Lee Guk Joo reveals why she’s terrified of riding the subway
Comedian Lee Guk Joo opened up about her fear of using public transportation in her recent YouTube vlog. While in Tokyo on June 10, Lee shared she took a taxi home from a cafe despite the ₩100,000 KRW ($73.30 USD) fare because she’s too scared to ride the subway.
Lee traced her trauma back to college when she was physically assaulted on a bus. She recalled the incident:
“I was taking a bus that passed through Cheongnyangni to get to school. A woman bumped into my foot as the bus started moving. From what I remember, she bumped into me. I tried to brush it off and move on, but she suddenly called me a ‘crazy b****’ and slammed my head into a pole. I was beaten so badly, I couldn’t think straight.”
— Lee Guk Joo
The attacks didn’t stop there. One week later, Lee was harassed by an elderly man on the same bus after she gave him her seat. He got off with her bag and tried to lure her into a karaoke room. Lee said:
“I was 20 at the time. I ran like crazy.”
This series of events left Lee fearful of confined spaces and bumping into strangers. She admitted,
“Ever since then, I’ve been afraid of confined spaces and bumping into strangers. I’ve gradually stayed away from public transport.”
Despite the trauma, Lee is trying to overcome her fear. She documented herself taking the subway a few days after the vlog.
Lee recently moved to Japan amid work difficulties in Korea. See more details here:
Beloved Korean Celebrity Moves To Japan Without Work, Downsizes House And Lifestyle Bigtime
