In 2008, Kang Ho-dong became the first comedian in history to win the Baeksang Arts Awards Daesang (Grand Prize) in the category Television. It also made him the first in history to achieve entertainment awards Daesang grand slam, including KBS, MBC, SBS, and Baeksang. 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. On September 9th, 2011, Kang announced that he would be taking a temporary leave of absence from the public eye due to rumors of tax evasion (which were later found to be caused by mistake by one of his agency’s accountants). He announced his return to the entertainment industry in late 2012 with S.M. C&C as Kang Ho-dong’s new agency.
Full Profile of Kang Ho-dong
Random Facts About Kang Ho-dong
Kang Ho-dong was born in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Kang Ho-dong married Lee Hyo-jin in 2006 Kang Ho-dong is a wrestling athlete. Kang Ho-dong loves to do Aegyo (adorable behavior). Kang Ho-dong is 47 years old. He and his wife, Lee Hyo-jin, welcomed their first son, Kang Si-hoo, in 2009. He was born on June 11th, 1970. After attending the Masan Business High School, he began his career as a ssireum wrestler, defeating South Korean wrestling legend Lee Man-ki in the 1989 match. His birth sign is Gemini. He established the Baek Jeong Korean barbecue.
Kang Ho-dong’s Family and Career
Kang Ho-dong first met his wife on an arranged double blind date with Yoo Jae-suk, and on November 12th, 2006, Kang married Lee Hyo-jin. On March 13th, 2009, they had their first child, a boy named Kang Si-hoo.
Career As Ssireum Player
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 8th, 1989, at the 44th national ssireum championships, the unseeded Kang Ho-dong managed to defeat the legendary Lee Man-gi and went on to win the tournament, which marked the start of his successful Ssireum career. Known as the “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.
Debut as Entertainer
After Kang Ho-dong retired from wrestling, he began his MC and comedian career in 1993, 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 shows, such as X-Man, Love Letter and Ya Shim Man Man. Kang Ho-dong 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 – 2 Days & 1 Night, Golden Fishery, Star King, and Strong Heart. In 2008, at the 44th Baeksang Arts Awards, Kang Ho-dong became the first in history to win the TV category Daesang (Grand Prize) as a comedian. Daesang was only awarded to TV actors/actresses or drama ever since it is established and Kang is the first one to break this tradition. On August 17th, 2012, Kang Ho-dong signed an exclusive contract with SM C&C with Lee Soo-man convincing him personally even though he is retired and also with fellow MC Shin Dong-yup SM Entertainment and made a comeback. Kang Ho-dong had a rough time after his return to the industry. Multiple programs in three main public broadcasts were canceled because of low ratings. However, starting at the end of 2015, Kang Ho-dong hosted a number of new variety shows on cable broadcast, including Knowing Bros, Let’s Eat Dinner Together on JTBC and New Journey to the West series on tvN. And all of these programs had very good feedback and high ratings. Thanks to the popularity of the program New Journey to the West, a spin-off program titled Kang-sikdang was launched. As a result, Kang Ho-dong slowly regained his popularity and re-established his status as a National MC. Kang Ho-dong also owns a chain of Korean barbecue restaurants called Baek Jeong. Kang Ho-dong received a high number of votes and was placed in the second place as a Comedian Of 2017.
Kang Ho-dong’s Filmography
Television shows
Kang Ho-dong’s Discography
Music
2005: “Oh! Happy Day” (Christmas carol featuring child actress, Chae Eun) 2009: “Horror Show” (featured in MC Mong’s repackaged album, Humanimal, also featured in the music video) 2018: “I kicked my luck off” (SM STATION, Kang Ho-dong & Hong Jin-young)
Award Achievements
Ssireum (wrestling)
Entertainment
Kang Ho-dong’s Restaurant Business
Kang Ho-dong’s Baekjeong is the hottest Korean BBQ restaurant in K-town which is always crowded even with a long waitlist all the time. 678 USA, Korean entertainer Kang Ho-dong’s restaurant franchise, reveals that Kang Ho-dong’s Baekjeong is selected by LA Times as Jonathan Gold’s Best restaurant 101 for 2 consecutive years. The restaurant passed the break-even point within a few months after opening. The restaurant has a variety of meat items and a large space with 100 seats plus 20 special seats for group guests, which make the restaurant the perfect place for family and friends. Also, side dishes, such as vegetables with special sauces and seasonings add more fun when you enjoy a barbecue, in addition to the egg cooked on the rim of the charcoal grill. Kang Ho-dong’s Baekjeong’s average monthly sales are close to $400,000. With 8 stores internationally, they hit $3 million in sales every month. South Korean celebrity Kang Ho-dong is a “Star King” of the franchise business. Now he is engaged in the management of 678 Company, acting as a successful model for other celebrities. 678 is specialized in Korean BBQ restaurant business and the public figure Kang Ho-dong, who is known as an energetic food fighter and meat lover, is well suited for the brand. Kang Ho-dong is a perfect spokesperson of the brand. If Kang Ho-dong were just a model for the brand (which is a common case when a celebrity collaborates with franchise business), 678 wouldn’t have succeeded like now. 678 owns 5 franchise brands and it has reached 30 billion (Korean Won) since the company’s establishment in 2007. 678 owns: ‘678’- Korean beef and Jeju pork BBQ restaurant (14 stores), ‘678 jjim’ – Galbi jjim and Hot stone pot bibimbap restaurant (6 stores), ‘Kang Ho-dong Baekjeong’ – Korean barbeque (62 stores), and recently added ‘Kang Ho-dong Cheonha’ – Tteokbokki (Korean-style spicy rice cake) and ‘678 Chicken’. Kang Ho-dong is the spokesperson of all brands and he holds a signing event when a new store opens. Kang Ho-dong actively works for the 678 group because of his passion for food, in addition to his plans to restart his life by owning a restaurant business. “Kang Ho-dong has enthusiasm for Korean food and he wanted to start the “K-food wave” through restaurant business. He also has the vision to develop packaged food products to expand 678 as a major food business,” said Kim Ki-gon, CEO of 678, who has been in partnership with Kang Ho-dong since 2005. Kang Ho-dong started to get involved in the business since last year. Before then, he was only an investor and a model for 678. But last year, the company changed its name from ‘Kang Ho-dong 678’ to ‘678’ and received an investment of 4 million dollars from SeungSan, which is a child company of the GS Group, which enabled them to expand their franchise business aggressively. While the company’s shares are equally divided among Kang Ho-dong, Kim Ki-gon, and SeungSan, 678 clearly separates their roles. Currently, they have store management, finance, PR, and Marketing departments. The CEO of 678 group is in charge of managerial parts and SeungSan supports the finance and sales assistance. Kang Ho-dong’s role is marketing and PR. Since they distinguish the roles individually, the whole system in the company is well-designed. Due to its effective management structure, the company is not only concise about profit-sharing but is also able to generate creative marketing ideas. “This upcoming year, our goal is to open 500 stores in Korea and 20 stores overseas,” a representative of 678 said. “We are expanding globally, beyond the U.S., to introduce and promote K-food. Our final goal is to become a global K-food corporation.”
