GOT7's BamBam reveals key difference between him and Ong Bak; why he almost got named 'Whiskey'

It is unusual to find GOT7 and fictional martial artist Ong-Bak mentioned in the same sentence. Yet, that's precisely what happened recently. Thai rapper and GGOT7 member BamBam mentioned Ong Bak in an interview; not how they are similar but how they are different.

As noted by website Soompi, GOT7's BamBam made a guest appearance on JTBC's variety show 'Knowing Bros' or 'Ask Us Anything' on August 18 along with g.o.d's Park Joon Hyung, NCT's Lucas and (G)I-DLE's Yuqi. All the guests on the August 18 episode of 'Knowing Bros' came to Korea from other nations to be singers. It is here the Ong-Bak was mentioned.

A cast member of 'Ask Us Anything' asked BamBam to compare his popularity with the fictional Thai cinema character Ong-Bak, played by Thai actor Tony Jaa. To this BamBam replied, "Ong-Bak is more of a legend, while I'm the popular trend right now."

BambBam was speaking about his ever-growing popularity, particularly in Thailand when he was asked the above question. Super Junior's Kim Heechul asked him whether there was any truth to the rumours that BamBam was called "Thailand's prince."

"It's a bit embarrassing for me to say this myself, but I have to admit it. I'm Thailand's treasure," BamBam said. Revealing why it was so, he said, "The moment you land at the airport, my ads are on all of the pillars. As soon as you exit the airport, there's a huge billboard with an ad that I shot for a phone company. You can also see my ads at the subway stations. My ads are all over Thailand."

Interestingly, 2PM's Nickhun was also called "the prince of Thailand." While the arrangements of the words are different, the meaning is the same. Naturally, the cast members asked who among the two was the most popular. BamBam replied, "Isn't it time for a generational change?" BamBam also mentioned that he was close with Nickhun.

As noted by Soompi, during the guessing game portion of the show, BamBam revealed he owns 50 restaurants in Thailand, to the shock of the show's cast members. The rapper said he jointly owns a restaurant chain with his mother in Thailand, that has 50 different locations, adding, "I'm going crazy having to organize the [restaurant] receipts every night." 

BamBam also said, "Whoever wins first place can bring as many people as he wants [to my restaurant], and I'll close the entire restaurant that day so they can enjoy their meal alone." However, when Lee Soo-geun asked, "Who's going to pay for our airfare?" BamBam replied with humour, "I run a restaurant. I don't own an airplane."

BamBam then revealed a hilarious story from his past. As noted by Allkpop, he said, "because my dad loves to drink so much, he almost named all his children after different types of beverages." The first child of the family, his elder brother was almost given the name "Beer" by their father until the mother intervened and firmly rejected such ideas.

"He was going to name all his children after alcohol: Beer, Wine, Whiskey, and Vodka. I almost became Whiskey,'" BamBam recalled. Watch the clip below.

NCT's Lucas also had some weird revelations to make on the variety show. Lucas revealed that during his high school days, he used to frequently visit the restroom. After everyone except Lee Sang-min failed to give a correct answer, Lucas revealed that the reason was, "To see his own handsome face."

Lucas added, "It was all based on a psychology book that I read." He and his friends often went to the restroom to take selfies to impress girls.

Soompi also notes BamBam, (G)I-DLE's Yuqi, and NCT's Lucas showed off their dance moves on the variety show.