"Back Then..." MINGYU Shares that the Worst Memories of His Lifetime Are from Trainee Period

MINGYU of K-pop boy group SEVENTEEN reflected on his trainee years, expressing that it is a time he would never want to revisit.

On May 5, MINGYU and his group member JOSHUA guested on singer Jung Jae-hyung's YouTube show. 

During the recording of this YouTube show, MINGYU reminisced about the past when he was a trainee for five years, saying that he got to start his training after being scouted around his school by PLEDIS Entertainment's casting director. 

MINGYU said, "Honestly, I don't ever want to go back to that time of my life. All the bad memories of my life are from that time. It was so hard. I couldn't sleep, you know. I would practice until four in the morning, then take the subway to school and sleep there. Thankfully though, my teachers understood my lifestyle." 

He continued, "I would head back to the studio for more practice during lunchtime. Often, I'd nod off on the subway ride there, then spend the entire day practicing. At night, it was back to the dorm, and straight off to school again. That was my routine every single day."
Jung Jae-hyung then asked, "Were you anxious back then? Did you have worries like, 'What if I don't make it even after putting in all this effort?'"

MINGYU replied, "I think... As a young child, I just felt like I had to push myself and keep going. As days went by, I felt like I couldn't just throw away all the time I'd put in. It was like, "I've been at this for a month already, can't just give up now," and then it turned into, "Two months in? No way I'm stopping." And it kept piling up like that for 4-5 years."

Thinking back, MINGYU commented, "I feel sorry for myself. If I could go back and tell my past self one thing, I'd probably just say, 'Man, you're really having it rough.' But! I can't deny that I was lucky." 

He explained, "If you think about it, the casting director who discovered me happened to be right there at the school gate when I was leaving school. If I had been late that day that my teacher made me clean up the school after hours, or if I had gone out the back gate, I wouldn't have crossed paths with them. And if that hasn't happened, I wouldn't have achieved any of the things I have now." 

To his words, Jung Jae-hyung said, "You already seem more mature than me in terms of mentality and life attitude. You went through all of that when you were young without making any big complaints, and that's very impressive."  

MINGYU joked, "It's been about 10 years since I made my debut as SEVENTEEN now, and a lot of those employees from my trainee days are still working at my agency. I'm letting all the anger from childhood on them now," then laughed.  
 
(Credit= '요정재형' YouTube, PLEDIS Entertainment) 

(SBS Star)