Singer Kangin, a former member of boy band Super Junior, is making a comeback for the first time in seven years after a series of mishaps regarding his private life — this time, with a new song.

Kang announced this new digital single, titled "Love is Pain." He has not yet disclosed specific release date.


“I was able to hold a meet and greet tour starting with the Philippines, and I had a chance to sing a part of the song I wrote, even though it wasn’t fully finished yet,” Kang said in a self-interview formatted video posted on his YouTube channel.

Kang kicked off his meet and greet events in Manila, the Philippines, in January. He has toured Vietnam, Mexico, Peru, Chile and Hong Kong. He is set to hold the same events in Taiwan this month and in Japan next month.

“Thanks to the support you [referring to fans] all showed me during the tour, I found the courage to finally share the full version,” Kang said.

While noting his “fans who have waited for a long time” as a motivation for his new work, he promised to show a better version of himself to them.

Kang debuted as a member of Super Junior in 2005. However, he was not able to fully participate in team activitiesoccasionally due to his involvement in various accidents, such as a hit-and-run accident while driving under the influence of alcohol in 2009 and a physical assault while being intoxicated in the same year.

He also committed another drunk driving in 2016 and was fined to pay 7 million won ($4,634). He allegedly assaulted a woman in 2017.

After a series of scandals, he left the boy band in 2019 and opened his YouTube channel in July 2023 to begin his solo activity.


BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]