Park Jihoon has finally revealed who his roommate is!
On May 9, a new episode titled “Breakfast Buffet is Pinggyego” was uploaded to the YouTube channel ‘DdeunDdeun’.
The episode featured actors Park Jihoon, Lee Sang-yi, and Yoon Kyung-ho, who all appear in the TVING original series “Becoming a Legend of the Cooking Soldier.” During the chat, Yoon Kyung-ho drew attention by mentioning actor Lee Jongmu, Park Jihoon’s best friend and roommate. Both are alumni of Seoul Performing Arts High School, and Lee Jongmu also appears as a driver in “Becoming a Legend of the Cooking Soldier.”
Yoon Kyung-ho shared, “I heard how the quiet Jihoon and Jongmu became so close, and Jongmu seems like a really cool guy. Can I talk about him?” He described Jongmu as taciturn and mature, adding, “When I asked how they ended up living together, he mentioned that back in high school, Jihoon once asked to borrow some money during his trainee days. He didn’t have money for a meal and wanted to buy some bread, so Jongmu lent it to him.”
Park Jihoon opened up about those days, saying, “I didn’t have a wallet during my trainee days.” He explained, “The company kept our wallets so we wouldn’t buy unhealthy things. I didn’t mind the food, but I was worried I’d get hooked on instant food, so I didn’t have a single penny in my pocket.” He recalled, “But I really wanted some bread. I asked, ‘Jongmu, could you lend me 1,000 won?’ and he readily did. I was so grateful for that. We met again later at a school reunion.”
After that, Park Jihoon rose to stardom as a member of Wanna One. However, he also faced a very difficult period. “It was so hard. Not financially, but I had hit rock bottom physically,” he confessed. “Suddenly, Jongmu asked me, ‘You’re having a hard time, right?’ and I just burst into tears. We were in the middle of Gangnam, and I cried for a long time while he hugged me. We became incredibly close after that and eventually decided to live together.”
Park Jihoon, who is still roommates with Lee Jongmu, added, “We were schoolmates, but we weren’t that close back then. I think I just really needed to hear those words.”
This led to a funny moment when Yoon Kyung-ho bragged about a privacy screen protector that Jongmu had given him.
Park Jihoon also looked back on the reunion during his busy days with Wanna One. “I hesitated a lot about whether to go to the reunion because I didn’t spend much time at school. I was always leaving early to go to the practice room. Still, I wanted to see everyone.” He recalled, “Some friends were happy to see me, but others weren’t. They didn’t say it directly, but there were subtle comments like, ‘You’re doing so well, you must not have any worries.'”
Yoon Kyung-ho added, “Jongmu said he heard those ‘you must be happy since you’re successful’ comments more than anything, and it made Jihoon look like he was struggling in that environment.”
Park Jihoon, who was the one to suggest living together, explained the reason: “I love working out, and that friend was a fitness trainer. Our hobbies aligned, and that’s how we started living together.”
