"My head is smart, so I'm 'Kim Ddolddol'." Gay YouTuber Kim Ddolddol (legal name Kim Ban-seok), who came out as gay and is active with confidence, is drawing attention for his unusual academic background as a graduate of a foreign-language high school and an engineering college.
On the MBC variety show Save Me! Homes (abbreviated Homes) broadcast on the 6th, Kim Ddolddol appeared as a grants introducing real estate. That day on Homes, Head of Team Kim Sook led the search with actress Ha Jae-sook for properties in a fishing village.
In particular, Kim Ddolddol expressed pride in his education, saying, "I'm sharp-witted, so I'm 'Kim Ddol-dol'." He confidently said, "Contrary to how I look, I stayed in school a long time. I graduated from Gwacheon Foreign Language High School and graduated from Sungkyunkwan University with a degree in electrical and electronic engineering," drawing surprise.
He said he currently lives in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo District, Seoul, and added with a laugh, "I wanted to go to Itaewon where Park Na-rae lives, but I couldn't because of budget constraints. Maybe I can go next time."
Kim Ddolddol is a YouTuber who has recently been standing out in the broadcasting world. After confessing his coming out on his personal YouTube channel, he drew attention by hosting the web variety show Jewel Box with broadcaster Hong Seok-cheon. Following Hong Seok-cheon, he has also been active on broadcasts after coming out.
But there were difficult times before he could so confidently reveal his sexual identity on broadcasts. His academic achievements were also the result of that effort. After realizing his sexual identity was different, he thought he had to hide it and deliberately wanted to do well in school, so he did not let go of being first in the school.
However, in his late 20s he finally came out to his parents through YouTube, and when his parents contacted him saying, "Let's get treatment for homosexuality," he felt betrayed and cut off contact for six months. He even did not see his father for four years.
Broadcasting became the opportunity to reconnect with those family members. On another show, Kim Ddolddol said with pride, "I gave my father a card, and my father proudly told my mother about it." Attention is focused on his broadcasting activities as he maintains his identity as a sexual minority alongside his surprising academic background.
[Photo] OSEN DB, provided by MBC.
[OSEN]