K-pop soloist Evan has opened up about his childhood battle with cancer and the brutal symptoms that led to his diagnosis.
The singer, formerly known as Heeseung of the boy band ENHYPEN, sat down around the table Weavers Magazine to discuss his ordeal.
Evan, 24, explained that he was in fourth grade when the shock diagnosis came.
‘I kept coughing, and at first I thought it was a cold and didn’t think much of it, but when I was playing football I took four or five steps and suddenly I couldn’t breathe.
“I found out later in the hospital that it was cancer,” he told the outlet.
Evan was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma, a form of cancer that starts in the infection-fighting white blood cells in the body’s lymphatic system, but can spread, according to Mayo Clinic.
He admitted that the “treatment process was not easy.”
“But when I saw my mother taking care of me non-stop, I wanted to put on a brave face for her,” said the star, whose real name is Lee Hee-seung.
K-pop star Evan has opened up about his childhood battle with cancer and the brutal symptoms that led to his diagnosis
The youngster often took part in talent shows for patients in the hospital, played the guitar and sometimes even took on the role of host.
“I’ve dreamed of being a singer since I was six, but to be honest, I didn’t really have the mental bandwidth to even think about that at the time,” says Evan.
Heartbreakingly, the South Korean singer also said that many of his fellow patients lost their lives.
‘I watched my friends die and kept thinking, ‘I want to live so badly, I want to go home.’ Fortunately, I survived the treatment and was able to continue with my life,” he recalls.
However, leaving the hospital and returning to school brought its own challenges, as Evan admitted he struggled to fit in.
“I had a lot less energy, and because my hair was still growing back from the chemo, I was teased about it a lot,” he said.
Evan made “great friends” in high school, but admitted that his health journey had made him more introverted and less extroverted.
He explained that he hasn’t spoken about his battle with cancer since becoming a singer.
The singer, formerly known as Heeseung (second from left) of boy band ENHYPEN, spoke to Weverse Magazine to discuss his ordeal
Evan was part of the beloved boy band ENHYPEN from 2020 to 2026 before leaving the group to go solo
‘I haven’t thought about that in a long time. It hurts to bring it up again,” he admitted.
The global sensation has since channeled his experience through his songs, citing several lyrics that referenced his health journey.
‘When I sing on Death of Me, the first single, that this is ‘not the death of me’, it is because I have gone to the brink of death myself.
“No matter how far I went, I had the feeling again and again that this was never really the end.”
Evan was part of the beloved boy band ENHYPEN from 2020 to 2026. He left the group earlier this year before making his solo debut in March. and later releasing the single Ride or Die.
