Shinhwa's Kim Dong-wan says online attacks over Park Wi comments gave him PTSD

Kim Dong-wan, a member of the K-pop group Shinhwa and an actor, has spoken out about the online criticism he has been receiving.

Writing on his SNS account Wednesday, Kim said he had come to realize how different the scale of online exposure is from real life. "In the real world you deal with a few dozen people, but online you find out that hundreds or thousands are watching you — and then you experience a barrage of mindless attacks over something you said offhandedly," he wrote.

He went on to say that hesitating to block such users out of a sense of "who am I to say anything" was a mistake. "The moment you waver with that complacent thought, your fragile inner self begins to warp through repeated wounds," he wrote.

He added that the experience left him feeling withdrawn and on edge. "You fall into the illusion that the real world, too, is full of people like that — and beyond that, you end up with PTSD," he wrote.

Kim had been sharing various opinions on SNS recently and clashed with some users in the process. He also weighed in on a controversy involving YouTuber Park Wi.

Regarding Park's release of CCTV footage showing him being injured while getting off a KTX train, Kim wrote: "I don't know all the details of what happened this time. But I do feel like I can see that the time it takes for an ordinary person to end up in the news has gotten very short."

As criticism followed, Kim clarified that he had no personal connection to Park. "I have no friendship or vested interest with Park Wi," he said, adding that he also did not take lightly the situation of the social service worker who had made an unintentional mistake and apologized at the scene, only to be exposed to public criticism.