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Top 10 Famous South Korean people

South Korea is in East Asia making up the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. It also shares a land border with North Korea.

On the western border of this country is the Yellow Sea, while the eastern border is the Sea of Japan.

The population of South Korea is about 25 million people. Seoul, the capital city, is the most populated with about 51 million people.

South Korea’s economy ranks 10^th in the world and it is one of the countries that have the fastest internet in the world.

South Koreans have great influence throughout the world for K-pop music, dramas and cinema. The Gangnam style was once a popular dance style a few years ago.

They have excelled in other spheres such as business, science, mathematics, fine arts, and sports.

Here is more on the top 10 famous South Korean people.

1. BTS Band – K-Pop

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We start with the most popular boy band in not only South Korea but the entire globe too. This band was formed in 2010 and debuted in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment.

The band is made up of seven members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. They all co-write and co-produce their music.

They started as a hip hop group but their musical style has morphed into other genres.

Their music focuses on personal and social annotations. They also sing on themes touching mental health, peer pressure, self-love, growing up and individualism.

This band also includes the theme of an alternate universe. They were named among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.  

2. PSY – Pop Artist

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You probably know him as PSY but his birth name is Park Jae-sang. He is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer.

PSY is known for its comical videos and stage performances. His most popular hit that went international was Gangnam Style.

This song’s chorus was entered into The Yale Book of Quotations as one of the most famous quotations of 2012.

In 2012, PSY met the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN Headquarters. Ban Ki-moon expressed interest in working with PSY due to his international reach.

His hit sig Gangnam Style hit four billion views on YouTube becoming the first video to do so in YouTube’s history.

3. Ban Ki-moon – Former UN Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon was the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. He succeeded the late Kofi Annan in 2007.

His diplomatic career started after graduating from university when he was posted in New Delhi, India. While working here, Ban Ki-Moon established a good reputation as being modest and competent.   

Before becoming Secretary-General, he represented South Korea in different diplomatic missions.

He worked in South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2006. While working in this office, Ban started campaigning for the office of the Secretary-General in the United Nations.

This position allowed him to travel to several nations that are members of the United Nations Security Council. In 2006, Ban Ki-Moon was elected as the 8^th Secretary-General by the United Nations General Assembly.

One of his achievements as the Secretary-General for the United Nations was persuading former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir to allow peacekeeping troops to enter Sudan. He also had strong views regarding global warming too.

4. Kim Yuna – Athlete

Photo by Sfcphoto.KeunHwa – Wikimedia

Kim Yuna is a South Korean figure skater who won the 2010 Olympic championship in ladies’ singles.

Additionally, she is the 2009 and 2013 World champion, the 2009 Four Continents champion, and a three-time Grand Prix Final champion among many others.

She was the first South Korean figure skater to win a medal at an ISU Junior or Senior Grand Prix event.

Kim is one of the most highly esteemed athletes and media figures in South Korea.

As the current record holder for ladies in the short program, the free skating, Kim is also the best in the combined total under the ISU Judging System.

5. Hyuna – K-Pop artist

Kim Hyuna, popularly known as Hyuna is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, rapper, and designer, just to mention a few.

She is also a member of the Korean girl group 4Minute, and duo Trouble Maker under Cube Entertainment.

Her music career as a solo artist is described as being performance-oriented. Kim also made an appearance in PSY’s Gangnam Style music video.  

Hyuna’s first single, Bubble Pop, got international recognition in 2011. She sold more than 3 million digital copies.

Kim also became the first female K-pop artist to reach 100 million views on a single music video on YouTube.

6. Hyun-jin Ryu – Baseball Pitcher

Photo by Derral Chen – Wikimedia

Hyun-jin Ryu is a South Korean left-handed starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball.

He was the first player from the KBO to join an MLB team in 2013. Ryu had spent seven seasons with the Hanwha Eagles of KBO. This was made possible through the posting system.

Hyun-jin was also the first South Korean to serve as the starting pitcher of a Major World Series game.

In 2019, Ryu got selected for his first career Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It is during this season that he led the Majors in earned run average.

7. Park Chung-hee – Politician

Park Chung-hee was a Korean military general and president. He led South Korea from 1961 until he was assassinated in 1979.

Chung-hee got into power through a military coup d’état that toppled the South Korean second Republic in 1961.

He was an unelected military strongman who headed the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction.

In 1963, Park was elected and then got inaugurated as the President of the Korean Third Republic.

Park declared martial law in 1972 by suspending the country’s constitution and making himself President for Life. This was during his second term in office.

This was not received well by the citizens. There had been assassination attempts on his life but they failed.

Eventually, in 1979, Park was assassinated by Kim Jae-Gyu, the chief of his security services.

8. Park Tae-hwan – Swimmer

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Tae-hwan is a competitive swimmer as well as an Olympic gold medallist and world champion.

He has four Olympic medals, five world titles, and 20 Asian Games medals. Park won a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle and a silver in the 200-meter freestyle events during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

In the men’s 400 metre freestyle, Park became the first swimmer of Asian descent to win a gold medal.

He was also the first South Korean swimmer to win a medal in a swimming competition.  

However, in 2015, Park was involved in a steroid scandal after testing positive in a doping test. In an interesting turn of events, his doctor was found guilty of injecting him with the steroid.

This was a breach of the medical conduct that required the doctor to log this information in Park’s medical history.

9. Roh Moo-hyun – Politician

Roh Moo-hyun GOM was the 9^th President of the Republic of Korea. His campaign policies focused on human rights advocacy for student activists in South Korea.

After becoming president, Roh expanded his focus on overcoming regionalism in South Korean politics.

He was a favourite of many, especially among young internet users. They played a big part in his win in the presidential elections.

With his administration, came a new breed of Korean politicians popularly known as the 386 Generation. 

They were made up of former student leaders that protested against authoritarian rule.

Public opinion on Roh improved significantly after his death. He is regarded as the president who valued human rights and national economic progress.  

10. Patti Kim – Artist

Photo by honeysuckle – Wikimedia

Here is another famous South Korean pop singer. She is usually referred to as a Super Star by Korean media.

Patti graduated from high school in 1958. In 1959, she debuted as a singer at a stage of the 8^th United States Army.

Then in 1963, after receiving a recommendation by the composer, she sang Pledge of Love, an adapted song of Till. This was her first break to stardom.

That same year, Patti travelled to the United States and sang on stage in Las Vegas.

Her popular hit songs include Sawori gamyeon, Sarangui changa, and Saranghaneun Maria.

She has released 70 albums and recorded more than 500 songs. The South Korean government awarded her with the prestigious Hwagwan Cultural Merit in 1996.