Comedian Yu Byeong-gwon has opened up about being stalked.
On Friday, Yu appeared as a guest on the YouTube channel Studio Slam, where he said he had been the victim of stalking.
Yu said the stalker, when questioned by investigators, claimed the two were "fated to be together by heaven."
Yu recalled that the person appeared to have attended fan meet-and-greet events on occasion. "They always wore a mask, so their face was hidden and I had no idea who it was," he said. The person had been sending direct messages — "I had a great time today" — once every two months, then once a month.
Yu said that last winter he logged into his social media account to find a pile of direct messages waiting. "The photos looked strange, so I looked closely, and the convex mirror in them seemed like somewhere I recognized. At some point they started sending photos of convex mirrors near Hongjae Station," he said.
The messages eventually led closer to home. "It was just like a horror movie — the convex mirrors made it all the way to the one in front of my house," he said. "They sent a message saying 'I hope you have a wonderful day today,' and the mirror reflected the building right across from mine." The revelation left everyone in the studio stunned.
Yu said the stalker eventually broke into his home. "I was asleep and heard the rustling of a snack bag," he said. "I woke up and there was someone standing at the foot of my bed, covering their mouth and smiling. I was so startled I chased after them, but they ran off and disappeared."
When fellow guest Lee Seong-uk suggested the stalker must have broken in at other times when Yu was not home, Yu confirmed it. "They did come in. There are witness accounts," he said.
Yu added that his mother lives on the second floor of the building. "Later, thinking back on it, she said she had seen someone sitting in the living room drinking coffee and assumed it was just one of her acquaintances or someone she knew. But there was no one there at the time," he said.
Yu said he installed security equipment after the incident but added that the experience still haunts him. "I thought things would be fine after that, but any sound wakes me up now," he said.
Meanwhile, Yu is best known for his impersonation of the late actor Kim Su-mi and has appeared on a range of entertainment programs, including tvN's "Comedy Big League."
choigo@heraldcorp.com
