Taeyang's older brother Dong Hyun-bae: 'I have never relied on my younger brother financially'

Dong Hyun-bae, an actor and the older brother of BIGBANG member Taeyang (real name Dong Young-bae), drew a line against the perception that he has leaned on his younger brother financially — and said he wants to build a legacy as an actor in his own right, not simply as "Taeyang's older brother."

On Wednesday, Dong posted the first video on his YouTube channel "Unknown Actor Dong Hyun-bae," titled "I Have Been Trapped for 20 Years." In it, he said even close friends introduce him in private as "Taeyang's older brother." "I don't mind it — it's the truth," he said. "Even my maternal uncle refers to me that way."

Dong said he had unknowingly internalized the constraints that came with that label. "Without realizing it, I kept thinking, 'I can't do this, I can't do that' within the frame of being Taeyang's older brother," he said. "It wasn't just my burden — I felt I had to protect my family. I think I lived that way for 20 years without fully knowing it."

Asked whether he had ever received financial help from Taeyang, Dong acknowledged receiving support from his parents but was firm on one point. "Of course my parents have helped me financially," he said. "But I have never relied on my younger brother. He is still my younger brother."

Dong said he served as student body president in middle school and was a strong student in high school. He recalled that when his younger brother was training as a singer, the family atmosphere was one of "let's have only one person pursue the arts."

His own ambitions were sparked after watching the musical "Footloose." "I could not forget the roar of the audience," he said. "Acting was the only thing that made me competitive."

Dong said he has auditioned more than 500 times and regularly distributes his profile every quarter. He added that he had auditioned for "Inside Men" and "The Outlaws."

"Acting is all I have," he said. "I believe that someday I will be able to prove myself."

Dong also spoke candidly about making ends meet. "I still work part-time at a gelato shop run by a close friend, and I have taught acting at a hagwon and given private lessons. I have even done shifts at Coupang Inc," he said. "Strangely, work tends to come up just when things get really hard."

He acknowledged that his best-known credit to date remains his association with his brother's fame. "The thing I am most known for is still being Taeyang's older brother, and if I had to name a signature work it would be 'Eojjeoda Sajang,'" he said. "There are so many roles I want to play — I want to try romance, I want to try playing a villain."

He added: "But right now, I am just grateful to be acting at all. I simply want to act. That makes me happy." "Eojjeoda Sajang" is a tvN variety program on which Dong appeared as a guest in 2021.

Dong made his debut in the 2006 film "Hwaryeonhaji Aneun Gobaek." He has since appeared in the JTBC drama series "Hello, My Twenties!" (2016), KBS2's "Choegoui Hanbang" (2017), SBS's "The Last Empress" (2018), OCN's "Trap" (2019), and the films "Prison" (2017), "Irregular Special Agent" (2017) and "Park Hwa-young" (2018).