Kim Bum's Childhood Story: Finale

This is a continuation of Kim Bum's Life Story.. Part 1 and Part 2 were already posted long ago... It's never too late to post the continuation.. ^^



Ever wonder if Kim Bum is not an actor, what would he likely to be? A soccer player. This third part brings us to his elementary and middle school stage, where his enthusiasm in soccer once caused a strain in his relationship with his father.

(Description from Kim Bum’s mother)

Kim Bum is gifted in sports and he especially loved to play soccer. Since his elementary school, he often played the pillar role in his school’s soccer team in several inter-school soccer competitions.

Kim Bum would usually be allocated the striker position in the team. Whenever I went to support him, he would always be able to score a beautiful goal, just like what would usually be seen on TV replays. This made me really proud to be his mother.

I remember around that time, Kim Bum once aimed to be a famous footballer. When he was promoted to middle school, he joined the school’s soccer club. For this, his father raised a strong objection, which caused a temporary strain in relationship between both of them.

His father had wished for Kim Bum to concentrate fully on his studies, but if he joined the soccer club, he would definitely not be able to achieve this. However, Kim Bum did not change his stand and will because of his father’s opposition. In his third year, he even became the team captain. But one incident changed everything. In the same year, his team suffered a crushing defeat of 0 to 10 in an inter-school soccer competition. Kim Bum cried very hard after that and vowed not to play soccer anymore. And indeed that was the case after the incident. Looking at that, sometimes I would ask “if he really did like soccer before”.

As can be seen from this, Kim Bum is a person of strong-will. Even if he is temporary obsessed with certain things, he would still be able to get himself of the addiction.

Before he entered the elementary school, he had stayed in Sydney, Australia for about a year at his aunt and grandma’s place. Although he couldn’t speak English initially, he still managed to communicate with other children very naturally. He acquainted a lot of friends over there and his English language was given a great boost while in Australia. I was once worried that since he was enjoying his stay in Australia, what if he is reluctant to return to South Korea.

My worries were unfounded though. When I told him that we were about to return to Korea, he replied “great” without any hesitation. I feel that this showed the maturity level in his thoughts. Although he was extremely popular among the girls, but he did not had a girlfriend. Was that a result of his cool and decisive personality?

---

The final part of Kim Bum’s childhood story. Life isn’t always a smooth sail, especially when you are an actor. Looking for acting opportunities and even had to endure harsh criticisms by netizens are part some things a newcomer has to go through. Kim Bum is no exception.

(From Kim Bum’s mum)

Kim Bum had put in a lot of effort after he was determined to become an actor. He participated in several auditions and also attended acting classes. Beginning from his middle school, Kim was often approached by star scouts who suggested him to venture into the entertainment circle. However, after a year of hard work but yielded no results, Kim Bum began to fret.

Just at that point of time, Kim Bum joined the “Survival Star Audition” organized by KBS, which boosted his confidence significantly. “Survival Star Audition” was a platform aimed to uncover young stars in their early 20s. Kim Bum, who was 17 then, shone among the thousands of participants, and was pushed to the top ten. He however did not proceed further due to his young age, but still retained the 8th position.

Following “Survival Star Audition”, Kim Bum started to receive new acting opportunities. As the son of Yoo Ho Jung in “Outrageous Women” and playing in MBC’s comedy sitcom “Unstoppable High Kick”, Kim Bum garnered a little popularity. With fame comes with accusations. The internet then had gossips about him. Even though this is the part and parcel of being an actor, I still dropped my tears whenever I see those comments.

Kim Bum was persistent. He said to me, “Mum, please don’t look at the comments on the internet.” Luckily, the negative comments didn’t continue to follow. I guess it was because of my “ritual” to send the “ghosts” away.

Looking at his recent performance, I couldn’t stop but to recall the scene when he signed his contract with his management agency. I cried uncontrollably then as I was worried that he would be bounded by others. I felt like my son had been taken away from me.

Kim Bum held my hands and promised me: “Mom, please believe in me.” Indeed, right after, he did not disappoint me. Hence, I believe Kim Bum will be able to become one of the greatest actor in Korea.

(End of story)

Credits: HanFever + ISPlus