Lee Jung, carrying guilt for over 20 years... "I thought the member's accident was because of me"

Singer Lee Jung confessed to the economic hardships he experienced during his past group activities and the sorrow of losing a member.

In the video for 'Van Live', an original content series from the YouTube channel 'Miss & Mister Trot', singer Lee Jung reminisced about the process from his past activities with the group Seven Days to reinventing himself as a solo singer, Lee Jung.

"One meatball for a week"... The unknown days endured while living in a goshiwon

Lee Jung recalled the grueling life during his time at Dong-Ah Institute of Media and Arts. Living in a goshiwon near Sangwangsimni at the time to begin his career as a singer, he revealed that his economic situation was extremely difficult.

In the video, Lee Jung said, "Because my circumstances were not sufficient, I even lived by staying at a friend's studio apartment," adding, "I endured by buying one meatball at the goshiwon and eating one per day for a week." He also shared an anecdote of walking for three hours round trip to the Dongdaemun area where his agency was located to attend auditions because he lacked transportation money.

Recalling life at that time, Lee Jung added, "I even ate one pack of three-minute curry for two days."

Seven Days debut, the shadow of the World Cup, and the remaining guilt

Lee Jung also spoke about the formation process and the background of the dissolution of the group Seven Days. He explained that he met the members and formed the group through introductions from his school classmate, actor Choi Young-joon, and a composer friend. At that time, Seven Days was a group of members gathered with the goal of being like groups such as the Backstreet Boys or Boyz II Men of Korea.

Seven Days, who debuted during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, faced difficulties in their activities due to the fever of the World Cup at the time. Because the public's interest was focused on the World Cup, the group continued activities for about a year before disbanding; afterward, Lee Jung debuted again as the solo singer 'Lee Jung', and the remaining members became active as Wanted.

Above all, Lee Jung expressed deep sadness while mentioning a tragic accident that occurred during the group's activities. Mentioning the accident of member Jae-woo, he said, "Since then, time has actually stopped." He continued, confessing, "I have been living with the guilt for over 20 years, thinking that if it weren't for me, Jae-woo wouldn't have had to go."