Kang Ho-dong

This is a Korean name; the family name is Kang.
Kang Ho-dong
Birth name Kang Ho-dong
Born (1970-06-11) June 11, 1970
Jinju, South Korea
Nationality South Korea
Years active 1993–present
Genres Comedy
Influences Lee Kyung-kyu
Yoo Jae-suk
Spouse Lee Hyo-jin (이효진) m.2006
Notable works and roles SBS X-Man
SBS Love Letter
SBS Star King
MBC Golden Fishery
KBS Happy Sunday: 1 Night 2 Days
SBS Strong Heart
SBS Barefooted Friends
KBS Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education
Korean name
Hangul 강호동
Hanja 姜鎬童
Revised Romanization Gang Ho-dong
McCune–Reischauer Kang Ho-dong

Kang Ho-dong (born June 11, 1970) is a South Korean television host and comedian, who first became known to Koreans as one of the top Korean traditional wrestlers. Along with comedian Yoo Jae-suk, he has terminated his contract with De Chocolate E&TF (a.k.a. Stom E&F) for issues of non-payment.[1] On September 9, an emergency press conference was called at the Seoul Garden Hotel, where Kang Ho Dong stated, "I'm sorry for causing the public to worry. From this moment, I will temporary retire from the entertainment industry." Shedding tears, he continued, "I would like to sincerely apologize to the public for the recent tax scandal." He then stood up and bowed deeply to the audience. Kang Ho Dong stated, "I wrestled when I was young. When I was a professional wrestler, I even received the "man of great strength" title with the public's support. After becoming an entertainer, I landed MC positions on many programs thanks to the high level of interest the public had in me. Without your love, I know that the Kang Ho Dong today would not exist. Knowing this, I have let down and disappointed you." "The tax problem is my fault for not thoroughly managing myself. I'm quite aware that the public's hate for me right now is great. I'm a person who has a job as an entertainer. My duty is to give viewers laughter and happiness through the TV. In a situation like this, how can I shamelessly laugh and talk on TV?" Kang Ho Dong continued, "From this moment on, I will be temporarily retiring from the entertainment business." "I will be taking this conference as an opportunity to tell my viewers that I will be tentatively retiring from the industry. I will discuss with the producers of the programs I am a part of to negotiate my leave without any losses suffered on their part." "After I retire, I will be reflecting on my actions and looking back on whether I was too assured of my high fame. I would like to apologize once again for causing a disturbance to society.",[2] The National Tax Service added, "Kang Ho Dong's annual fine is less than the required $500,000 USD. Furthermore, he did not commit acts of intentional evasion. It is merely a mistake made on behalf of his accountant, so we will not be charging him with tax evasion." Due to the controversy surrounding his name at the time, Kang Ho Dong decided to temporarily retire from the industry. With this latest development however, it seems that he can finally relax after a long battle against suspicions and rumors.[3] but has since announced his return to the entertainment industry from late 2012.

Personal life

Kang Ho-dong was born in Jinju on 11 June 1970 to a family of one brother and three sisters. Kang Ho-dong first met his wife on arranged double blind date with Yoo Jae-suk and On November 12, 2006, Kang married Lee Hyo-jin. On March 13, 2009, they had their first child, a boy named Kang Si-hoo. Kang was not present at the birth as he was away filming an episode of 1 Night 2 Days. He was also away filming for the program on the couple's first wedding anniversary.

Career

Kang Ho-dong graduated from Masan Business High School. After graduating from high school, he started participating actively in professional Ssireum (Korean wrestling) matches. Early in his wrestling career, he lost many matches. However, on July 8, 1989, at the 44th national ssireum championships, the unseeded Kang managed to defeat the legendary Lee Mangi and went on to win the tournament, which marked the start of his successful Ssireum career. Known as 'Devil on the sand' for his arrogant and fearless demeanor, he went on to win the Baekdujangsa Ssireum Championship seven times and the Cheonhajangsa Ssireum Championship five times, he was widely recognized as the youngest ever Cheonhajangsa title holder.

After Kang retired from wrestling, he began his MC and comedian career in 1999, appearing on MBC as a talent. He was influenced by Lee Kyung-kyu, who is a famous MC and comedian in South Korea. He later became the host of a number of popular variety programs such as X-Man, Love Letter and Ya Shim Man Man. Kang has won numerous entertainment awards, and is widely recognized as one of the best television hosts in Korean television history. In 2011, He hosted four popular variety programs – Happy Sunday - 1 Night 2 Days,[4] Golden Fishery, Star King and Strong Heart.

On September 9, 2011, Kang held a press conference announcing his retirement from the entertainment industry due a demand for back taxes by the National Tax Service,[5] but was not charged with tax evasion as his annual tax payments do not exceed W500 million.[6] On 17 August 2012, Kang along with fellow MC Shin Dong-yup signed exclusive contracts with SM C&C in collaboration with SM Entertainment and made a comeback. In December 2015, Kang joined JTBC's new variety show, Knowing Bros, as the cast member along with comedian Lee Soo-geun.[7][8]

Kang also owns a chain of Korean barbecue restaurants called Baek Jeong.[9]

Notable programs

Television shows

Endorsements

  • 1999: LG-Caltex Oil Sigma6
  • 2000: Fumakilla milk
  • 2002: Haitai beverage
  • 2003: Wonbi-D
  • 2003: Maeil milk
  • 2008: Narae Telecom International
  • 2008: Baekse curry
  • 2008: Duldul Chicken
  • 2008: Kumon learning
  • 2009: Homeplus

Music

Awards and achievements

Ssireum (wrestling)

Entertainment

References

  1. ↑ "Yoo Jae Suk files law suit against KBS, MBC, SBS and former agency" Allkpop . 11 December 2010. Retrieved 2015-01-06
  2. ↑ "
  3. ↑ ". 14 September 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-16
  4. ↑ "South Korean celeb programs popular in North". The Korea Herald. March 27, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  5. ↑ (Korean) "강호동 연예계서 잠정 은퇴" MBC News. 9 september 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-16
  6. ↑ "TV Host Cleared of Tax Dodging" Chosun Ilbo. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-16
  7. ↑ Yoon, Dong Won. "'아는 형님' 강호동 이수근 민경훈 출연확정…12월을 수놓는 8인의 별들!". 2015-11-12. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
  8. ↑ Chae, Sun Ah. "강호동 `아는형님` 출연확정, 이수근도 끌고 간다…어떤 예능일까?". 2015-11-12. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
  9. ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/10/food/la-fo-gold-20121110

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Tak Jae-hoon		 KBS Entertainment Awards - Daesang
2008 & 2009 		Succeeded by
Kang Ho-dong
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/24/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.