Lim Ha-ryong revealed everything from his past experience as a show MC to his unexpected relationship with Jang Dong-gun.

On the 31st, a video titled ‘13,000 phone contacts!! Lim Ha-ryong, a professional attendee of wedding and funeral programs | Comedian lineage more fun than O-game revealed’ was released on the ‘Jodongari’ channel.

Lim Ha-ryong, who started out as a comedian and is active in various fields as a show MC and actor, honestly talked about the background of his debut as a comedian. He made people laugh by saying, “I‘m a person who gives up on things for three days. I can’t do anything for a long time”. He continued, “I learned drums in college, but I gave up because I got bored of having to keep hitting the rubber plate. I also quit taekwondo after two or three days because my muscles hurt, and I gave up learning guitar because I got blisters on my hands. However, he added, “Since we have the same guts, I think being a comedian suited me well.”



Lim Ha-ryong, who has also left a big mark as an actor, won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 2005 Blue Dragon Film Awards and created the film ‘Welcome to Dongmakgol’, which is considered his life‘s work. He recalled the hardships of filming at the time, saying, “It felt like I had served in the military twice. We filmed on a set built on top of a coal mine, and the next day, black water came out of my eyes. I thought I had a serious illness.”

Having been active as an MC in addition to an actor, he recalled the time he hosted ‘Show Saturday Special’, which aired on KBS, saying, “I was the first comedian to be the MC of a show program.” In particular, he surprised everyone by revealing that during the MC partner selection process, he wanted to work with Choi Jin-sil, but it fell through because he wanted to focus on acting, and instead, the person recommended was Go Hyun-jung.

He then confessed, “Go Hyun-jung was fresh and pretty, but she had one drawback. (She’s so tall) it was hard to fit her into the screen frame.” He continued, “(Even) Go Hyun-jung‘s mother said, ’Our Hyun-jung looks pretty when she wears heels,‘ so I didn’t have time to memorize my script and had to run around looking for a stand,” making people laugh as he recalled that time.

On the other hand, Im Ha-ryong‘s son’s wedding was a huge topic of conversation in the entertainment industry. He said, “We originally reserved 600 seats, but we thought it would be small, so we increased it to 1,200. However, my relatives brought all the neighborhood kids, so the number of guests ended up close to 2,000.” Here, Kim Yong-man was amazed at the wedding guest lineup. Representative actors of South Korea, including Lee Soon-jae, Lee Deok-hwa, Han Suk-kyu, Kim Hye-soo, and Choi Bool-am, attended in large numbers, making it feel like an entertainment awards ceremony.



Kim Yong-man recalled, “I remember the long line to give congratulatory money. It stretched from the elevator all the way outside,” and Ji Suk-jin made everyone laugh by revealing, “We didn‘t have any seats, so we ended up eating outside. We even had to pay for the meal by pulling out a card after the meal, and I won’t ever forget it,” and Im Ha-ryong responded with a hearty response, “I could pay for the meal right now even if you charged me.”

Meanwhile, Im Ha-ryong revealed an unexpected connection that began at Jang Dong-gun‘s grandfather’s funeral. He recalled, “At the time, Kim Min-jong said to me, ‘Hyung, Dong-gun’s grandfather passed away, so you should go, right?‘ But in fact, I didn’t know Jang Dong-gun that well. Still, I couldn‘t say ’No,‘ so I went, but I only had 50,000 won with me. It was ambiguous to ask him to borrow it, so I just quietly paid 50,000 won.” He continued, “But after that, (Jang Dong-gun) this guy started paying in hundreds on certain days,” and he was surprised. Here, when Kim Yong-man said, “People see sincerity,” and gave warm words, Im Ha-ryong made everyone burst into laughter by saying, “Dong-geon might have thought, ’Why did that person come to my grandfather‘s funeral?’”

Meanwhile, the YouTube channel ‘Jodongari’, led by Ji Seok-jin, Kim Yong-man, and Kim Soo-yong, is receiving love from viewers by providing laughter through episodes with various guests in each episode, and sometimes drawing empathy with sincere stories.

Choi Yoon-na, Donga.com reporter yyynnn@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.