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It’s genuinely disappointing how quick some people are to dismiss a person’s past, especially when that past involves childhood trauma.
We’re talking about someone who, at the age of six, was physically abused by his father, neglected, starved, bullied, and abandoned by his mother. That’s not just a “tough upbringing”—that’s deep, life-altering trauma. And yet, some still respond with, “That doesn’t excuse how he acts.”
No one’s saying it does. But what’s concerning is the complete lack of empathy. The inability or refusal to even try to understand how a child who was never protected, never loved properly, might grow into an adult who struggles to express care in healthy ways.
Jaekyung is flawed, yes. But he's not evil. He’s someone who grew up surviving, not thriving. And when a person grows up believing the world is against them, it’s not surprising they grow defensive, even aggressive. That doesn’t make their behavior right, but it does make it understandable.
You don’t have to excuse him. You don’t even have to like him. But if you can’t find compassion for a child who was failed by everyone around him, that says more about your perspective than it does about his.
Empathy doesn’t mean approval. It means recognizing the humanity in people, especially for those like him who never had a chance.