He’s a veteran K-pop idol and his father is a veteran soccer coach.
In a recent episode of the Korean variety show I Live Alone where celebrities take viewers through their everyday lives, Minho from the K-pop group Shinee spent the day with his father Choi Yun-kyum, a former national football player and now the head coach of Yongin FC in K League Two.
The 34-year-old idol-actor said Choi is the oldest head coach in the South Korean soccer scene with 20 years under his belt and has “gone through all kinds of hardship”.
During the episode, Minho visited his father while he coached players and even hired a coffee truck with fruit boxes he prepared himself.
“Visit us with a coffee truck from time to time. Should it be a quarterly thing?” joked Choi and Minho smiled as he replied: “I’ll come whenever you want. I didn’t come because I didn’t want to get in your way.”
After some banter and a casual soccer challenge on the field, they visited a cafe before heading to Choi’s apartment provided by his job.
Upon entering, Minho remarked it was “too empty”. Checking out the place, he appeared shocked to see an empty fridge despite a functioning stove available.
Even the closet looks bare and Minho asked: “Don’t you need more clothes?”
Choi said he only needed his workout attire and a suit, and Minho insisted on getting more for him before adding: “Why do you and mum always say no when I want to do something for you guys?”
His dad then laughed in reply: “We don’t want your help.”
In a separate interview during the episode, Minho shared his thoughts at the time: “When I visited the apartment, there really was nothing. I felt for him, to be honest. He must be bored and lonely there.”
Appearing sombre, he added: “When I think about how he spends his time in that empty apartment… It was one of those moments that made me feel a bit apologetic. ‘Living here alone must feel lonely. I’ll need to call him often.’ I had that thought.”
He later shared that he felt both happy and sad that day.
“I thought he’d kick the soccer ball with ease, but he wasn’t how he used to be. I realised that many years have passed,” he said.
“We feel happy when we’re together, I felt bad I hadn’t visited sooner. Whenever people ask me what kind of person I want to be, I always say someone like my dad… It’s thanks to him that I’ve grown up well.”
Minho, who has lived apart from his family since high school, debuted with Shinee in 2008.
He starred in his first drama Pianist in 2011 before landing his breakout role in the 2012 hit series To The Beautiful You.
He has since acted in dramas such as Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (2016), Somehow 17 (2017), The Fabulous (2022) and Romance in the House (2024).
In his spare time, he’s often seen on runs and participating in fitness competitions such as AIA Hyrox.
On April 3, he competed at Hyrox Singapore in the men’s open division with Physical: 100’s Hong Beom-seok. They finished first in their division and fourth overall with a time of 56 minutes and 21 seconds.
I Live Alone is streaming on Viu.
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syarifahsn@asiaone.com
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