--- title: "K-Pop Star Makes Terrible April Fools Joke About Having Coronavirus" description: "Korean pop star Kim Jae-joong did what everybody on the internet agreed not to do: make an off-flavor April Fools joke about the coronavirus." date: "2020-04-02" modified: "2020-04-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/k-pop-star-april-fools-day-joke-coronavirus" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid-19" - "the digest" - "virus" --- # K-Pop Star Makes Terrible April Fools Joke About Having Coronavirus ![Korean pop star Kim Jae-joong did what everybody on the internet agreed not to do: make an off-flavor April Fools joke about the coronavirus.]() *\Image: Korea.net via Flickr\* ## Read the Room Korean pop star Kim Jae-joong did what most of the internet [agreed not to do](): make an off-flavor April Fools joke about the coronavirus. We thought we didn't have to say this, but here we are. Look, we're going through a crisis right now — no need for some short-sighted gag at the expense of your millions of followers. [Almost 50,000 people]() have died from the virus at the time of writing, with just shy of one million confirmed cases worldwide. The musician, from the pop band JYJ, told his Instagram followers that he's "infected with COVID-19 virus," as *CNN* reports. He quickly deleted the post, likely realizing what a stupid idea it was, and claiming in retrospect that his judgment "was not right." Thousands of angry fans bombarded his Instagram, with one calling the prank ["really disappointing."]() ## Crime and Punishment More than 13,000 people signed a petition posted to the website belonging to the office of South Korea's president, asking for the government to punish Kim. Kim tried to make up for the blunder by posting a [statement]() on his Instagram. "First, I sincerely apologize to those who were damaged and to those whose administrative work was hindered due to a post I wrote on social media and due to COVID-19," Kim wrote, as translated by *CNN*. "This prank was too much to be considered a simple April Fools’ Day joke, but many people expressed their worry for me during that short period of time," he wrote. According to *CNN*, health officials told reporters that while "providing false information to an epidemiological investigator or medical personnel during epidemiological investigation or treatment can be punished," Kim didn't qualify. **READ MORE:** [K-pop star Kim Jae-joong apologizes after telling fans on April Fools' Day he had coronavirus]() \[*CNN*\] **More on the virus:** *[104-Year-Old World War II Veteran Survives Coronavirus]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()