Kim Bum-soo Confesses Trauma Experienced During 2021 Concert, "The Path to the Stage Felt Like a Gallows"

Singer Kim Bum-soo confessed to the trauma he experienced during a past concert and the process of becoming afraid of the stage because of it. In a recently released video from the SBS variety program 'My Little Old Boy', there is a scene where Kim Bum-soo specifically mentions the stage trauma that has continued for seven years.

The nightmare of the 2021 concert day, "It felt like only 1% battery was left"

Kim Bum-soo explained the beginning of the trauma while recalling the situation during his 20th-anniversary concert held in 2021. He revealed that while conducting rehearsals at the time, he felt warning signs that his throat condition was deteriorating rapidly, unlike usual. In the video, Kim Bum-soo expressed his embarrassment at the time, saying, "After rehearsing for about an hour, my throat usually starts to loosen up, but that day, as soon as I used my throat for about an hour, it felt like only 5% of my battery was left." He continued to describe the situation, saying, "I tried for one more hour, but it felt like only 1% of the battery was left and my voice wouldn't come out."

At the time, Kim Bum-soo visited the otolaryngology clinic he usually attends, but he said he received a diagnosis from the medical staff who had checked his condition the previous day, stating, "In your current state, you must not perform today." On the day of the performance, with the audience already entering, Kim Bum-soo, who reached the conclusion that he could not proceed with the performance, revealed his feelings at the time, saying, "As a singer, it felt like the heavens were collapsing." Regarding the process of going up on stage, he added, "It felt like I was walking up to a gallows, and I was scared that I would never be able to come down again."

The comfort given by the audience's applause and the subsequent mental damage

When he decided not to force the performance and asked for the audience's understanding, Kim Bum-soo said he received unexpected comfort from the audience's reaction. Kim Bum-soo said, "I told them I was sorry after singing and coming down, but the audience gave me applause from who knows where and shouted that it was okay," adding, "That sight was so warm that I actually felt even more sorry." However, this situation remained a huge mental shock to Kim Bum-soo. He explained, "When I lay down after returning home, I suffered immense damage," and "Just as when a major accident occurs and that moment is recognized by the brain and appears like a nightmare, that was the beginning of the trauma created then."

Stage phobia and condition fluctuations that lasted for 7 years

Afterward, Kim Bum-soo confessed that, unlike his previous self who enjoyed the stage, he entered a state of fearing the stage. He said, "When I try to go on stage, my hands and feet go numb, I sweat, and my heart beats so hard that I can hear the sound of my heartbeat." In particular, he revealed that every time he tried to start performing on stage again, he experienced the moment of the concert where he suffered the past trauma resurfacing. Kim Bum-soo added, "I thought I had erased it for a year, but I couldn't understand why this was happening," and "My condition fluctuated heavily, as if moving between 1 and 10." He shared that he had endured with the thought that he had to overcome these difficulties himself.