Lee Seunggi originally debuted as a singer who was actually quite successful and managed to produce several hit songs such as “Because You’re My Woman,” “Will You Marry Me,” and “Return.” The popularity of his songs opened to door to another branch of the entertainment world, namely acting and it all led him to role offers in various popular K-Dramas, such as Brilliant Legacy (2009), My Girlfriend Is a Nine-Tailed Fox (2010), The King 2 Hearts (2012), Gu Family Book (2013), You’re All Surrounded (2014), A Korean Odyssey (2017–2018), and Vagabond (2019). Along with his career in the entertainment industry, he always has a positive appearance, and even he got so many supporters on his relationship with the pure and beautiful Yoona from SNSD at that time. His success in television dramas in Asia shaped him as the top star of Hallyu. Let’s get to know Lee Seung-gi better and check out his appearances in variety shows in this Channel-Korea article!
Lee Seung-gi in Strong Heart
Strong Heart (Hangeul: 강심장) is a reality show hosted by Lee Seung-gi and Kang Ho-dong and is basically a talk battle between a Korean star and anyone related. This variety show was aired by SBS. The show was launched on October 6th, 2009. Apparently in the following year, in September 2011, Kang Ho-dong took temporary retirement from the entertainment industry due to problems related to evasion of taxes. Therefore, Lee Seung-gi had to be the sole host of Strong Heart. Lee Seung-gi showed his sadness after the departure of his co-host, Kang Ho-dong, he was reminiscent of the beautiful memories of Strong Heart. “I remember thinking to myself whether I would be able to lead a show as the sole MC,” shedding tears at that moment. In episode 102 of the show, the guest star was Yoona from Girls’ Generation and he asked her some interesting questions about her trainee days, and which one she would choose between one Super Junior member and Lee Seunggi. This interaction between them went viral since then because they were involved in a relationship.
Lee Seung-gi also has an episode with another member of SNSD, Jessica. In the Strong Heart episode broadcast on March 23rd, she revealed her dream and said: “I want to have a kiss in front of our dorm with the members looking on and not carrying about the others who are seeing. I will usually cover my face with a scarf outside. I want to get rid of the bandage and just do it.” So Lee Seung-gi tried to make her dream come true by putting a scarf on her neck on the show. After his co-host’s departure, Lee Seung-gi also left the show in March 2012. He handed over his job to Shin Dong Yup and Lee Dong Wook in October 2012. In his final episode, Lee Seung-gi expressed his thoughts as quoted by Allkpop: “The guests should be the main focus of the show, but [because of the attention on Lee Seung Gi and his last show] I feel embarrassed.” He continued, “I remember the first moments. I wasn’t confident in myself when I first started, but almost three years have already passed. It was possible because of the family at ‘Strong Heart’ and the best possible guests on the show.” He also added that he missed Kang Ho Dong hyung (brother), he is also thankful to all the people, staff, fans, and others who had helped him through his solo MC times and he said goodbye gratefully.
Lee Seung-gi in New Journey to the West
New Journey to The West is a reality show related to travel aired on Naver TV Cast since September 4th, 2015. This show was hosted by Lee Seung-gi, Kang Ho-dong, Eun Ji-won, and Lee Soo-geun. These four members have been reunited from the reality show 2 Days & 1 Night. The producer of this reality is the famous PD Na Yeong-seok. These four members will take a mission from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West where they will trip through Xian, China in 5 days and 4 nights.
They will play games to succeed in the mission during this New Journey to the West. Lee Seung-gi who appeared in Season 1, became a Buddhist monk, chef, factory worker, and any occupation else. Lee Soo Geun became Sun Go Kong, Eun Ji Won became Sha Wujing, and Ho Dong became Pat Kai. The episode was very entertaining, funny, and interesting! In the first episode, Lee Seung-gi casually talked about the nicknames of Eun and comedian Lee. He called them “Yeuiodo divorce” and Lee was called “Sangam gambler.” This was because of their past living in the Seoul District and Sangam. They looked uncomfortable to converse about that on TV. In the other episodes, the four members got to finish the mission by finding ways to the guesthouse from the airport Xian in China with only 50 yuan ($7.87 USD) and a phone battery with only 10 percent left. These five episodes of Season 1 made the members of this program understand each other better by only looking with each other’s eyes. The producer PD Na said that this was a competition that could be enjoyed by all people. In Season 2, Lee Seung-gi didn’t join the show since he enlisted in the military service after the Season 1 finished. He also added that as a former member of New Journey to the West, the program will take a different direction once he enters the military service. Therefore he refused to join the program for Season 2 but he can’t wait to have another project with the PD Na, the legendary producer. He believed that without his participation in Season 2, the program will not get any dysfunction. Lee Seunggi was replaced by Ahn Jae Hun where in the new season of New Journey to the West, they will travel to China (Chengdu and Lijiang).
Lee Seung-gi in Master in the House
This reality show titled Master in the House (Korean: 집사부일체) was broadcast on SBS weekly from December 31st, 2017. Lee Seung-gi joined this program after getting discharged from the military. He became a cast member along with Yook Sungjae from BTOB, Lee Sang Yoon, and Yang Se Hyung. The reality show is about the cast members’ activities for two days and one night together with figures from a variety of occupations or professions which are called Masters. The cast members will get to know the Master and hopefully will gain knowledge and wisdom.
Also, there will be a day that the Master will be spending together with one of the cast members. This reality show turned out to be such an inspiration and a lesson to learn. Lee Seung-gi admitted that Master in the House is highly unusual, the subject of the program is ultimately different. He expanded, “The goal is for us to ultimately gain something from our encounter with the ‘Masters,’ through experiencing their daily routines and lifestyles.” Lee Seung-gi also expressed that this also makes this program more challenging, he said: “I’m currently worried because there are no games or scripted talk segments during the episodes.” Quoted from Allkpop, he continued, “Because this is my first time on an ‘observation-style’ variety show, I’m still not used to it. Even when we were filming, I kept doubting about how this would be edited and broadcast on television. It was only when I was watching the first episode that I started to figure out what the show would look like.” In the interview cited from Allkpop, Lee Seung Gi also shared that Master In The House had led him to reconsider his approach to shooting variety shows. “I think I’m used to the old style of variety shows, therefore, I have the uncontrollable idea to become a constant stream of comedy and how to never be any kind of dull.” He expressed, “But I realized that we had developed throughout time from when we first awkwardly met the ‘Master’ to when we left the house at the very end. I think it would be good to focus on the process of that transformation.” Lee Seung-gi said, “I think that as we will find out things step by step, we will naturally develop our own different styles.”
