Kim Je-dong

Kim Je-dong
Born (1974-02-03) February 3, 1974
Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea
Education Keimyung College University - Tourism
Sungkonghoe University - Journalism
Occupation Comedian, TV host
Years active 2002–present
Agent Daeum Entertainment
Korean name
Hangul 김제동
Revised Romanization Gim Je-dong
McCune–Reischauer Kim Che-dong

Kim Je-dong (born February 3, 1974) is a South Korean comedian, variety and talk show host on television.

He currently hosts the talk show Healing Camp, Aren't You Happy on SBS.[1][2]

Background

Kim is also famous for being one of the few "socialtainers" in Korea (a portmanteau of social and entertainer[3]), and has received overwhelming public support for his social awareness.[4] Kim has urged people to vote,[5][6][7] invested in the crowdfunded political film 26 Years,[8] joined demonstrations for university tuition fee cuts[9][10] and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions,[11] participated in flood damage restoration efforts,[12] and has spoken out about cyberbullying,[13] the reinstatement of laid-off shipbuilders at Hanjin Heavy Industries, the Yongsan disaster and the Ssangyong Motors labor strike.[14] He is also known for being a vegetarian, and an eco-conscious advocate of hiking and biking.[15][16] In 2011, he was included in a list compiled by Yonhap News of celebrities who "habitually" make donations to charity,[17] and he ranked second (71.8%) in a survey of most trustworthy tweeters on political issues.[18]

Despite Kim's reputation as an outspoken liberal, he was invited as one of the hosts of the presidential inauguration ceremony of conservative Lee Myung-bak in 2008.[19][20] But in 2009, after he hosted the funeral memorial for the late president Roh Moo-hyun,[21][22] Kim was fired from his highly rated quiz show Star Golden Bell on the state-run broadcasting network KBS.[23][24] KBS claimed the dismissal was merely part of a program restructuring, but mounting speculation from netizens was that it had been politically motivated, and that Kim and his fellow liberal entertainers were being blacklisted by the Lee Myung-bak government.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31] A year later, Kim had already recorded the first episode of his eponymously named Kim Je-dong Show on cable channel Mnet, but upon learning that Kim would host the upcoming one-year anniversary memorial service for Roh Moo-hyun, the cable company asked the comedian's agency to rethink Kim's participation in the memorial. When the agency refused, Mnet delayed the airing of the talk show's premiere in June 2010, citing rescheduling as the reason. Kim then decided to quit the program on principle.[32][33] It was revealed in 2012 that Kim was among the TV personalities under illegal surveillance by the National Intelligence Service, causing him fear and anxiety.[34][35] Despite the dwindling job offers resulting from his political stance, in a lecture in 2011, Kim told KAIST students to maintain humor and happiness amid "merciless reality."[36] Kim said, "We're living in an unfortunate time for citizens right now, but it's a wonderful time to be a comedian. The material is inexhaustible. A reporter asked me why I keep engaging in political activity, and I said that while I haven't done that, comedy will quit politics once politics quits with comedy."[37]

After he lost his jobs at KBS, Kim launched a stand-up show in 2009 at a small Daehak-ro theater.[38] Called "talk concerts," Kim has since held these sold-out shows all over Korea and even in the United States, and in them he shares his views on the absurdities of society and politics, mixing funny anecdotes and insightful observations with biting social criticism.[37][39][40][41][42][43][44]

In February 2010, he began to write for the Kyunghyang Shinmun, a newspaper in Seoul. He conducts witty interviews with experts in diverse fields such as politics, economics, society, and culture. 25 of these interviews were compiled into the 2011 book Kim Je-dong Is Coming to Meet You,[45] and he donated proceeds from the book sales to underprivileged children with no access to cultural activities.[46] He published another book, Kim Je-dong's Arms Around, in 2012.

One of the most popular segments of Kim's act is called "Quotations from Kim Je-dong," in which he makes ad-libbed witty remarks while performing live in response to questions he gets on the spot from the audience.[47] To prepare, Kim said he reads newspapers of all kinds for 70 minutes every day and pastes clippings of editorials into a scrapbook, and writes down his own opinions on them.[48] When asked the secret behind his popularity, he said that "viewers feel a sense of commonality and comfort from me."[37]

Variety shows

Talk concerts

Newspaper column

Books

Awards

References

  1. Choi, Eun-hwa (13 December 2011). "Is Healing Camp the Next Kneedrop Guru?". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  2. Lee, Jin-ho (3 January 2012). "Politician Park Geun Hye Meets Socialtainer Kim Je Dong". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  3. Ki, Sun-min; Kang, Na-hyun (15 August 2012). "'Social-tainers' are talking about the issues". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  4. Kwon, Seung-joon (7 March 2012). "Celebrities with a True Social Conscience". The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  5. Lee, Jin-ho (26 October 2011). "Was Kim Je Dong Trying to Shake Things Up on Election Day?". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  6. Bae, Ji-sook (27 October 2011). "Election commission slams stars for tweeting on election". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  7. Kim, Ji-hoon (27 October 2011). "Voters post pictures on election day despite controversial NEC guidelines". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  8. Song, Ho-jin (4 December 2012). "Small budget films making big impressions". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  9. Lim, Ji-sun (3 June 2011). "Prominent figures join 'half-price tuition' demonstrations". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  10. Lee, Moon-young (7 June 2011). "'Half-price tuition' candlelight burns brighter". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  11. "Call to action". The Hankyoreh. 19 November 2010. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  12. Park, Hyun-jung (8 August 2011). "Shantytown damaged by floods, restored by volunteers". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  13. "'Virtuous Online Reply' Campaign Launched". The Dong-a Ilbo. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  14. Kim, Ji-yeon (11 November 2011). "Socialtainers, Change the World". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  15. Sung, So-young (25 February 2010). "Getting copycats for a climatic cause". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  16. Oh, Mi-jung (3 December 2012). "Lee Hyori Chosen as Top Vegetarian Figure by KVU". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  17. "Celebrity tax evasion". The Korea Herald. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  18. "Many Young People Believe Online Rumors". The Chosun Ilbo. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  19. "S. Koreans hope for peace and prosperity as Lee takes office". The Hankyoreh. 25 February 2008. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  20. Chun, Su-jin; Kim, Hyung-eun (25 February 2013). "The shifting presidential inaugurations through the years". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  21. "Celebrities Mourn the Late Former President Roh". KBS Global via Hancinema. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  22. Kim, Rahn (29 May 2009). "Koreans Bid Emotional Farewell to Roh". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  23. Bae, Ji-sook (11 October 2009). "Liberal TV Presenter Ousted From KBS". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  24. Cho, Jae-hyon (13 October 2009). "Kim Je-dong to Host Talk Show at MBC". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  25. "Another primetime casualty under Lee administration". The Hankyoreh. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  26. "Government persecutes KBS entertainers". The Hankyoreh. 12 October 2009. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  27. "Protesting firing of TV hosts". The Hankyoreh. 15 October 2009. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  28. "Lee administration's ban on artists". The Hankyoreh. 24 October 2009. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  29. Bae, Ji-sook (6 July 2010). "Kim Mi-hwa claims to be on KBS blacklist". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  30. Bae, Ji-sook (7 July 2010). "KBS management claims no blacklist". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  31. Yu, In-hwa (7 January 2013). "Remaining Ink: Blacklist II". Kyunghyang Shinmun. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  32. Lee, Hyo-won (1 June 2010). "Kim Je-dong show halted". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  33. "No place for bullying broadcast entertainers in a democratic society". The Hankyoreh. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  34. Bae, Ji-sook (5 April 2012). "Prying into entertainers' lives draws stir". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  35. Jung, Hwan-bong (6 April 2012). "Illegal surveillance takes a serious toll on victims". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  36. Jeon, Jin-sik (12 May 2011). "Kim Je-dong offers new perspective to overwrought KAIST students". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  37. 1 2 3 Nam, Ji-en (13 February 2012). "Progressive comedian revels in the tough times". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  38. Han, Sang-hee (24 November 2009). "Choose Concert to Warm Up December". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  39. "Kim Je-dong Talk Concert in Busan : No Brake". KBS Global (published 2013-06-29). 3 February 2010. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  40. "Kim Je Dong to Hold 'Talk Concert' in USA". KBS Global. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  41. "Buzzwords of Year 2010 in Pop Culture". KBS Global. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  42. Choi, Eun-hwa (11 November 2011). "Kim Je Dong to Hold Talk Concert in December". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  43. Oh, Mi-jung (23 December 2011). "Kim Je Dong Gifts Warm Jackets to Staff Members". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  44. Oh, Mi-jung (2 February 2012). "Kim Je Dong's Ulsan Talk Concert Cancelled for Political Reasons?". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  45. "What We’re Reading (from May to July 2011)". LIST Magazine. 2011. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  46. Sung, So-young (28 October 2011). "Kim Je-dong to donate to children". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  47. Lee, Min-a (21 June 2005). "Image is all for celebrities in getting advertising work". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  48. Joo, Yong-joong (7 June 2007). "When Is a Joke Not a Joke?". The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  49. "Singer Yoon Do-hyun Presents MC Kim Jae-dong with a Song". KBS World. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  50. Ko, Hong-ju (20 June 2013). "Kim Je Dong to Appear in Healing Camp's Competitor Kneedrop Guru for Yoon Do Hyun". enewsWorld. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  51. "Kim Je-dong Concert No Brake Season 4". Gwanju News. 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
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