So Seungri (21, Real name: Lee Seung Hyun) was a well known dancer in Gwangju. His talents gradually caught the attention of people in the entertainment industry.

“How would you like to consider becoming a singer?”

These short words of one casting manager inflated the young Seungri’s heart with dreams.

“I was young, so I blindly thought ‘Should I try being a celebrity?’. I appeared on this program that said they were choosing the second Shinhwa.”

But he suffered the disappointment of elimination after a mere two months. For Seungri, who had experienced fame and always excelled back in his hometown, it was a tough experience. His busy schedule that made him go back and forth between Seoul and Gwangju was also hard on him physically.

“I had to go back and forth between Gwangju and Seoul, but they wouldn’t even feed me or let me sleep. They didn’t even give me transport fares, so it was really hard. It made me realise ‘Becoming a celebrity isn't easy.’ I packed my bags and went home.”

But even more unbearable than the physical hardships were the critical reactions of the people around him.

“My friends scorned me. They said I sucked at singing and wasn’t very good [on the show]. Even my homeroom teacher said ‘I don’t really think that’s the path you should be taking. You should quickly find another path for yourself.’ She was really pretty but she’s never seemed uglier to me than she was that day.”

‘You’ll see.’ He became angrily determined. And he started going to an academy to learn singing. He hated being told that ‘You suck’ more than anything else in the world.

“To me, Park Dae Hong, director of one academy in Gwangju, was like an angel who fell from the sky. He contacted me, saying: ‘I’ve heard a lot about you. Most of Gwangju’s female students seem to know you. I want to polish your talents.’ He’s the one who also discovered 2NE1’s Gong Minzy and even Kara’s Goo Hara, who are both originally from Gwangju too. He set me up with some tutors and helped me a lot.”

With the help of Director Park Dae Hong, who recognised his talents, Seungri was able to audition for an entertainment agency. But what they were looking for weren’t Seungri’s singing or dancing skills.

“They told me to draw my hair back and show them my forehead, and to tuck my hair behind my ears. Then they took a picture of me from the front and the side. I went again later on and showed them my dancing, but they didn’t contact me.”

He fell into despair once again, but there was one person who recognised his talents.


Original article + translated by : sjay.x@bigbangvip.net