Sungbong Choi shuffled nervously onto the Korea's Got Talent stage. Wearing a flannel, checked shirt and jeans, he looked scared to death. He had told an interviewer, as he waited to audition, that he felt 'uncomfortable challenging in this competition'.
A judge asked him what he did for a living and he barely whispered his response, "I'm a manual worker." It was said with such a common inflection that people laughed. It was the Korean equivalent of a redneck taking to the stage with slang.
They had no idea what was about to happen.
Sungbong Choi's Tragedy and Triumph on Korea's Got Talent
The judge went on to question why he had left details about his family blank on the application form. Sungbong's story spilled out, leaving the panel and most of the audience alike in tears. It was obvious that people wanted the 22 year old to succeed, even if his singing wasn't up to scratch. He chose Nella Fantasia, a song made famous by the 1986 film The Mission, and Sungbong sang it.
It wasn't just in Seoul that the gasps and cheers resounded. The footage, now with English subtitles, has gone viral on YouTube.
Abandoned and Beaten: A Five Year Old on the Streets of Deajun
Delivered in an utterly unassuming tone, Sungbong told just the bare facts of his story to judges on the show. The Korean media and fans on his Facebook group filled in much more later on, verifying and confirming details that so many people found both amazing and heart-breaking to contemplate.
Sungbong Choi had been abandoned in an orphanage at just three years of age. While there, he had been beaten so badly that he ran away at five and never went back. He sneaked onto a bus going to Deajun, then disembarked at the bus terminal. There he survived, living in public toilets and stairwells, in the streets close by.
At eight years old, he was able to find work selling gum, dolls and energy drinks. As he progressed into his teenage years, he secured paper rounds, but he was still living on the street. He had not been to school.
Around the age of fourteen, Sungbong found a storage container, within which he could make a semi-permanent den for himself. It had no electricity, water nor bathroom facilities, but it was a place that he could finally call home.
An old lady took pity on him. She was a street food vendor, who often gave him a free meal of leftovers. She also helped him by finding a night school that offered a free education. It was run by volunteer students from a local college and it was not officially registered. Sungbong attended it infrequently, but still managed to pass his GED. This would allow him to enrol in a high school.
Sungbong Choi Dreams of Becoming a Singer
Whilst delivering energy drinks to a nightclub, the 13- or 14-year-old Sungbong heard a vocalist on the stage and he was mesmerised. He decided that he wanted to be a singer too and hunted around for someone to teach him. In the meantime, he sang at any opportunity, listening to music as he encountered it, then mimicking what the singers did.
Jeung So Park was a university student, when he met Sungbong. Later on, Park was to run a professional singing school, but that was just a future dream, when he was faced with a young, homeless boy begging for singing lessons. At first Park was sceptical of Sungbong's story, but he agreed to visit the teenager in the container, which he called home. Moved by his circumstances, Park provided the lessons free of charge.
Home and Education: Sungbong Choi Leaves the Streets
Jeung So Park helped him apply to the Deajun Child Fund Organization for a grant to secure rented accommodation. The provision gave him the deposit on a half-basement, cockroach-infested room. Sungbong still had to find the monthly rent, but an address allowed him to find work at Okchun Distribution Centre as a delivery man. His working hours were 8pm until 4am, but Sungbong also wanted an education.
He could read and write. He had spent his childhood having impromptu literacy lessons off drunkards and homeless people.
At seventeen years old, Sungbong enrolled in the local high school, but the administration there noted his record of absenteeism. He also had a tendency to fall asleep during class, due to trying to manage both high school and a full-time job. But he never once missed his music classes and took every singing class on offer.
How Health Issues Plagued Sungbong Choi
Sungbong was struggling with health problems. Over the years, he had been hit by cars several times, while living on the streets. His injuries had gone untreated, because he had no health insurance. He just wrapped up his injuries, including broken bones, in rags and duct tape, then let them heal as best they could. He had also developed tinnitus.
Then one night, when Sungbong was eighteen, he had an accident at work in the distribution centre. The resulting broken leg meant that he had no choice but to visit KunYang University Hospital. The ensuing health check showed that he needed much more treatment than a simple cast on his leg. He wasn't able to afford any more.
A solution was found whereby staff at the hospital held a fund-raising gala for the teenager. Sungbong was amongst those singing at the concert. Their efforts brought his story to the attention of Child Fund Korea, who not only paid for the rest of his treatment, but also gave him extra money with which to continue with his high school education.
Three years later, he had just started receiving treatment for his tinnitus, when he entered the audition for Korea's Got Talent.
Sungbong Choi's Fame After Korea's Got Talent
Most of this story wasn't available when the audience of Korea's Got Talent first heard Sungbong sing. As he became an overnight celebrity, as soon as it was aired, all of South Korea quickly learned every detail. He was plastered over every newspaper for months.
When the final came, in August 2011, he appeared in a tuxedo, looking much more relaxed. He seemed such a certain winner that it was a tremendous shock when he came in at second place. But his exposure has been so huge, that his dream to become a vocalist is certainly set to come true.
With thanks to Hiya Pd, who helped source much of this information from the original Korean.
Jo Harrington - Jo has a BA (Hons) in History and Philosophy and a MA in History. She has a book published on the history of Wicca.
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