Kim Jae Young (born 1988) is a rising South кσяєαn actor who has gained increasing recognition in recent years. He first drew widespread attention for his role as the αѕѕαѕѕin Moo-yeon in the нιт historical drama 100 Days My Prince (2018), followed by his portrayal of a devoted male lead in Love in Contract (2022), where he starred opposite Park Min Young.
In particular, in late 2024 and early 2025, Kim Jae Young achieved a major breakthrough with his role as ρσℓι¢є officer Han Da-on in the highly popular drama The Judge from Hell. His performance earned him the Best Actor Award at the SBS Drama Awards, marking a significant milestone in his acting career.
Most recently, Kim Jae Young’s new drama Idol I has attracted considerable attention, especially from K-pop fans, as it offers a direct and unflinching portrayal of the harsh realities faced by кσяєαn idols behind the glamorous spotlight. In the series, Kim Jae Young plays Do Ra Ik, the main vocalist and visual of the popular idol group Gold Boyz. Despite his success and fame, Do Ra Ik leads an uneasy life, constantly haunted by obsessive fans who stalk, chase, shove, verbally abuse, and even threaten him.
From the early episodes of the drama, some viewers began to notice striking parallels between Do Ra Ik’s life as an idol and that of Jungkook, one of the most prominent K-pop icons today. On social media, a split-screen video juxtaposing scenes of sasaeng fans pursuing Do Ra Ik in Idol I with real-life footage of Jungkook repeatedly having his privacy invaded quickly went viral. The similarities—described by many as nearly 99 percent identical—left viewers deeply unsettled.
Notably, Kim Jae Young himself later “liked” the Instagram post featuring the viral video, accompanied by the caption: “Just saw Idol I clips on my feed and felt like it’s a mirror to what Jungkook goes through. He pays the highest price of being an idol.” His action quickly caught fans’ attention and was widely interpreted as an expression of empathy toward Jungkook and the hardships the idol has been enduring.
In reality, since his military discharge in June this year, Jungkook has experienced at least three serious incidents involving invasions of his private residence. On the very day of his discharge, he was reportedly followed at home. Another incident was even more ѕнσ¢кing, as an intruder hid in his garage in an attempt to approach him. Furthermore, while Jungkook was on a business trip to נαραи in November, a different individual repeatedly attempted to enter his home by inputting the door pαѕѕcode over four consecutive days.
Beyond threats to his personal safety, Jungkook has also been subjected to verbal abuse and defamation from sasaeng fans, abandoned by a segment of toxic fans, and harshly attacked by netizens over a baseless dating rumor that surfaced without any concrete evidence. Protest trucks were even sent to the front of his agency’s building, demanding that he leave the group.
The events depicted in Idol I are not mere fiction but a stark reflection of the reality that Jungkook—and many other idols—have been forced to endure due to the extreme fan culture perpetuated by a minority of fans. While Do Ra Ik’s suffering may last only a few episodes on screen, Jungkook has been living with such pressure for over a decade, not just in the past six months. This reality further amplifies the significance and emotional weight of Kim Jae Young’s reaction to the post drawing parallels between his role and Jungkook.
Social media platforms were set ablaze as netizens shared their heartfelt αωє:
- Even the actor knows how similar the situation is to what jungkook is facing daily being a kpop idol is so scary..
- He is the most popular idol in the industry so of course the fan behavior surrounding him will be crazier than most other idols. Popularity literally means you are "loved" most but on the flip side you have the highest number of crazy people willing to invade your privacy
- It seems literally everyone knows about his suffering with the crazy sasaengs and that he's the idol who suffers the most from them, just free him :((
- Recently everything in entertainment is getting inspired by Jungkook
- Everyone in кσяєα knows about everything terrible Jungkook has been going through lately, yet HYBE still doesn’t lift a finger to protect or defend its biggest artist. God, I hate that d*mn company
- Jekey likes watching K-dramas. I wonder if he’d feel sad watching this one. Honestly, my chest really hurts imagining idols going through things like this—especially when it happens to your bias
- Just the other day—was it Tuesday or Wednesday?—my coworker and I were talking about how being an idol, especially someone like JK, is just soмєтнing we couldn’t handle. No matter how comfortable his life may seem with everything he has now, I personally wouldn’t be able to cope with the risk of my privacy being invaded from all sides, with endless rumors popping up one after another
- The fact that even Kim Jae Young sees the parallels between Idol I and Jungkook’s real life is honestly нєαятвяєαкιиg. This isn’t fiction—it’s reality
- Kim Jae Young liking that video says everything. The actor himself feels it mirrors Jungkook’s life now
- Idol I was already painful to watch, but knowing Jungkook is actually living through this makes it so much worse
- When an actor acknowledges that his role reflects what Jungkook goes through in real life, you know there’s a real problem
