'Ran away at 16 and never went back': Singer Shawn's surprising past

Shawn, one half of the duo Jinusean and widely known for his charitable giving, has revealed that he ran away from home at 16 and never returned.

Appearing Monday on the YouTube channel "Isengmi's Can't Leave," Shawn said he left home after a quarrel with his mother. "I ran away when I was 16. I can barely remember it now, but back then I had a hot temper," he said. "I got into some kind of argument with my mother and just walked out."

He said he stayed away for two days before realizing he needed his belongings. "I went back, packed up my things and said, 'I'm going to live on my own,' and walked out. After that, I never went back," he said.

When host Lee Seong-mi expressed surprise, asking how he managed without money, Shawn explained that he supported himself by working in Guam, a US territory.

"It was during school vacation. There are a few jobs you can do in the US at 16. Manual labor paid the most," he said. "I could earn $50 a day back then. I saved up doing manual labor all summer and used that money to stay in school."

About three months after leaving, Shawn said he visited home to let his parents know he was doing well — and only then grasped how much pain he had caused them. "From my parents' perspective, they were heartbroken. I was 16 and didn't really understand that," he said. "When I showed up, my mother grabbed me and said, 'I've been looking for you every single day.'"

He then reflected on why she had never found him. "You can drive around all of Guam in two hours. My friend's house was a five-minute walk away, and she still couldn't find me for three months," he said. "Looking back, I think God must have covered her eyes. If she had found me and I had gone home then, I probably never would have become a singer."

He added that his mother still regrets the education he missed. "I was a good student, and she still wishes I had studied more," he said. "If I had gone home, I definitely would have gone to university."

When Lee asked how upset he must have been with his mother to stay away so long, Shawn laughed it off. "I don't even remember. It's just my nature — once I make a decision, I don't look back," he said. "My relationship with my parents is great now. I call them and visit."

Shawn debuted with Jinusean in 1997 and married actor Jung Hye-young in 2004. The couple have two sons and two daughters. Starting the day after their wedding, the two began setting aside 10,000 won ($8) a day to donate to charity, and their combined donations have exceeded 6.5 billion won. Since 2020, Shawn has organized an annual charity marathon on Liberation Day called the "815 Run," in which he runs 81.5 kilometers to raise funds to build homes for descendants of independence activists. Through this year's seventh edition of the event, the seven-year total has reached 10.6 billion won.