| Kang Ho-dong | |||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 11 June 1970 | ||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea | ||||||||||
| Employer: | S.M. C&C | ||||||||||
| Religion: | Buddhism--> | ||||||||||
| Years Active: | 1993–present | ||||||||||
| Genre: | Comedy | ||||||||||
| Influences: | Lee Kyung-kyu Yoo Jae-suk--> | ||||||||||
| Children: | 1 | ||||||||||
| Module: |
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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.
In 2008, Kang Ho Dong became the first comedian in history to win the Baeksang Arts Awards Daesang (Grand Prize) for Television category. This made him the first in history to achieve an entertainment awards Daesang grand slam, including KBS, MBC, SBS and Baeksang.[1]
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.[2] On September 9, 2011, Kang announced that he would be taking a temporary leave of absence from the public eye due to rumors of tax evasion[3] (which were later found to be caused by mistake by one of his agency's accountants). [4] He announced his return to the entertainment industry in late 2012 with S.M. C&C as Kang's new agency.
Kang Ho-dong was born in Jinju on June 11, 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.[5] They had their first child, a boy named Kang Si-hoo, on March 13, 2009.
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 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 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 - 2 Days & 1 Night,[6] Golden Fishery, Star King and Strong Heart.
In 2008, the 44th Baeksang Arts Awards, Kang Ho Dong became the first in history to win the TV category Daesang (Grand Prize) as a comedian. The Daesang had only been awarded to TV actors/actresses ever since its establishment and Kang is the first one to break this tradition.
On September 9, 2011, Kang held a press conference announcing his retirement from the entertainment industry due to his tax evasion controversy and demand for investigation by the National Tax Service.[7] Kang Ho Dong was investigated for tax evasion. He was initially laid with a fine due to a discrepancy in his numbers, but it seems that there were no formal charges or processes made against the multi-entertainer. On December 17, the Seoul District Prosecutor Office announced, "In the case of the fine being less than $500,000 USD (per year), the National Tax Service must file a charge of tax evasion in order for the subject to be a suspect of tax evasion. However, there has been no such charge up until now, so we have decided to drop the case as of the 16th." Kang Ho Dong's fine amounts to $700,000 USD for a combined three years, significantly less than the required $500,000 USD per year. The National Tax Service added, "Kang Ho Dong's annual fine is less than the required $500,000 USD. Furthermore, he did not commit acts of intentional evasion. It is merely a mistake made on behalf of his accountant, so we will not be charging him with tax evasion.[4]
On August 17, 2012, Kang signed an exclusive contract with SM C&C. CEO Lee Soo-man convinced Kang personally when he was retired along with fellow MC Shin Dong-yup SM Entertainment and made a comeback.
Kang 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 hosted a number of new variety shows in cable broadcast including Knowing Bros, Let's Eat Dinner Together in JTBC and New Journey to the West series in tvN. All of these programs have received very good feedback and high ratings. Thanks to the popularity of the program New Journey to the west, a spin-off program called Kang's Kitchen was launched. As a result, Kang slowly regained his popularity and re-established his status of National MC.
He owns a chain of Korean barbecue restaurants called Baek Jeong.[8]
| Year | Title | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Windmills of Love | Cameo | |
| 1992 | Hotel | Cameo | |
| 1997 | Three Guys and Three Girls | Cameo | |
| 2002 | Nonstop 3 | Cameo | |
| 2005 | Old Miss Diary | Cameo | |
| 2016 | Listen to Love | Cameo (ep.3) |
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Open Comedy - Mother | ||
| 1999, 2002 | Joyful Super Sunday TV - MC Standby Cue | ||
| 2002-2003 | Kang Ho-dong's Soulmates | ||
| 2002-2004 | Beautiful Sunday | ||
| 2003 | Big Stars, First Looks | ||
| Saturday Wishes | |||
| 2003-2007 | X-Man | Main Host | |
| 2003-2009 | Ya Shim Man Man (S 1,2) | Main Host | |
| 2004 | Healthy Men and Women | ||
| Star Olympiad | |||
| Medical Non-Fiction! Last Warning | |||
| 2004-2005 | Experimental Show, Really?! Really | ||
| 2004-2006 | Love Letter | Main Host | |
| 2006-2011, 2012-2013 | Golden Fishery | ||
| 2007 | Are You Ready | ||
| 2007-2011 | 2 Days & 1 Night Season 1 | Regular Member | |
| 2007-2011, 2012-2016 | Star King | Main Host | |
| 2009-2011 | Strong Heart | Main Host | |
| 2013 | Moonlight Prince | Main Host | |
| Barefooted Friends | Main Host | ||
| 2013-2016 | Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education | Main Host | |
| 2014 | Star Gazing | Main Host | |
| 2015 | Invisible Man | Regular Member | |
| New Journey to the West Season 1 | Main Host | ||
| 2015-2016 | Mari and Me | Regular Member | |
| 2015–present | Knowing Bros | Main Host | |
| 2016 | National Chef Team | Main Host | |
| New Journey to the West: Season 2 | Main Host | ||
| Strong Man | Regular Member | ||
| Sunshine Art Fitness | Regular Member | ||
| 2016-2020 | Let's Eat Dinner Together | Main Host | |
| 2017 | New Journey to The West: Season 2.5 | Main Host | |
| New Journey to The West: Season 3 | Main Host | ||
| Real Class - Elementary School | Main Host | ||
| Island Trio | Main Host | ||
| New Journey to The West: Season 4 | Main Host | ||
| Shadow Singer | Main Host | ||
| 2017-2018 | Kang's Kitchen | Owner and Main Chef | |
| 2018 | Talkmon | ||
| For The First Time In My Life | Main Host | ||
| Island Trio : Season 2 | Main Host | ||
| Great Escape | Main Host | ||
| Main Host | |||
| New Journey to The West: Season 5 | Regular Member | ||
| New Journey to The West: Season 6 | Regular Member | ||
| 2018-2019 | Eating Out Day | Main Host | |
| We Will Channel You | Regular Member | ||
| Amor Fati | MC | ||
| 2019 | Everyone's Kitchen | Main Host | |
| The Great Escape: Season 2 | Main Host | ||
| 300 X2 | Main Host | ||
| Kang's Kitchen 2 | Regular Member | ||
| Kang's Kitchen 3 | Regular Member | ||
| V-1 | MC | ||
| We Play | Regular Member | ||
| The Ramyeonator | Main Host | ||
| 2019-2020 | New Journey to The West: Season 7 | Regular Member | |
| 2019-2021 | Eye Contact | Main Host | |
| 2020 | The Great Escape: Season 3 | Cast | |
| Eating Out Day: Season 2 | Main Host | ||
| We Play: Season 2 | Regular Member | ||
| New Journey to The West: Season 8 | Regular Member | ||
| 2020-2021 | Eat More Before You Leave | MC | |
| Do you eat rice - Kang Ho-dong's rice heart | Host | ||
| 2021 | Job Estate | ||
| Voice King | Host | ||
| Ho Dong's Camping Zone: Let's Choose | Regular Member | ||
| The Great Escape: Season 4 | Main Host | ||
| The Great Home Cooking Research Institute | Main Host [11] | ||
| 2021-2022 | Mamma Mian | Main Host[12] | |
| 2022 | One Tree Table | Cast Member[13] | |
| Can't Cheat Blood | Main Host[14] | ||
| All Table Tennis! | Main Cast[15] | ||
| Daughter Thieves | Host[16] | ||
| National Science Representative | Host [17] | ||
| Round Table (Chuseok Special) | Host[18] | ||
| 2023 | Hell Court | Host[19] | |
| 5 | Cast Member[20] | ||
| Strong Heart League | Host[21] | ||
| Brother Ramyeon | Cast member[22] | ||
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–2021 | People Who Buy Time - About Time | MC | |
| 2021 | New Journey To The West Special "Spring Camp" | Cast Member | |
| Merseon 129 | Host | ||
| True Golfer | Regular Member | [23] | |
| 2022 | Goblin Stealing Wisdom | Host | [24] |
| Gannawa | [25] | ||
| 2022–present | Kang Ho-dong Neighborhood Room | Main Cast | [26] |
| Year | Competition | Division | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 11th Hoejanggijaengtaljeon National Wrestling Championships (장사급) | |||
| 1989 | 44th National Wrestling Championships | 95.1 kg or more | ||
| 1990 | 47th National Wrestling Championships | 95.1 kg or more | ||
| 1990 | 18th Wrestling Tournament Titans | Freeweight | ||
| 1991 | 54th National Wrestling Championships | 95.1 kg or more | ||
| 1991 | 21st Wrestling Tournament Titans | Freeweight | ||
| 1992 | 24th Wrestling Tournament Titans | Freeweight |
| Year | Award | Category | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | TV Journal Star King | Top Excellence Award | |
| 1998 | Excellence Award in a Comedy/Sitcom | ||
| 2002 | Top Excellence Award in a Variety Show | ||
| 2003 | Special Award, MC category | ||
| Best TV Entertainer (Soulmates) | |||
| Special Award Best Television MC | |||
| 2005 | Special Award, MC category | ||
| Special Award Best Television MC | |||
| 2007 | Daesang (Grand Prize) | [27] | |
| 6th KBS Entertainment Awards | Top Excellence Idea Corner Award | ||
| Korean Wave Program Award (X-man) | |||
| 2008 | Daesang (Grand Prize) | ||
| 20th Korean Producers' Award of Korea | Best Show Host (1 Night 2 Days) | ||
| Netizen's Choice Program of the Year Excellence Award (Star King) | |||
| 2008 Famous Creative Entertainment | "1 of top 50" | ||
| 9th Korea Visual Arts Awards | Photogenic Award, MC category | ||
| 2009 | Daesang (Grand Prize) | ||
| Viewer's Choice Program (1 Night 2 Days) | |||
| Best Program Award (Strong Heart) | |||
| 2010 | Daesang (Grand Prize) | ||
| Program of the Year Award (Star King) | |||
| SBS 20th Anniversary Entertainment 10 Star Award | |||
| Appreciation Plaque (1 Night 2 Days) | |||
| Merit Division (1 Night 2 Days) | |||
| Viewer's Choice Program (1 Night 2 Days) | |||
| 2011 | Excellence Program Award (Talk Show Category) (Strong Heart) | ||
| 2013 | Producer MC Award (Star King) | ||
| 1st Gimcheon International Masters Diving Competition | Special Award (Barefooted Friends) | ||
| Producers award (TV sector) | |||
| Best Teamwork Award (Cool Kiz on the Block) | |||
| Kind to Rookie Award (Cool Kiz on the Block) | |||
| 2014 | Excellence Award for Programs (Talk Shows category) (Star King) | ||
| 2015 | Best Teamwork Award (Cool Kiz on the Block) | ||
| 2016 | Best Content Award, Variety (New Journey to the West) | ||
| 2022 | 1st Blue Dragon Series Awards[28] | Best Male Entertainer | |
| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forbes | 2010 | Korea Power Celebrity | 10th | [30] |
| 2011 | 10th | [31] | ||
| 2012 | 12th | [32] | ||
| 2018 | 27th | [33] |