A new television program of KBS-2TV "Toward the Sunday Night," will feature Jae Bum, who withdrew from the top boy band 2PM due to his critical remarks about Korea.

Producers of the program said on Thursday, "One month after this promising idol star left Korea, we met him in Seattle for the first time."

"Though we met him in person and requested an interview, Jae Bum refused, saying he could not give any comment at the present moment. Instead, we could cover how he was getting along in the United States. He showed up at a B-boy competition and talked to his friends." they added.

The TV show will cover both current issues and social phenomena in fresh perspective.

"Toward the Sunday Night" will make its debut at 11:35 p.m. on Oct. 25.

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Fans of the idol group 2PM have been stepping up their protests against Jae Bum's resignation as a group member. Jae Bum has quit 2PM because he has stirred up controversy for messages criticizing Korea that he had posted while preparing for his debut.

Internet users have blasted 2PM's agency, JYP Entertainment, for making Jae Bum leave the country just four days after the scandal broke out. 2PM's fans have blanketed the agency's building with posters opposing Jae Bum's departure. They are demanding that JYP explain the situation and are sending dozens of emails to media agencies.

2PM's fan site "Underground" has expressed anger toward JYP, saying that it would launch a campaign discouraging people from buying tickets to the 2009 Dream Concert, where 2PM is to perform without Jae Bum, as well as from buying the group's albums and accessories. They are also demanding refunds and threatening to stage boycotts.

More than 100,000 fans have signed a petition in protest of Jae Bum's departure on the Internet portal Daum. JYP CEO Park Jin Young left a lengthy message for 2PM's fans on the official Web site on September 10. He wrote that when Jae Bum first came to Korea four years ago, he used to be a rebellious and undependable boy, but he wanted to earn money because he cared a lot about his family and changed profoundly, after his debut, into a responsible leader of his band.

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Korea's outrageous netizens have once again managed to destroy another budding career. This time, the victim is none other than 2PM's leader, Park Jae Bum.

Recently, anti-fans managed to dig up old comments that Jae Bum posted on the social networking website MySpace in which he exclaimed, "Korea is gay. I hate Koreans. I wanna come back." This news enraged netizens, and an online petition was started to remove the artist from 2PM.

Though JYP Entertainment had publicly acknowledged Jae Bum's incident, it was declared that his past actions were not enough to warrant removal from the group. What transpired afterwards is unclear. Jae Bum announced on the 2PM fan cafe that he was formally stepping down from his role as leader of 2PM and would return to his home in the United States. The former 2PM member boarded an evening flight from Incheon International Airport on September 7th and was set to arrive in Seattle at 2:40 PM PST.

In his heartfelt message to the public, Jae Bum stated that he felt guilty for his previous statements and did not want to inflict more damage towards his fellow members.

The group was scheduled to make a comeback next month with a new album. In the midst of this scandal, it is doubtful that 2PM will be returning to the K-Pop scene as planned. With Jae Bum's abrupt exit, rumors have already begun swirling of Jun Ho replacing the role as leader of 2PM.

No matter the outcome, 2PM will unfortunately never be the same without their former leader Jae Bum. He was truly one of the best dancers and vocalist in the group. I hope those rotten netizens stew in a very special place for the physical and emotional abuse that they inflicted on such a promising individual. All those antis and Koreans should be ashamed of themselves. Do you mean to tell us that sometime during your life you have not thought or said something negative towards your country? To ruin someone's dream and career based on what was said as a youngster is sickening. Then again, Koreans are typically not known for their hospitality and acceptance of others... And hey, if we're in the business of digging up a person's past, why not take an investigative look into other idols? I bet some of those Girls Generation members and other beloved idols have similar skeletons in their closet. Should we give them the boot too?

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A friend of mine shared this clip of the boys of 2PM practicing to I Hate You. Everything looked fine until around 00:47 when Jae Bom abruptly stops to tie his shoelaces. Then, around 02:14 Taec Yeon starts to ham it up to the camera. All hell breaks loose afterwards as four of the seven members goof and dance around like they've had one too many bowls of sugar prior to rehearsal. ^^

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