K-Pop Star JaeJoong Jokes About Getting Coronavirus as April Fool’s Prank

It seems that no one is safe from the deadly COVID-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV 2). Many celebrities, politicians and world leaders have also contracted the disease. Recently, the news came out that K-Pop star Jaejoong gets coronavirus. Or did he?

Although he is now a member of JYJ, K-Pop star JaeJoong started with a different band

In 2001, Kim JaeJoong joined the boy band, TVXQ, at the age of 15. He was the lead singer for the South Korean band. However, in 2009, JaeJoong and two other band members filed a lawsuit against their entertainment agency. Later, they formed their own band, JYJ. The band’s studio album, In Heaven, ranked number one on Gaon charts. Along with JYJ, JaeJoong has a successful solo career as well and his second solo album, No.X and ranked number on iTunes in 39 countries.

On 1st April, the news came out that K-Pop star JaeJoong gets coronavirus

In an Instagram post, it was announced that K-Pop star JaeJoong got coronavirus. The singer himself broke the news to his fans. He wrote:

I have been infected with COVID-19. It is a result of my negligence, ignoring the cautionary words shared by the government and those around me. A person’s individual actions can have such a big impact on society as a whole. I am so sorry to those who may have been infected because of me.

Furthermore, he wrote:

My foolish judgment to live as though it couldn’t happen to me is why I am like this today. I am currently hospitalized. I am reflecting on my past a lot and feeling both grateful and sorry. There are many things I want to say. There are many people I want to see so much.

After the news that K-Pop star JaeJoong gets coronavirus, his fans reacted and expressed their support. Many wanted it to be fake news and wished him to get well soon.

After gathering sympathies and prayers, JaeJoong declared that it was an April Fool’s prank

He edited the same Instagram post and wrote a lengthy apologetic post. JaeJoong wrote:

First, over the social media post I wrote, I want to express my sincere apologies to the people who have suffered because of COVID-19 and to the people who were disrupted in their administrative work. Bad judgment. I knew that’s what this was. The current lack of awareness of response methods and the dangerousness of the virus outbreak. I wanted to convey that message because I hoped that people would be more aware and therefore we could minimize the number of people who suffer because of COVID-19.

After that, he went on to talk about how people did not consider this to be a serious matter (how ironic!). Furthermore, he wrote:

It’s frustrating and hard but I want to try a bit harder than now and get through this difficult time together. My post today… it went very far, but I thought that if people paid a large amount of interest to it, then they might listen. This method has hurt a lot of people and I am receiving criticism for it. For causing distress, I sincerely apologize to the government agencies and medical professionals who are working hard because of COVID-19 and to the many people who are following instructions to give up on their lifestyles and are doing all they can to overcome this.

After K-Pop star JaeJoong gets coronavirus turned out to be a prank, his fans were furious and rightly so. It was not the time or topic to make jokes about. I wonder why no one stopped him from making such a distasteful joke.