Seo In-guk

Seo has managed to keep his personal life under the wrap, away from the media attention. It was rumoured that he is dating ‘Girls Generation’ member, Sunny. However, it was denied by the respective agencies of both of them.

Seo In-guk was born in Ulsan, South Korea on 23rd October, 1987. His native name is Hangul, which after Romanization becomes Seo In-guk.

Seo’s parents weren’t particularly well off when he was young. His father worked as a welder while his mother collected recyclables. Seo is the eldest of the two children of the couple. He has a younger sister.

Early in his life, he showed a certain flair for wrestling and other contact sports such as boxing and mixed martial arts. He received training in all these disciplines. He is a trained ssireum wrestler, boxer and MMA fighter. He is also a dan Hapkido fighter.

However, soon he found his true calling. He became very interested in music and decided that he’d become a singer. His greatest inspiration was Kim Jung-Min, a fellow Korean rock legend.

After passing high school, he went to Daebul University to study Applied Music. During that time, he also auditioned for a number of shows but was rejected.

The year 2009 was a breakthrough one for Seo. He was fresh out of college when he went to the audition of ‘Superstar K’, expecting another refusal. However, luck finally smiled on him and he was selected as a contestant of the music reality show which was itself in the inception stage. He went on to win the show and in the process created history as the winner of the inaugural edition of the show.

Recognition came almost overnight. Suddenly everyone was talking about him and offers for music albums and other things came flooding in. He did a number of recordings, both singles as well as albums. He also did non-musical stuffs such as photo-shoots and television interviews, which increased his recognition even more.

However, everything was not bright and sunny for Seo at the beginning of his career. With the massive recognition he got overnight, came in a barrage of criticism and rumors. It was rumoured that he had done a plastic surgery, a rumor that was never substantiated.

Seo made his acting debut in 2012 when he was cast in a supporting role in KBS’ ‘Love Rain’. The film was a massive hit, especially overseas. It became the costliest Korean movie to be presold to Japan. Seo played a small but critical role in the love story that spanned two generations. His acting was well received by the audience.

A chance to play the lead came soon after in the second half of 2012 with ‘Reply 1997’, a nostalgic television series, which announced the arrival of Seo on the big stage. The series was about the life of six friends in two phases - one when they are all young and the other 18 years later. The series was quite successful with the season finale generating the highest rating for a Korean cable drama. Seo did remarkably well and was highly praised by the general public and the critics again. His portrayal of a teenage boy who is in love with his best friend but cannot tell her is still considered as one of his finest works. Later that year, he also appeared in a drama series called ‘The Sons’ (alternatively known as ‘Rascal Sons’)

Seo has won the SBS and Korea Drama awards for best actor as well as Japan Gold Disc Award and Mnet Asian Music Award for his songs.

He has won a number of other awards including the Cyworld Digital Music award and the Asian TV Conference award to name a few.