Transgender Pung ja, the meaning of ‘Female Rookie Award’ for crossing the sexual minority threshold

Pung ja, a transgender broadcaster who became the first sexual minority to win a terrestrial broadcaster's rookie award, confessed his feelings about malicious comments.

In the 281st episode of MBC's entertainment show 'Point of Omniscient Interfere' (hereinafter referred to as 'Point of Omniscient Interfere'), which aired on the 13th, a Pung ja attending the '2023 MBC Broadcast Entertainment Awards' was depicted.

On this day, after finishing her makeup and dress fitting, Pung ja reminisced about her past days in the car heading to the awards ceremony. Pung ja said, "After filming the first broadcast, I received so many calls. They said, 'I'm in big trouble.' The bulletin board was paralyzed. It was all malicious comments. At that time, I thought that I shouldn't be in front of people like this. It's something I love to do, but I can't do it. “I thought I was doing it. At first, my self-esteem dropped a lot,” he said.

Pung ja repeatedly said in the studio, "It was my first time filming for a broadcast, and the bulletin board was paralyzed for about a week. At that time, I received a lot of hurt that wasn't hurt."

The Pung ja's family was also hurt. The Pung ja said, "Since then, my father has stopped watching the broadcasts that feature me at all. At first, he was amazed and thought it was cute that my child came out and made jokes, but later he stopped watching at all, thinking, 'What if I get criticized?' He expressed regret by saying, "I'm sure it's the same. He's very scared."

Pung ja won the Best Female Rookie Award at the ‘2023 MBC Broadcasting Entertainment Awards’ and burst into tears on stage. Pung ja said, "Actually, I didn't cry because I received the Rookie of the Year award. On the way to the stage, the seniors I've seen on TV since I was young greeted me saying, 'You did a good job' and 'You deserved it,' and I burst into tears thinking, 'I was doing really well.' “I lost,” he explained.

A congratulatory message to the family was also released. Pung ja said, "My dad didn't see the awards ceremony. He said he didn't watch it because he was worried that I would be hurt because I didn't receive it. The next day, he watched the whole thing from beginning to end and received a long KakaoTalk message." He continued, "I was busy after the awards ceremony, so I couldn't see him. After today's recording, I received a long KakaoTalk message. “I’m going,” he said.

Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr