Baekga

10 August:

It’s been a long time since we last saw Kim Jong Min, Shin Ji, and Baekga together as pop trio ‘Koyote‘. This group has finally announced their return to the music industry, and no one seems to be happier about it than member Baekga himself.

In 2009, it was announced that Baekga had undergone surgery due to a brain tumor. The star refused to let the tumor tie him down, and so during his recovery period, Baekga had took up photography as a side-job, thinking, ‘I might as well just take pictures since I’m sick.‘

However, what started out as a leisure activity quickly became his profession due to his hidden talent in photography. Baekga’s work became widely coveted, and he was surprised at the amount of income he was making with photography. So, was it necessary for a well-rounded photographer to be on stage as a pop artist again?

In response, Baekga firmly explained that Koyote’s reunion was an obvious, if not a natural, thing.

He said, “I missed performing alongside my members a lot during my year-and-a-half recovery period. It was weird taking such a long break since I worked as an artist during my early 20’s, and performed every year ever since; I watched our past videos as I waited for our reunion. I was a bit disappointed that taking a break was unavoidable, but I’m glad I stuck it out now that we are reunited“.

However, Baekga going back to becoming a Koyote wasn’t an easy transition. It was confirmed that he was cured, but it wasn’t certain that Baekga’s health would hold up through the rigorous pop artist schedule.

Baekga commented, “The surgery went well and I’ve recovered from it a lot. Thankfully, it’s not going to affect the team’s activity, but just to be sure, I’m still getting check-ups regularly and I always have painkillers and medicine on hand. The most important thing is condition adjustment. It’s very sensitive so if my body is stressed, things might get worse and it could have an effect on my members, so I have to take precautions“.

In addition, Baekga started dieting for Koyote’s comeback and lost nearly 16kg. After the surgery, Baekga was required to eat four meals a day for a year and a half, and he could not workout. As a result, Baekga gained weight from 72kg to nearly 90kg.

He admitted, “I exercised a lot before my comeback so that I can lose the hidden fat I acquired. I even lost 11kg in almost 2 weeks. I tend to follow things through when I make up my mind. The weight came off rather fast when I just ate chicken breasts and ran for 2 hours everyday“.

The side effects of the surgery didn’t just lie in weight gain, Baekga said – it also impacted his speech. “My pronunciation wasn’t that great to begin with, but after the surgery, it became even worse; I’m trying to work on it more by slowing down when I talk and enunciating every word.”

Although he’s still recovering from the surgery, Baekga commented that as long as he was reunited with his members, he wants to enjoy his work and show that he is hopeful for the best.

Concluding, Baekga said, “My first is Koyote. Everything, including photography, I did was possible and successful because of Koyote. I didn’t have any special determination before the comeback. I want to enjoy being a part of Koyote and I hope people cheer us on throughout our activities“.

Source & Photo: Newsen via Nate - allkpop