recounted.

"Normally, I wouldn't have answered an unknown number since I was getting a lot of calls from sasaeng (overly obsessive) fans back then. But this call felt different. I felt that I had to answer it."
Kim Jae Joong continued, "I stopped filming for a moment and answered. 'Jae-joon, how have you been?', the caller said. I thought, 'That's the old name my aunt used to call me. Who's this person calling me that way?'. And then, it all came together."

"All the oddities in my life suddenly made sense. That's how I found out that I was adopted. What happened was that my then-agency published a photo book featuring TVXQ! members, and in it was my photo snapped before I was three. My biological mother saw it and reached out.", the singer shared.
With the recent broadcast of Kim Jae Joong's adoption story, his biological mother is garnering renewed attention.

In 2013, Oh Seo-jin, Kim Jae Joong's biological mother, appeared on a television show and shared her story.

"I went through a divorce at a young age and was financially distressed. A friend suggested I send Jae Joog to a family that could take better care of him. I didn't consider it an adoption; I just thought it was a temporary arrangement."
Oh Seo-jin talked about meeting Kim Jae Joong again after he became a K-pop star and how happy they were to reconnect.

However, she went through a tough time because of speculations and misunderstandings that came out following the reports regarding Kim Jae Joong's biological mother's return to his life after he became famous.

Oh Seo-jin shared that she has embarked on a new chapter as the chairwoman of an association for those with challenging family histories like hers.
(Credit= MBC Radio Star, TV CHOSUN Unyielding Life (literal translation))

(SBS Star)