Birth name Kang Ho-dong Name Kang Ho-dong Parents Kang Tae-Joong Genres Comedy Spouse Hyo-jin Lee (m. 2006) | Years active 1993–present Height 1.82 m Nationality South Korea Role Television host Children Kang Si-hoo | |
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Influences Lee Kyung-kyuYoo Jae-suk Notable works and roles SBS X-ManSBS Love LetterSBS Star KingMBC Golden FisheryKBS Happy Sunday: 1 Night 2 DaysSBS Strong HeartSBS Barefooted FriendsKBS Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education TV shows 2 Days & 1 Night, Our Neighborhood Arts and, Star King, Strong Heart, The Knee‑Drop Guru Similar People Lee Soo‑geun, Yoo Jae Suk, Jeong Hyeong‑don, Lee Kyung‑kyu, Shin Dong‑yup | ||
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. On 9 September 2011, an emergency press conference was held at the Seoul Garden Hotel, in regards to his tax evasion. Due to the controversy surrounding his name at the time, Kang Ho-dong decided to temporarily retire from the Entertainment industry. With this latest development however, it seems that he can finally relax after a long battle against suspicions and rumors. He did not commit acts of intentional evasion, as it was merely a mistake made on behalf of his accountant and his agency, Which made him to dealt twice with two different unresponsible Agency in a row after his issues of non-payment with his previous agency along with his fellow Yoo Jae-suk but has since announced his return to the entertainment industry from late 2012 with S.M. C&C as Kang's new agency.
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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.
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, 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, but was not charged with tax evasion as his annual tax payments do not exceed W500 million. It was merely a mistake made on behalf of his accountant and his agency. On 17 August 2012, Kang signed exclusive contracts with SM C&C with Lee Soo-man convinced him personally when he is retired and along with fellow MC Shin Dong-yup 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.
Kang also owns a chain of Korean barbecue restaurants called Baek Jeong.