Former After School member Kahi is garnering much attention after candidly opening up about the domestic violence and emotional wounds she experienced during her childhood.
On June 16, Kahi appeared on the CBS YouTube show, 'Make Us New,' where she tearfully shared the pain she endured as a child.
She recalled, "When I came home at the age of three, I couldn’t even recognize my mother’s face," describing the early emotional distance and separation within her family.
Regarding her household environment, she explained, “My father was tall, handsome, and had even completed graduate school, but he was extremely patriarchal. My mother, on the other hand, was a full-time housewife who was always intimidated.”
Describing her home as a “survival zone,” Kahi confessed, “I always felt unloved and lonely. Home never felt like a place for me.” She added, "I remember one time, I caught my mother washing a blanket that was soaked with her blood after my father beat her," and explained that abuse eventually came to her.
She opened up about the abuse, revealing, “There wasn’t a single object I wasn’t beaten with. Sticks, belts, hangers. I was hit at the slightest provocation.”
She confessed she would often spend nights at school because she was unwilling to go home. Eventually, she decided to leave home to pursue her passion for dance despite her father’s opposition.
She confessed, “I remember hiding in the bathroom with a friend, saying, ‘I really don’t want to go back.’ My friend opened the window and said, ‘Ji Young, go.’ That window changed my life." She later made a name for herself as a backup dancer for artists like DJ DOC, BoA, SE7EN, and Wheesung.
In 2009, she made headlines by debuting as the leader of the girl group After School in her late 20s.
Now reflecting on her past, Kahi shared, “Looking back, I think my parents were going through a really hard time too,” expressing sympathy over the financial struggles the family faced after her father’s business failed, and gratitude toward her mother. “I’m so thankful my mom stayed with us and protected us, even without divorcing my dad during that difficult time,” she said.
Kahi is now married to businessman Yang Jun Moo, who is three years her senior, and is a mother of two sons. She has built a warm, loving family of her own. Her heartfelt story of overcoming the scars of domestic violence and building a new life offers courage and comfort to many who have endured similar pain.
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