In an interview, JYJ Kim Junsu revealed what he experienced after being restricted from TV by SM Entertainment when he left TVXQ.
On June 7, the second-gen K-pop icon and former TVXQ member was invited as the latest guest for the YouTube web show, "ZIP DAESUNG," hosted by the BIGBANG member, Daesung.
On this day, the two stars recalled the "rivalry" between the legendary groups that they were in during their heyday. Junsu also talked about various anecdotes about his former group and the implications once he departed from the team.
As a quick background, TVXQ originally debuted in 2003 introducing five members including Kim Jaejoong, Yoochun, Junsu, Yunho and Changmin.
They were launched by SM Entertainment and upon their debut, they immediately reached stardom with their hits, "Mirotic," "Hug," and "Rising Sun."
However, in 2009, about 6 years after their debut, Jaejoong, Junsu and Yoochun filed a lawsuit against the company for unfair treatment highlighting its 13-year contract period and profit distribution method.
The case ended with a settlement between the two parties after three years in 2012, but JYJ made an impact in the K-pop scene as the South Korean Fair Trade Commission reduced the contract period to seven years for all labels.
Unfortunately, they faced the repercussion of going against SM after the company quietly "blacklisted" Junsu, Jaejoong and Yoochun from appearing in national television and music programs.
It went on for six years until Junsu was given the opportunity to break the "ban" with his appearance in EBS Space.
In the interview then, Junsu told Daesung about the hardships he faced while pursuing a career amid the ban, narrating:
"I was actually worried. In the past, for example, if I had a soccer tournament with the celebrities' soccer club, Entertainment Weekly would come to film and interview the actors or the idols.
They would interview me as well. But I knew that I couldn't appear on TV, so I told them that, but they said it was okay so I did the interview. But it didn't make it on the TV. I was edited out."
He continued that singing, which is his main job has more restrictions when it comes to music broadcast appearance. Junsu added:
"Singing on stage was much more limited. My fans wouldn't know about this, but I even had some shootings that never got aired."
Amid hopelessness and thoughts of giving up, EBS contacted him and Junsu expressed his gratitude, saying:
"I thought about giving up then but since that stage, I thought I should keep trying although I don't know how long I can manage. I was wondering if it would work and then I was on air. I was so thankful. I want to thank them again (EBS Space)."
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Written by Eunice Dela Cruz
