Man comes forward to reveal that The Boyz's Sunwoo gave him money when he was homeless, 'I couldn't bear to see Sunwoo hyung being misunderstood'

This past weekend, The Boyz member Sunwoo became wrapped up in an "attitude controversy" after past footage of him began garnering attention online. In the viral video, Sunwoo was seen dropping his Airpods while walking toward an elevator. Once he noticed that he had dropped his Airpods, he shouted loudly, prompting a security guard nearby to quickly pick up the Airpods and hand them to him. Sunwoo then accepted the Airpods from the guard with "one hand" and walked away "without thanking the guard", thereby creating the "Airpods incident" or the "Airpods controversy" 

The issue further escalated when singer and actress Nana criticized the idol's attitude in the viral video, commenting, "He needs to be scolded." 

Eventually, The Boyz's label ONE HUNDRED issued an official statement of apology on behalf of Sunwoo, confirming that the idol was "reflecting on his actions." 

Then, some time after Sunwoo's "Airpods controversy" became a hot issue, an individual stepped forward to defend the idol.

In fact, back in January of this year, a video titled, "A person I met through 'Battleground' was a positive influence in my life," was posted on a channel which shares anonymous stories. 

The individual behind the anonymous story revealed, 

"I grew up in foster care. But did you know that once you become of legal age, you have to leave foster care? Well, I didn't have anywhere to go, so even though I was technically exempt from the country's mandatory military service as a person who grew up in foster care, I still decided to go enlist for the pay. But all of the money I earned from my service went to paying for my younger brother's leukemia treatment. After that, I didn't have a place to live, so I started working as a construction worker where they gave you room and board, to save up money for a room I could rent with my brother. In December, I decided to go to Seoul for the first time. It was always my dream. I slept at the sauna and took on whatever single day jobs I could find, and lived off of one cup ramen a day. On days when I couldn't find a day job, I slept on the streets. One day, I was playing 'Battleground' at a PC-bang (computer cafe) and found someone who was really easy to talk to. We played a few rounds and started talking about this and that, and I told him that I was in Seoul now, but I'll be going to Busan to live with my brother soon. He said, 'I live in Seoul too,' so half-joking, I asked, 'Hyung, can you give me a place to sleep for 5 days?'. Hearing that, he asked me, 'Did you eat?', and I said I didn't, and then he sent me a taxi and paid for me to get a ride to Chungdam-dong. He treated me to yukhoe bibimbap and grilled meat and asked me about my life, so I told him. After hearing my story, he said, 'Tell me your bank account number'. My hands started shaking as I told him, and sure enough, he sent me an unbelievable amount of money. He told me, 'Stay at a motel until you get paid, and make sure to eat at least 2 meals a day.' When I said, 'How can I pay you back?', he replied, 'You don't have to pay me back. But if you're doing better later on and come across someone who needs help, make sure to help them out'. A few years later, I saw a kid living at the sauna like I used to, and offered to buy him a meal. It made me think of the words Sunwoo hyung said to me back then. Thank you, Sunwoo hyung!"

At the time that the video was posted, the individual of the story did not disclose the identity of the mysterious "Sunwoo hyung" who had helped him out. However, in response to the recent "Airpods controversy", the individual behind the story came forward to confirm that the "Sunwoo hyung" who had helped him out was The Boyz's Sunwoo. 

The man explained his reason for speaking out in a comment under the original YouTube video, stating,

"Hello, I am the person who sent in this story. After the video was posted, a lot of people wondered who 'Sunwoo hyung' might be. At the time, Sunwoo hyung just told me that he was a dancer, so I believed him. But then I recently came across the 'Airpods controversy' on YouTube, and found out that Sunwoo hyung was actually an idol. I saw how people were judging Sunwoo hyung based on such a short clip, saying that he had attitude issues and leaving malicious comments, and I couldn't bear to see him being misunderstood. So I decided to come forward with this comment. To me, Sunwoo hyung is someone who helped me financially when I didn't have money to eat or sleep, and when I had to frequent the hospital for severe eczema. It was the first time in my life that I thought to myself, 'I wonder if this is what it's like to have a family?'. The Sunwoo hyung I know is quick to offer help to a stranger, expecting nothing in return except for that person to pass on that kindness to others. He is absolutely not a person with an 'attitude problem' as that short video makes him out to be. It pains me to see so many people leaving malicious comments about him over just one video. I would even say that he saved my life with the generosity he offered me, a stranger, that day. To repay him, I am writing in the hopes that more people will know what Sunwoo hyung did for me. Thank you for reading this long comment." 

Many netizens who had come across the story from above months ago reacted in shock, commenting,

"I remember seeing this. It was Sunwoo from The Boyz?? I thought for sure it would be some ahjusshi."

"I thought this story was about some anonymous civilian probably in their forties."

"I saw this some time ago. Who knew it would come back up like this?"

"You can tell that the person seriously wanted to do something for Sunwoo after seeing the 'Airpods controversy'."

"I had no idea that this 'Sunwoo' was that 'Sunwoo hyung'!!!!"

"That's hard to do, even for a rich person."

"This is karma in action!! If you do good, it will come back and help you out when you need it!!"

"I can't believe a young person helped a stranger out like that. This story is so moving."

"Honestly, it's scary what a single viral video can do..."

"Too many people were judging him based on a few seconds of footage. The fact that people started attacking him with whatever else they could dig up the moment they saw a weak spot... I'm losing my faith in humanity."

"This story is like something out of a drama. It's crazy to see that someone actually experienced it."