NRG's Cheon Myung-hun writes letter to late member Kim Hwan-sung ahead of 29th anniversary
Ahead of NRG's Oct. 28 debut anniversary, Cheon Myung-hun wrote to Kim Hwan-sung, who died at 19 in 2000, vowing to carry the group through to its 30th year.
A letter 29 years in the making
NRG's Cheon Myung-hun has written an open letter to the late Kim Hwan-sung, timed to the group's approaching 29th debut anniversary on October 28. Kim passed away on June 15, 2000, at age 19. A wisdom tooth extraction while he had cold symptoms triggered a high fever and breathing difficulty. He was hospitalized, fell into brain death, and died nine days after admission.
Cheon traced NRG back to 1996. "Hwan-sung, do you remember? In 1996 when you were active as Kkabbi Kkabbi, we first met by chance in the SBS bathroom," he wrote. He told Kim then: "Let's do this together." Kim agreed. On October 28, 1997, NRG was formed.
"7 years passed before we could achieve our wish of 1st place"
Cheon was candid about the group's internal dynamics. After NRG debuted, he grew closer to members Sung-hun and Yu-min, leaving him feeling "quite disappointed" about his distance from Kim. Still, he was happy because they were together.
He addressed the years after Kim's death directly:
"Anyway, you fell asleep like that and 7 years passed before we could achieve our wish of 1st place."
Cheon told Kim that even 29 years on, fans still love NRG. (Twenty-six years of that fandom built without him.)
One more year
Cheon closed the letter with a promise. He plans to keep NRG going through the group's 30th debut anniversary next year. "Hwan-sung, let's just do this for 30 years. Just until next year's 30th anniversary, go go go," he wrote. "Don't be jealous, okay?"
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