'Spine shattered, body swollen, but I danced only for fans,' Lee Junho recalls his brutal 2PM idol days

Singer and actor Junho is no stranger to pushing his limits, but his revelations about his 2PM days show just how far he went for his fans.

On October 5, the YouTube channel Yojung Jaehyung released a video titled “When Did You Grow This Much…?”, featuring Junho sharing stories from his grueling idol days. “Back then, injuries were common. While doing choreography, my ligament completely tore and left eight holes,” he recalled.

The severity escalated: “Getting stitches for injuries and torn ligaments was normal. My spine had issues at the 3rd and 5th discs, but the 4th vertebra actually broke. When I saw the X-ray, it was completely fractured. During a rehearsal, I suddenly heard a ‘snap’ and my head hurt so badly that I collapsed and couldn’t get up. That’s when I went to the hospital.”

Even while wearing a back brace to let his bones heal, Junho didn’t skip a performance. “I loved performing too much. It’s a different concept compared to now, but back then, it was a promise to the fans who came to see the show. I didn’t want to just stand there passively.”

He described the surreal mix of pain and adrenaline: “Listening to music made me want to move. Even with my whole body swollen and moving slowly, the adrenaline reduced the pain. After finishing the stage, I had to be taken backstage in a wheelchair. I thought, ‘If I don’t do this, what else would I have?’ I felt so ashamed for myself back then.”

Junho is now starring in the Netflix series, Typhoon Family.