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Rapper Noel opens up after funeral of father, former lawmaker Chang Je-won

Published: 07 Apr. 2025, 21:51

Rapper Noel at the funeral of his father, late politician Chang Je-won, on April 2 in Busan [NEWS1]

Rapper Noel, son of the late former lawmaker Chang Je-won, expressed his emotions after "laying his father to rest" in a message he left on social media on Monday.

"I spent three days wholeheartedly honoring my father," Noel wrote in a lengthy post on Instagram. "Even now, it feels like the emotion of sadness hasn’t fully hit me."

"Maybe it's because I’m still in shock, or because his birthday is coming up soon and I never got to have a proper meal with him," he continued. "Or maybe it's the guilt I carry for being a burden during pivotal moments in his life. Maybe it's because I never got to show him the pure and happy smile of a son who had finally turned his life around."

Reflecting on the funeral, Noel said he felt as if his father was urging him to live with clarity and responsibility.

"For my mother’s sake too, I feel like he was telling me to stay focused, never grow complacent, and live a life of integrity," he wrote. "Only after laying him to rest was I able to say goodbye while looking into the bright smile in his portrait."

Rapper Noel at the funeral of his father, late politician Chang Je-won, on April 4 in Busan [YONHAP]

He thanked family, friends and local community members who stood by him throughout the funeral.

"Rather than remembering the cold image I saw at the burial, I want to hold onto the kind smile in his portrait and the memories I have of him."

"It was a time filled with fear, despair, and profound grief," Noel wrote. "Looking back, I realize I made many mistakes in life, and I deeply reflect on them."

He added that the experience has become a turning point for him. "I want to become someone who knows how to give, who can take care of those who matter, and live with responsibility — as a son, a man, and one day as a father."

Late politician Chang Je-won on Dec. 12, 2023 [JOONGANG ILBO]

Toward the end of the post, he included a personal message to his late father.

“Dear Father,” he wrote. “Now, if you have worries, talk with Grandfather, who’s there with you. Don’t carry everything on your shoulders or hide your soft heart anymore. Please rest in peace. I love you more than words can express.”

Late Chang, a three-term lawmaker and key political ally of President Yoon Suk Yeol, served as the president-elect’s chief of staff after the 2022 election. He was recently under police investigation following allegations that he had sexually assaulted his secretary in 2015 while serving as vice president of a university in Busan. He was found dead on March 31 at an officetel in eastern Seoul’s Gangdong District.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]