The Story and Voice of
Sung-Bong Choi
by Eugene Cho
Have you heard the story of Sung-Bong Choi? I absolutely love these
kinds of stories. And it’s not that I just love these kinds of
stories, I need these kinds of stories. Perhaps, we all need these
kind of stories.
Sung-Bong Choi, a self-described “manual worker,” is a recent
contestant who shocked many on “Korea’s Got Talent.” While an easy
comparison might be the story of Susan Boyle, his story is even more
compelling. In his own words:
When I was three years old, I went to an orphanage, but because of
the beatings, I ran away when I was five and lived alone by selling
gum on the streets. For 10 years, I lived like a fly. I was
eventually able to graduate elementary and middle school through
qualification examinations and the first thing that I ever liked was
music.
Susan Boyle surprised us because while she didn’t look the part, she
sang with such beauty. And you can certainly say the same thing
about Sung-Bong Choi. Let’s be honest. We know we shouldn’t, but we
sometimes judge a book by its cover and yes, we do exactly that with
people. I don’t like to admit it, but sometimes I fall into that
trap.
But it’s not just the outward appearance, it’s really Sung-Bong’s
deeper story:
Sung-Bong Choi is a manual worker — his lowly profession is laughed
at by the audience in the studio, and is slightly mocked by one of
the judges — who has lived alone basically his entire life — he has
no family and was raised in an orphanage, but left after being
beaten up by people there. He was homeless for ten years and
survived by selling gum and energy drinks on the street. Basically,
we can barely summarize Sung-Bong’s life without tearing up, so
we’ll ease the pain by letting you know that his singing is
absolutely divine. Let’s hope his newfound Internet fame gives him a
better life. (Idolator)
And yes, I’m aware of the mini-controversy in the way the show told
Sung-Bong’s story as a result of the producers’ editing, but
regardless, I love these stories because they remind us that
everyone has beautiful gifts that need to be discovered, recovered,
and empowered.
The video is below:
Source: Eugene Cho
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