Actor Jung Sang-hoon shared the reasons for overcoming his difficult childhood and tough times of being unknown.
In the KBS1 program 'Morning Forum's' 'Tuesday Guest Seat' segment aired on 2nd, actor Jung Sang-hoon appeared and shared various stories.
Jung Sang-hoon, a father of three dreaming of becoming Korea's Robin Williams, said, "I came from early dawn. I arrived at 5 a.m., but are you all having breakfast?" delivering the line in his signature poor Chinese, bringing laughter. Jung Sang-hoon revealed, "I am a morning person. I tend to wake up early because of the kids; I have to wake up early to feed them breakfast and send them to school. I take them to school myself."
Jung Sang-hoon is raising three sons, ages 13, 12, and 9. He said, "My sons' names are Han-seong, Han-eum, and Han-gyeol, and I named them using a naming book. My mother brought some names, which were terrible. Since the names came from a naming agency, I thought I had to learn how to name them to convince her. After studying for two months, I named the eldest, and she was satisfied and acknowledged it."
Jung Sang-hoon's representative character is 'Yang Kkochi and Qingdao,' who speaks poor Chinese. He mentioned, "The main writer of 'SNL' gave me the name. I asked for it to be Yang Kkochi and Yan-tai liquor. If that had happened, it would have been a big deal."
Jung Sang-hoon's comic acting history began in childhood. Having described himself as a bundle of timidity, Jung Sang-hoon said, "Due to my difficult family circumstances, I moved around too much so I was busy adapting, which made it hard to make friends. I only played with my brother, who is a year younger than me. When my family's living conditions improved during middle school, I was able to settle down. From then on, I started to discover something inside me and began to see myself as an entertainment leader. When my social relationships improved, I had to study for the next step, but I couldn't go that way. I should have been studying steadily since elementary school, but I didn't have that time, so studying was hard."
Jung Sang-hoon expressed, "Many people look at my face and think I haven't suffered much. I am really diligent. After some time, if you see me, you start to fall for my inner self," and added, "I was raised by my grandmother, and we were like friends. She was a devout Buddhist and took me to the temple a lot. The monk would read my fortune and say I was 'destined for greatness.' From that point on, I was gaslighted, and I gained belief in success."
Jung Sang-hoon graduated from Seoul Arts University, but before that, he attended art school. He said, "There was a festival, and a famous singer was late, so I had to step in as a substitute MC. Being cheered made the feeling different. I improvise for about two hours as the substitute MC, and then I applied to Seoul Arts University. I joined the comedy club because I saw it written in the newspaper as 'Shin Dong-yup (comedy club).' I chose Seoul Arts University because of Shin Dong-yup. I worked hard to get there. I thought that all the talented friends from all over the country would come, so I needed to stand out. I wore yellow clothes for a whole year to make sure people remembered 'Jung Sang-hoon.'"
Although Jung Sang-hoon made a smooth debut, he experienced a long period of being unknown. Jung Sang-hoon explained, "I debuted with SBS 'How About Me.' Jo Yeo-jung and Song Hye-kyo appeared alongside me, and I felt like I had made it after appearing in the film 'Volcano High,' which also featured Jang Hyuk, Shin Mina, and Kwon Sang Woo. However, I continued being unknown for about 18 years, during which I got married. When I got married, I had 10 million won, and my wife, who was younger than me, had 20 million won. We started from a one-room apartment, which built a bond between us. Now, when I ask, 'What if I become penniless again?', she says she'd be okay going back to that time. Looking back, I was happy then."
Thanks to Jung Seong-hwa, who he was living with, Jung Sang-hoon found a path into musicals. Jung Sang-hoon stated, "I wasn't very good at singing, but there was a famous director near where I lived. I auditioned, but because my singing was weak, I received special training." Currently, Jung Sang-hoon is performing in the musical 'Mrs. Doubtfire' and is urging people to come see the show.
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