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Thursday, April 2, 2015

FOREIGN CELEBRITIES MORE FAMOUS THAN JUSTIN BIEBER IN KOREA

Thanks to fanatical vogue for K-pop and K-drama sweeping Asia, a load of Korean stars went international. Conversely, foreigners getting on-air is a recent conspicuously mounting phenomenon in Korean entertainment industry. Although they are obscure in their home country, they are super famous in Korea sweeping all kinds of TV shows. Here, I rounded up top 8 most famous foreigners in Korea.



1. Julien Kang (born in 1982, France)

Julien Kang Twitter

He's half-Korean, but he holds dual citizenships of Canada and France. After appearing on a sitcom in 2009, he gained popularity especially among women audience for his handsome facial appearance, muscular body and tall stature.

In 2014, he had an issue for reeling drunk in the street in his undies. In fact, he didn't make much problem. He just picked up some trash on the street and organized tables in front of a convenience store.



2. Zhang Yuan (Born in 1984, China)

Zhang Yuan Instagram

He is a representative of China in a famous talk show <Non-Summit>. This former announcer of Beijing TV came to Korea to teach Chinese in a private language academy, but he's now a super star thanks to the show. At the beginning of the series, there were some jaw-falling moments by his unfriendly attitude towards Japan and US, but now he got a lot meeker and milder. 



3. Fujita Sayuri (born in 1979, Japan)

Sayuri Twitter

She is probably the most successful Japanese in Korea. Since her first appearance in <Global Talk Show>, her outlandish behaviors and creative way of thinking has brought her much attentions and affections from the audience.

Her candid characteristics was such that on food TV programs she just goes "it tastes terrible," breaking fresh ground in food show history. In the world of Twitters, she is a woman of philosophical thoughts, getting much admiration and follows by many Koreans.



4. Sam Okyere (Born in 1991, Ghana)

Sam Okyere Instagram

Unfortunately, it's quite not often that black people get on TV shows in Korea. But this guy is very famous. This handsome young man always vent some cheerful atmosphere, which somewhat reminds of Will Smith. He got popular also thanks to <Non-Summit> and recently, even made a debut as a model. He openly proclaimed that he would be President of Ghana in the future.



5. Sam Hammington (Born in 1977, Australia)

Sam Hammington Twitter

This Aussie guy first came to Korea as an exchange student in 1998, but later became a comedian after making an appearance in a famous Korean comedy show <Gag Concert>.

Some say he got Koreanized more than a Korean. It seems the cat often get his tongue when he tries to speak something in English, which tags with a funny nickname "spy from North Korea." He got married to his Korean girlfriend in 2013.



6. Robert Holley (Born in 1960, the United States)

Robert Holley Twitter

This guy is a godfather of alien celebrities. He first settled in Busan in 1980's and got the southern accent from his host family and people in local open markets. It's quite uncommon to find a foreign guy speaking in the southern accent and this brought him a friendly uncle impression. But surprisingly, he's a lawyer. 



7. Jasmine Lee (born in 1977, Philippines)

Jasmine Lee Facebook

She is an actress and also the first politician of immigrant background in Korea.

She met her Korean husband while in university in Philippines and got a Korean citizenship in 1998, two years after her first coming to Korea with her husband. Since then, she has worked for civil rights of immigrant women in Korea. She finally received credit for her contributions and entered the National Assembly in 2012.

Before her career as a lawmaker, she took a key supporting actress in the movie <Secret Reunion> and  <Punch> in 2010 and 2011, respectively.


8. Enes Kaya (Born in 1984, Turkey)

Yonhap News

He first came to Korea to study IT technology but later somehow became an actor. He also gained recent popularity after making in <Non-Summit> as a fixed member. Since he speaks perfect Korean and seems to be more conservative than Korean men, Korean people dubbed him "Turkish Confucian scholar." 

However, a recent report got him down from the star status that he had been having inappropriate relationships with so many Korean women keeping his marital status under his hat. Now, he aborted all TV shows and went back to Turkey. 





Written by Karly

She graduated in a university in Korea double majoring in social studies and political science. After graduation, she worked for a while at the Nation of Assembly of Republic of Korea, but now she is working as a reporter. Having a life goal of being a Asia-specialized travel reporter, she travels around the world in her spare time.

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