Lee Sung-woo of the rock group No Brain revealed anecdotes about being repeatedly stopped for suspicion checks by police and even taken to a police station because of his flamboyant hair and clothing.
On the second, Lee Sung-woo (50), vocalist, and Hwang Hyun-seong, drummer, of the first-generation punk rock group No Brain, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary since its formation, appeared on tvN's variety program 'You Quiz on the Block'.
Lee Sung-woo stated that before joining No Brain, he worked as a guest vocalist for Crying Nut and frequently stayed at various members' homes. He mentioned that he used to dye his hair in multiple colors such as green and yellow, and shared anecdotes about incidents involving the families of the Crying Nut members because of this.
Lee Sung-woo said, "When I had green hair, I stayed at Kyung-rok's house and woke up to find his father looking at my head and saying, 'Green-haired people cannot set foot in Dongbu I-chon-dong,' before throwing a fan at me." He added that he later received an apology from The Korea Economic Daily (Hankyung)'s father.
He recalled that friction often occurred even at performance venues due to unfamiliar stares toward punk rock bands in the 1990s. Lee Sung-woo mentioned that crowd control personnel would stop audience members who jumped around while enjoying the show, leading to arguments. "If someone picked a fight on the street, we'd end up fighting again. Life was a continuous series of fights. I was angry every day," he reminisced.
In particular, he revealed that they were frequently subjected to suspicion checks by police due to their appearance and clothing at the time.
Lee Sung-woo said, "I wore a leather jacket, had flashy hair, carried a knife, and even attached chains, so I must have looked suspicious." He added, "When we got off at subway stations, police would say, 'Open your bag!'"
He continued, "Even when we opened our bags and nothing special was found, if we went near the main entrance of Hongdae, they'd catch us again and make us open our bags. I once asked, 'How many times are you going to stop me?' and ended up being taken to a police station."
Hwang Hyun-seong also revealed similar experiences. He said, "At that time, I had a woman who was doing well, and I wanted to appear tough, but we both ended up being helplessly taken to a police station during a suspicion check." He added, "I couldn't act tough there or do anything, so I remember feeling embarrassed."
Lee Sung-woo also shared stories of facing financial hardships in the early days of his band activities. He said, "There were times when making money through music wasn't possible. There were days we could only survive on one meal, and I even worked as a pizza delivery driver. Once, I got lost while delivering and was fired."
He further recalled that he also worked at construction sites to make a living. "I worked with yellow hair, and a child passing by said, 'If you don't study, you'll end up like this.' But since I was doing this work while being part of the band No Brain, I didn't feel the least bit intimidated by such remarks," he reminisced.
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