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I am MC You Hee-yeol.
I am MC Haha.
I'm the safest man to women...
and the most dangerous man to men. I'm Hong Seok-chun.
It might be dangerous for everyone here today. We're all men.
I'm the Indian middle-aged man, Lucky.
He looks like an Indian Jun Hyun-moo.
Jun Hyun-moo?
I'm Oh Chan-ho, a lifestyle sociologist.
I know Park Chan-ho but don't know...
who Oh Chan-ho is.
The courageous have come out to talk.
- On Wednesday night, - Busking with words,
- this is As I Say! - this is As I Say!
(As I Say)
- Hello, it's nice to meet you. - Hello.
I heard that Hong Seok-chun...
really wanted to meet with Yoo Hee-yeol. Can you tell us why?
- It's my first time seeing him today. - That's so weird.
You know how they say thoughts and words become reality?
I kept thinking that I would bump into Yoo Hee-yeol one day.
And today's the day.
Back in college, there was a person from Daegu...
that shook my heart.
- He looks really similar to that person. - He does?
When he smiles, you can see his gums.
(Clamps shut)
- Why are you clamping your mouth shut? - Yes, why?
This is how I smile when I'm extremely happy.
Show us your gums.
- Stop that. - He's funny.
Anyway, let's move on.
This is the first time we ever had a sociologist join us here.
I yawned the moment I heard the word, "sociologist".
For me to have a degree in sociology...
is proof that I'm poor, in a sense.
Recently, I released a new book.
It's a book questioning where all the children who wanted to be president went.
- It's my first time hearing of it. - I'm sure.
I released four books but no one knows about them.
That's why my publishing editor...
was waiting for this program.
I don't think he'd be just waiting.
(Trembling)
Hee-yeol, are you trying to hide your gums?
Anyway,
- today's not going to be normal. - I have a good feeling about today.
Whether it's acting or variety, there's nothing he can't do.
He's the top gay Hong Seok-chun.
I'm the very best.
He's the best. He knows pretty much all the top celebrities.
Just recently, you took a picture with Won Bin.
He knows everyone in the entertainment business.
- He knows everyone. - Yes, I do.
From the film industry to the sports industry as well, he's...
really well connected.
He even knows Song Joong-ki.
I didn't know but Song Joong-ki was apparently my underclassman in high school.
- He's from Daejeon, too. - Yes.
- There are three very famous people from my high school. - Oh?
- Song Joong-ki. - Song Joong-ki.
- Hong Seok-chun. - Hong Seok-chun.
Ahn Hee-Jung, Chungnam's governor.
- That was so sudden. - Well...
Basically, in terms of popularity, Ahn Hee-Jung has nothing on me.
Song Joong-ki is first, I'm second, and Hee-Jung is third.
I win in terms of popularity.
The people who are watching this program...
- doesn't know who he is either. - He's a candidate right now...
Hee-Jung isn't as popular as me.
- Can you say that? - I can say,
"You should raise your reputation."
"Because no one recognizes you, they keep moving you back for the next election."
He has to make people recognize him.
When he announced his candidacy, you were there with him.
That's right. I saw it in an article.
I don't usually involve myself in politics...
but because he's my senior,
there's something appealing about him.
Really?
Wait, that's dangerous. I'm not being helpful.
- Basically, the way he thinks is very amazing. - I see.
Can you tell us one more famous person you know?
I don't know if I should say this.
You have to surprise us.
- This is JTBC, right? - Yes.
Suk-hee?
- Him? - He's one of my friends.
- Did you call him Suk-hee? - Yes.
How do you know Suk-hee?
He was a regular in one of my restaurants for over 10 years.
Suk-hee, come over to my restaurant, too.
- Anyway, two years ago, there was a huge terrorist attack in Bangkok. - Yes.
- That time, you called the newsroom directly, didn't you? - You did?
Yes.
(Connecting with Hong Seok-chun, a witness to Bangkok's terrorism)
Mr. Hong Seok-chun?
(He acted as a correspondent.)
They said Suk-hee asked me for this favor.
That's why my call was connected through to him in JTBC.
You're amazing, Seok-chun.
His businesses and activities are doing so well.
- Is there anything else you strive for? - I wonder.
Whenever people interview me, they always ask what my dream is at the end.
- They ask that question a lot. - Yes. So I say,
"Because I was in Yongsan for a long time..."
"and to volunteer my time when I'm older,"
"should I try out to be a head of the district?"
I just said it for the sake of answering the question.
- After saying that... - After that, you have to plan out your campaign.
Yes.
I'm a little different from others. My campaign plans are different from the norms.
When I have to make banners,
I wouldn't use a frontal picture.
I would use the picture of my back.
The back. Like this, like this.
- Like this. - Why?
- Why? - For your poster?
- Just that picture. I also have a slogan. - What slogan?
"I'll take responsibility of everyone's unseen backside."
Hong Seok-chun. Ta-dah.
I'll also go around my campaign on roller skates.
I'll wear pink roller skates.
I'll skate around saying, "Hello, everyone!"
"I'll take responsibility of your unseen backside. I'm Hong Seok-chun."
"Please vote for me."
Like that. I'd do it like that.
- He always does what he says. He's going to do this. - Yes.
That's a very unique campaign strategy but it's a start.
- Anyway, what kind of talk have you prepared for us today? - Well...
I don't think I had many opportunities to open up and...
honestly talk about myself.
When I think about myself, I...
always think that I'm kind of peculiar and the oddball.
So I would like to talk about...
how to live as one of those oddballs in society.
They would drag me somewhere and call me, "You homo bastard".
I was sexually assaulted.
Is that true?
There are many of us who decided on suicide.
I would like to ask everyone a favor.
(The stories Hong Seok-chun couldn't tell until now...)
Next is the newest member of "Non Summit Meeting".
He's known for being a charming middle-aged man. Representing India, Lucky.
(Middle-aged Lucky)
- He's really handsome. - He is.
What did you say?
- You're handsome. - He just wanted to hear it again.
- You're handsome. - But on TV, my face...
looks twice as big. I'm serious.
This is the camera's fault. My face isn't that big.
I also get that kind of thing, too.
- Like what? - People get surprised when they see me in real life.
- It's true. - You look better on TV.
- Lucky... - I'm sorry.
I thought you were on my side.
How long has it been since you were in Korea?
It's been about...
Well, I first came here 20 years ago...
but I only lived here for seven years.
But 20 years ago, Korea didn't have that many foreigners.
Yes. Foreigners were considered to be aliens.
In some sense, he speaks so much better than Sam Okyere.
If I say this, people might say I'm really old...
but I really love Korean songs.
The top ten songs of the 90s are the best.
- Compared to the songs right now... - He's really a middle-aged man.
The artists of today are pretty good...
but no one can beat DJ DOC, COOL, and Panic.
What about TOY? Did you like TOY?
Back then, you weren't on TV that often.
Right now, I see you often but back then, I didn't see you.
I don't know...
You're getting so many insults these days.
- Were you the one singing in the duo, TOY? - No.
- He didn't sing. - Yes, he didn't sing, right?
- I just... - He didn't sing...
I know I shouldn't say this...
but he's terrible at singing.
You look like you can sing well.
- Do you have any memories of Haha? - Do you know me?
To be honest, I didn't understand why he was on TV.
Back then, MC Mong was so much funnier.
- That's why I think of Haha as a late bloomer. - Late bloomer?
Yes, a late bloomer.
Late bloomer.
(Haha, a celebrity late bloomer)
- You've pretty much hit the mark. - He gave me a lot of courage.
If I could make it, you can make it.
Anyway, did you appear on anything else before the "Non Summit Meeting"?
Back then, there was a "KBS Foreigner's Singing Competition".
I made a group with two other foreigners.
We did it for fun but won first place.
After winning first place, I was able to get my foot in the door of show business.
I also got a pretty big role in the drama, "Rustic Period".
I was the American officer chasing after Kim Doo-Han.
Major Whitaker.
- "I'll find you and let you go." - That was you?
That was me.
(During the drama, "Rustic Period"...)
I treat the boss like a boss.
That's the Whitaker's method.
I won't arrest you.
Thanks.
You're very mysterious. You're really...
- He's your senior. - He is.
He's been here longer than me.
He's just your typical foreign celebrity out to make a living.
Anyway, if you have any questions for Lucky,
feel free to ask.
According to an article I read, back in India,
people like me are imprisoned for life...
or are beaten to death by family members.
- Those are what I heard. - Really?
India has 30 different states.
Each state has different set of laws.
- But you won't be imprisoned for life. - Oh?
Depending on the laws, you should be imprisoned for ten years...
but the people in Southern India accept homosexuality.
Same goes for transgenders. On the voting ballots,
there's a square for man, woman, and a third one...
for transgenders.
Not only that, in Southern India,
there are transgender people being elected to be political figures.
In social science, the perspective on homosexuality is a little different.
In one college, there was a debate on the subject of...
homosexuality. Whether people were for it or against it.
It was a stupid debate.
But what's funny is...
The debaters would come up and draw lots.
If the paper said they were against it, they would debate against it.
The professor finalizes this session saying,
"There are various issues in the world and many different ways of thinking."
But that's a very dangerous way to approach this subject.
If you debate about homosexuality,
they're given the idea that they have the rights to have a different opinion.
They have the freedom to hate someone.
They shouldn't have the right to agree of disagree with that issue.
It's like saying, "I don't discriminate but I'm against it."
That's what they're saying when they debate over this.
I've heard about that a lot before.
"We don't discriminate but we're not against it either."
Someone said that.
That's the title of my book.
Wait, listen.
The title is "We don't discriminate but we're not against it either."
A writer and sociologist who looks at Korean's society with impartial eyes,
- Oh Chan-ho. - You're introducing him now?
Yes.
I'm asking because I don't know too much about social science.
- I don't know what it is. - It's a little unfamiliar.
Just what is social science?
Social science is something that says that if we continue to live like this,
- we'll be completely ruined. - What?
If we stay as we are now, believing stereotypes...
as the order of this world, and force it on others,
our society as a whole will become worse and worse.
For example, things like the patriarchal system,
the issues surrounding gender inequalities,
the outdated belief that hard work will pay off in the end,
and that education is equal. Is it really?
Because of those outdated beliefs and stereotypes,
has our society gotten better?
Aren't there more indicators that it's more worse?
So we're forced to recognize those outdated beliefs and break away from them.
That is one of social science's roles.
Wow.
It's interesting how you said our society is ruined if we continue like this.
Social science is a study about saying those type of things.
In a sense, it could be tiresome.
- Are your writing brutal as well? - Yes.
When a reader, after reading my books,
tells me that it made them depressed, I feel very happy.
I feel that my book was well written.
I was able to get to the core of reality.
That's why when I send in my original to the publishing company,
I tell them never to write that the book made a great impression.
- It sounds too optimistic. - Optimistic?
It's filled with criticism about reality that will jolt people awake.
Once there was an episode...
when I went to a company for an interview.
In that interview, I would get a book and do a presentation about it.
When I opened the envelope, it was one of my books.
It's called, "Attack of the Colleges".
- He's so clever. - I think...
- he's lying about finding his own book in an envelope. - Wait, I...
- This really happened to one of my friends. - What was the title?
"Attack of the Colleges".
That friend was one of my students.
He was forced to write a book report.
- So he passed? - Yes, he told me he was able to pass.
- You did something good for him. - Yes, of course. That friend...
sent me a coffee coupon to say thanks.
He said it was all thanks to me.
You came out during a great time. Lately, there's this saying, "Sorry you're a lib."
- What's that? - It means "Sorry I'm a liberal arts major."
It reflects on how having a humanities major is looked down upon by people today.
I always say this during my lectures.
People will look down on you for majoring in...
humanities because it doesn't make money.
But don't think like that.
During the interview process for a company,
if you talk about everything opposite of what you learned from me...
If you speak the opposite, people will love you for being socially skilled.
Capitalism gave us hope and we're rewarded for our hard work and efforts.
The early bird gets the worm.
- So optimistic. - You don't teach it like that, do you?
- No, of course not. - The opposite.
I'm sorry but the way I see it,
- he has no hope or optimism. - None.
He's hopelessly pessimistic.
We're going to be blunt.
But aren't there any instances in life...
where you feel even this tiny amount of optimism?
When something doesn't work out for me,
I don't blame myself.
- I blame it on society for making it impossible for me. - You don't blame yourself?
It might come off as being really pessimistic to you,
but I'm very optimistic.
Reality is this rotten.
There was no other choice for me but to become like this.
- This isn't my problem. It's humanity's problem. - Yes.
Did your wife also major in social science?
No, she majored in music.
She hasn't read any of my books.
That's a relief.
Do you criticize your family?
Sometimes, I criticize my family, too.
Things like, "Why did you eat that first?"
We should eat it together. We should share.
But when they take it as if it were their private property...
I put great importance in those things.
- This is too funny. - I don't think I'm the strange one.
It's the world's fault for being inflexible.
Having such a pessimistic view of the world,
doesn't it stress you out sometimes, too? What do you think?
When I go out to get together and talk,
- I... - I really don't want to go to be a part of that.
(Laughing)
When I talk about things,
they listen for about three minutes, saying, "Wow, Chan-ho."
At the three minutes and 10 seconds mark, they say, "You're ruining the mood."
But when I keep going and going,
saying we have to stay focused and stay together,
they say, "Sure, go become a political figure"...
with a lot of ridicule and contempt.
"Sure, go become one." Like that?
I think people these days call...
something like this as being too serious.
But while it's mentally painful,
I have to overcome it.
They say the same things to music students.
When you talk about music, your friends say,
"It's all good as long as it sounds good."
"Sure, go become the next Beethoven."
That's exactly it.
(A strange sense of kinship)
When we talk about music, they respond,
"It's all about sounding good." Then, you can't really say anything else.
Because you're a sociologist, I think of you in that way.
- Although he can be tiresome, he's definitely... - someone we need here.
Thank you.
I'm so grateful he said "Thanks" to us.
- He can feel grateful, too. - Anyway,
Thank you.
(The minority is driven to the corner.)
They could be your sons or daughters.
(Korea is the heaven of con artists?)
(It makes my blood boil.)
(Korea's society is reaching it's worst point in history.)
This is making me so depressed.
If I don't pass, do I have to die?
(In a little while, the methods to surviving Hell Joseon will be revealed.)
Today's busking location is where traditions live on in the middle of the city.
- It's Jonggak Station. - Yes.
I thought of how we're going to teleport today.
- It's the symbol of Jonggak Station. The bell... - Oh.
- They ring the bell on New Year's Eve. - Yes.
Today, Hong Seok-chun...
(What? What about me?)
We're going to hold him...
and just like how we ring in the New Year,
let's go strike the Door of As I Say.
You want us to hold him?
- Like that wooden... - That wooden pillar.
Really? That's me?
You're the star, Seok-chun.
How do we do this?
- We're going to hold him. - We're holding him?
- Like this. - Let's hold him up.
- All right. - In 1, 2, 3...
- We did it. - Where is it?
- Where's the bell? - The bell?
Are we going to Jonggak Station like this?
Like this?
- Hey. - Hey.
Hee-yeol, put some back into it!
All right. In 1, 2, 3.
(They open the door of As I Say with Seok-chun's head.)
In 1, 2, 3.
(Ring)
(Jonggak Station)
(It's located below it.)
(Today's busking zone.)
Go!
- Hello. - Hello.
They arrive at the busking zone.
(He's really happy for having his special camera.)
- Hello, everyone. - Hello, everyone.
We safely passed through the door of As I Say...
- to arrive here... - at Jonggak Station.
(They arrived at Jonggak Station, today's busking zone.)
Do you have any memories of Jongro, Seok-chun?
Of course. Jongro is all about...
Pimatgol. Back when I was young,
that street was filled with fried fish, makgeolli, and soju.
- It was really poor. - It was filled with penniless actors.
It's unfortunate that those memories and stories have been erased here.
But it feels nice to be back.
Although they got rid of that place, Instead, we're able to meet everyone in this new place. - He's right.!
Yes.
We're going to start our busking on As I Say.
Let me introduce you to each one of our buskers.
- First... - I'm sorry but...
- how long do I have to wear this? - You can take it off.
When you introduce me...
- There's a mark. - The mark will show...
- when you're introducing me. - All right.
He's the man who can cook up the...
tastiest meals and stories.
Hong Seok-chun.
(Spinning)
(Shooting)
I really don't like actions like that.
How can we match up to that?
- Do an acrobatic tumble. - Next,
the one in the role of a middle-aged man in "Non-summit Meeting",
- here's Lucky. - He's a lucky guy.
(Bursts with fun)
- He's a celebrity. - He's a celebrity.
You should have done this at least.
- I did. - Next,
I bet many of you wonder who he is. He looks unfamiliar to you.
He's currently an author...
and a sociologist.
- He's author Oh Chan-ho. - How great!
- I get this much applause, I see. - We are...
- Haha and Hee-yeol, Ha Hee-yeol. - We're Ha Hee-yeol.
- We're Ha Hee-yeol. - We'll head over to the waiting area.
We'll immediately begin with Hong Seok-chun's busking.
(Hong Seok-chun, the first busker)
- Thank you. See you soon. - Thank you.
- Good luck. - You're leaving...
- We're leaving. - me behind?
- Good luck, sir. - This is unbelievable.
(Amidst everyone's high expectations,)
(what is he going to say?)
Hong Seok-chun's busking is starting now. He is...
- really open and honest, right? - Yes.
So it makes me anticipate how honest he'll be today.
His life had the most drama, too.
I really anticipate whether he'll tell us about it.
He really lived a life full of ups and downs.
We only know the bright, successful side of him.
- But we don't know about... - It's true.
the hidden side of that.
(Hong Seok-chun's real story begins now.)
Everyone, when you hear my name Hong Seok-chun,
what do you think of?
- I think of baldness. - I think of baldness.
You think of how I'm bald?
(He's sad. You think of how I'm bald?)
You think of CEO? Right.
- I'm number one of Itaewon? - He's rich.
- Thank you. Pardon? - He seems like a rich man right now.
- You're a fashion king. - I'm a fashion king?
That's a good one.
There are quite a few titles about me.
Among those, the one you like...
is "top gay". That's also my nickname.
It was shocking at first. On television,
he was introduced as Hong Seok-chun, the top gay of Korea.
I thought, "Korea's broadcasting became so open." He's the very person from that.
Even though I came out in 2000, I'm uniquely...
the only character who's still fighting this battle.
I'm the top gay of Korea.
(I'm the only existing character for this. I'm the top gay of Korea.)
Jongro and Itaewon are actually the ultimate region for gays.
(Laughing)
Among those of you who came,
if there's anyone who's gay, could you raise your hand?
(Silence)
Do you lack the courage?
There should be at least one.
(They're always present and always absent.)
Recently, a younger female friend who came to my restaurant...
asked, "What do you think of yourself as?"
Without realizing it, I just said that I'm quite unique.
I said I'm of another kind.
I think of myself as slightly different from you all...
as one of another kind with a special charm.
(My identity is that I'm a different, special kind.)
I was born in at Chungcheongnam Province in Cheongyang,
a countryside place deep in the mountains.
I grew up there.
While boys my age played soccer and ran around for fun,
I usually played with girls my age or older girls.
We played the bobby pin game...
- What's a bobby pin game? - or did jump ropes.
Do you know what bobby pin game is?
You place bobby pins on the floor...
and use your hands to get the other's bobby pins.
I had a gift for the game it when I was young.
So I swept all the bobby pins of the girls in my neighborhood.
But if I had only won bobby pins,
I'd have just been a normal kid.
But I put them on safety pins in units of 20. I sold them for 5 cents each.
You see, that's when I began doing business.
I was making my allowance with that...
but my father looked at me...
and said, "Why are you doing what girls do?"
He flushed down all my bobby pins at a old-style bathroom.
But the young Seok-chun, seeing them as money,
picked out each one with a bamboo. He washed them...
and sold them again to the neighborhood girls.
The girls don't know that story.
- He's a business man. - He's got the gift for it.
He's such a business man.
He's wearing those furs for a reason.
(Rich furs are the symbol of business men.)
For me, I sensed that my identity...
is that I'm a bit unique student and boy...
ever since fourth grade in elementary.
Realizing my identity on my own...
and accepting it took a very long time.
Before I went into military service in college,
I even went on dates with a girlfriend.
I put in a lot of effort but amazingly,
when I see girls this pretty...
my heart beats the same as always.
But when I see a cool guy like that with a blue jacket,
my heart beats crazily. Seeing that,
I decided to accept my heart's...
signals as who I am.
In that way,
I think I was a special kid ever since I was young.
When you do anything out of the ordinary in the countryside,
many friends bully you.
So I was actually a bit...
bullied as an outcast.
I also experienced something...
I wouldn't want to tell anyone.
(Seok-chun carefully brings out his story.)
I remember that it was in middle school.
Students in the top popularity circle,
one summer day, dragged me somewhere.
I was beat up...
and sexually abused.
(He was sexually abused.)
Personally, it was really hard.
I had quite good grades in school...
but my grades kept falling and falling.
My parents and my teachers didn't know why.
I looked as if I was living as I always did...
but my mind felt empty beneath the shell.
Really?
(It's a scar he couldn't tell anyone about.)
How should I escape this nightmare? I contemplated that...
for a very long time.
(He contemplated a lot for a long time.)
But one day, I suddenly...
thought that I should be the first to forgive them...
and the first to go see their faces.
I went to my hometown and saw them.
Through that, now...
we're back to being friends from middle school.
Of course, that time was like a huge nightmare...
but if I hadn't forgiven them...
and kept having it as a trauma,
I was afraid I'd ruin my own life.
I took the initiative of going past the line and pushing through.
(It's hard but I choose to forgive for my own sake.)
Actions like that are also my own...
unique way of forgiving.
(That's also Seok-chun's unique way of forgiving.)
I came out in year 2000.
- But there wasn't any need for me to come out. - It's true.
Before I came out,
I was in that very famous sitcom called "Three Men, Three Women".
I pinched actors Song Seung-heon and So Ji-sub from the side...
and shouted "I hate you!".
The aftermath of that show was insane.
I was in that. So why, suddenly at age 30,
did I declare that I'm gay?
No one had asked me, but I said, "I'm gay."
Why did I declare it without being asked?
(Why did Seok-chun, who was enjoying success, come out?)
An older guy I knew from being in a musical...
opened a folk-style pub.
He called me on the phone.
"Seok-Chan, I opened up a pub. Promote it for me, won't you?"
I replied, "Sure." I went.
When I went, he made me have a autograph session at the pub.
- It was a folk-style pub autograph session? - He called me again so I did it again.
It went about three times.
I didn't know why I had to keep going. We weren't even that close.
So I told him that I can't go and that I'm sorry.
He suddenly cursed at me.
He said, "If you don't come, I'll talk to a journalist."
"I'll expose how you're a homosexual punk."
He threatened me like that.
(He threatened that he'd expose Seok-chun's real self.)
Things like that built up bit by bit. I wondered,
"How long do I have to live a life..."
"that's this pitiful?" I decided I must come out.
I really like being called the first ever.
(He can't be helped.)
Amidst that, around the summer of 2000,
I was on a show called "On Raunchy Night". Kim Han-suk is such a close friend...
that he comfortably asked, "Do you like women or men?"
He asked me and I just decided on my own...
that this is it. This is my chance.
So, I came out on television.
Of course, it was edited.
It was edited and so I realized a sexual minority to come out...
is very hard in Korea. So, I had put that aside...
but a journalist requested me for an interview.
So, I came out through a magazine article.
That was the behind story, I see.
There were various episodes.
He was the first but also the last celebrity to come out.
It's so sad it kills me.
Right now, author Chan-ho is...
sad there's no 2nd after the 1st celebrity who came out.
He seems sad about this reality.
I mean, it's been 16 or 17 years since he came out.
- And the world has changed so much! - Yes.
I thought in certain areas, the speed of change is slow...
- It's true. - because many countries are even legalizing same-sex marriage.
But our society still dismisses marriage license applications...
of same-sex couples at the district office level.
It was what I decided and planned.
But after I came out, there was nothing I had a choice in.
All I could do was wait for someone to request for me.
I suddenly got in that position.
The breakthrough that I found was food.
(Food became his breakthrough during the frustrating time.)
I also do something unique in this area.
My friends recommended that I open a restaurant in Apgujeong Village, Gangnam.
They said, "What do you mean Itaewon?"
Without fear, I took 6th and 7th floor of a building in Itaewon...
and said I'll start a restaurant with a terrace on the roof.
I became almost the very first...
with that plan. I signed the contract. I thought the restaurant would be a hit.
But for two years, it almost failed.
There was a deficit of 10,000 dollars every month.
It was really hard for me.
People in the neighborhood...
had this stance. "You homosexual punk, let's see how you do."
"You'll probably fail and close down soon."
(People around him viewed him so coldly.)
Gangsters in the neighborhood came and beat up our employees.
(Shocking)
- It's really terrible. - Even more, customers ran away after seeing me.
But what was the hardest was my relationship with the building owner.
Many say that the building owner is more powerful than a divine creator.
I also invested 400,000 dollars into a restaurant...
and operated it well for over 7 years.
But I was quietly kicked out from it without a dime.
Even when I wept and begged, he said he'll call a journalist.
All I could leave with was my body.
If life as a tenant is this unfortunate,
I'll become a building owner. I set that goal for myself.
With that, I bought a cheap and old building in Itaewon...
and started again from there.
Of course, the bank owns about 80 percent of it.
- But it's still my building for now. - Have you ever lived on a lease?
I experienced every form of residence in Korea.
I was in an examiners' apartment for 2 years, a rooftop...
apartment for 2 years, and a half-basement for 2 years.
I was also in a multi-plex for 2 years and a villa for 2 years.
Now, I live in a rental apartment on a lease.
When I lived in a multi-plex, the area was way too concentrated.
If I ordered food, the delivery man couldn't find my house.
It was so frustrating.
But when I moved to a rental apartment,
it was delivered right to the front after a phone call.
So I thought apartments are really great.
You live your life with gratitude, I see.
- You're an optimist, I see. - He is.
So I thought the residence situation must be improved for our whole nation.
Everyone has the right to eat pizza on time.
Excuse me, but I really want to listen to him.
(Make it short. I want to hear him.)
(Keeping your talk alive is to regulate its length.)
Now I'll end the busking of Hong Seok-chun, who seems of another kind.
I am gay. So what?
You don't turn gay because of me, right?
(It's not a disease. I don't turn you gay.)
I really want to make this request.
Among those who have the same sexual orientation as me,
some are made outcasts at school...
and even get sexually abused.
And so, there are quite many young people who choose suicide.
Those children could be your younger siblings...
or your older brothers.
They could be your co-workers.
They could be your sons and daughters.
Actually, many around me...
can persevere and live no matter what insults they get.
But it's when their family, and their parents in particular...
cut ties with them.
Those children ultimately make bad choices.
(Many make an extreme choice.)
If you could take just one step closer...
(Tearing up)
(Confessing his true feelings, his pent up sorrow welled up.)
When I cry, people always criticize it.
They say, "That punk is crying again." So, I try not to cry.
(Even the tears are explained with fun.)
Anyways, every single one of your eyes...
gave me warmth. I'm actually the one who's grateful.
Thank you for such an amazing time today.
If my busking...
was to your liking, please go to that red box.
(He pleas with his tears.)
It's the first time someone said that while teary-eyed.
It's a brand new method. Cry and...
say, "If my story..."
- This could be a risky question... - Right.
but among my friends,
- there are some... - Some are gay?
Yes. Many of my friends are.
But sometimes when they tell me they're having a hard time,
what response would hurt them the least and encourage them?
I'm curious.
What's very important is that you listen to him.
That friend will tell you what he can't tell his mom and dad.
He'll tell you things he can't tell anyone in the world.
He depends on you a lot.
That's why you must do well.
The ups and downs of their emotions...
could be hard to understand. "Why is he being like this?"
Listen to everything when you're listening.
But when you scold him, you must be very strong about it.
Tell him, "In this matter, you're overreacting."
"You're not the only one who has a hard time."
"Also, how long will you say it's so hard?"
"Then, your life will just be an endless repeat of hardships."
"Shouldn't you also have the strength and tolerance to endure?"
Point things out precisely.
After such a blow, he'll also think things through.
Thank you.
(This was for the "another kind" in our society.)
Here's Hong Seok-chun, the first busker.
It's like that. After it's done, everyone's like this.
I actually couldn't sleep that well last night.
What if my busking doesn't take shape and I get confused?
But it was the opposite. Receiving their gazes and energy,
my own heart was moved.
It was full of stories only Hong Seok-chun can tell.
- That's fortunate. - It was really good.
Could you flash your gums then?
(I'd be glad to.)
(Hearts blooming like his gums)
My heart was opened...
from listening to him.
Now, with the second busking ahead, it's currently...
near the time when people leave work. It's 5:35pm.
How are you? You'll be up soon.
- The emotions... - His voice is different!
(Indian middle-aged man's voice is shaking.)
Did you hear that?
This is how I'd describe my emotions.
Say you the MC have to go out. They're all foreigners...
and you have to talk in English. Imagine that.
So why do this?
(Why do something this hard?)
Wouldn't I learn something new through this? I'll find another happiness.
- Exactly. - So, I must go for it.
Exactly. So what are you doing?
- I was organizing my thoughts, and... - Stop. Get out there!
(He's so nervous but he can't avoid this.)
Good luck, Lucky.
(He enters the busking zone.)
Hello.
It's nice to meet you. Hello.
I'm Lucky, the Indian representative in "Non-summit Meeting" season two.
I'm grateful so many of you recognize me.
When I meet Koreans, I always...
want to laugh together with them.
We say India is the nation of yoga, right?
Recently, there's been a yoga of laughing.
When I raise my arm and I say 1, 2, 3,
let's all laugh loudly.
Raise your arms like this. Let's do it together.
Laugh in 1, 2, 3.
(Laughing)
Dr. Hwang Su-Kwan did this exact thing at a morning show 15 years ago.
He told us to laugh while clapping.
(Do it in high school spirit.)
If you don't laugh, I'm going to come and bother you.
(We don't laugh because we're happy.)
I'm watching all of you.
(We're happy because we laugh.)
(He laughs with gums in full bloom.)
It feels like a revival assembly.
While living in Korea,
There are some questions I'm always asked as an Indian.
When I get in a taxi, the drivers always say, "You're Indian?"
"Over there, doesn't everyone eat with hands?"
Yes. We do eat with our hands.
"Doesn't everyone go to Ganges river to bathe?"
"It's a country where they do a lot of yoga."
Also, when I say I'm from India,
they say, "I want to go to Bali. What should I do there?"
You know where Bali is, right? It's in Indonesia.
Where am I from? It's India.
Why are India and Indonesia seen as the same country?
So many people confuse those two.
Study geography more diligently.
(It's a common stereotype that Koreans have about India.)
When you think of India, what do you think our concept of time is?
To be honest, this is India. When you say you'll meet him tomorrow morning,
then it's considered morning until lunch.
If I say let's meet tomorrow afternoon, it's anytime between lunch and dinner.
People don't get frustrated about waiting an hour or two for someone.
It's not really a disappointing thing to people.
If you take a look at a bus ticket in Korea,
it'll say, "Departure - 11:17,"
"Arrival - 2:23."
Why make it so complicated?
In India, everything is done in 30 minute intervals.
It's all in 30 minute intervals,
and it doesn't matter if you're 20, 30 minutes late. No problem.
But this train arrived three minutes late to Busan.
So there was an announcement,
"Passengers, we are sorry..."
"that your train is arriving three minutes late. We ask for your understanding."
I laughed so much in my head. Why would I laugh?
There aren't even speakers on trains in my country.
There are no announcements.
Whether the train is three minutes late...
or 30 minutes late, they're telling you to figure it out.
But in Korea...
if you don't stick to the time,
they say, "You can't succeed in this country."
I learned that the hard way.
Like he said before, it seems like Indian people don't get angry.
On the way home from work, these two cars definitely hit each other.
They hit each other, one says, "Hey!" and they part ways.
(One says, "Hey!" and they part ways.)
They went their own ways?
- That's so interesting. Two cars... - Bumped into each other!
- They definitely hit. - He said hey and they kept going?
(New accident processing method)
In efforts to live in alignment with Korean time,
I set all my clocks at home 15 minutes fast.
Anyone struggling to keep on time, try this method.
It's absolutely effective.
(100 percent effectiveness guaranteed)
It's been almost 20 years since I've been in Korea.
March 23rd, 1996,
six o'clock in the morning I arrived in Korea.
Here's why I remember that exactly.
Has anyone seen a sunrise out of an airplane?
Seeing a sunrise from the sky was really different.
It's the eastern sun, too.
I thought, "This country is welcoming me."
(I thought, "This country is welcoming me.")
"I must be able to have big success in this country."
My young mind was having all these kinds of thoughts.
This was my first time stepping on foreign land.
But after arriving in Korea,
this emotion did not last long.
I'll be telling you about a few incidents.
I was studying linguistics at Seoul University, and when I got to Korea,
I moved into a boarding house by the university.
I would meet friends from other countries and I would ask where they live.
One said, "I rent a room in a boarding house."
"Really? How much do you pay?"
"I pay about 150 to 200 dollars," he said.
How much do you think I paid for a boarding house when I first got to Korea in 1996?
(300 dollars?)
The amount I paid was 700 dollars.
I'm not wealthy in India. I don't have that much money.
Why did I pay 700 dollars?
Because I didn't know.
I went the owner lady,
"A friend with the same conditions only pays 150 to 200 dollars."
"Aren't you charging me too much? You're swindling me," I said.
"I am not a swindler!"
"When I told you 700 dollars, you said okay."
"Since you said okay, I'm not swindling you."
I started to feel like I was the one that did something wrong.
Man, she's got my deposit so I can't even leave right away.
With no other options, I left two months later.
So I just tried to forget about it.
The way that Indian people think is...
we try to forget things quickly.
Kind of forget about what happened yesterday,
and move on to the next thing.
But something more shocking happened.
In 2000, I got first place at the Foreigners Talent Show.
The doors of show business began to open up.
There was a show that was really popular then called "Rustic Period".
I had a role in it as the arresting officer.
Filming for six months, I was on it a lot.
My manager at the time...
kindly had me over for his mother's food.
She would be very sweet to me.
One day suddenly, he tells me that his mother is sick...
and she needs to have surgery. Can't I just lend him 4,000 dollars?
The mother of my friend is ill,
so I decided to give him the money.
But after some time, you have to ask for it back.
So I asked for it.
He got angry saying,
"My mom cooked you food."
"She was so good to you."
I felt like that wasn't right. It was money borrowed.
Even though it was money I was owed,
it kind of backfired on me like an insult.
But with these incidents...
I did not crumble.
Here's how I didn't crumble.
There's a saying in our country's ancient language of Sanskrit.
A person is born empty handed,
and he will return empty handed.
All the things that you have now...
were someone else's things in the past.
In the future, all these things will be someone else's.
Change is the law of nature.
I didn't get duped because this is Korea.
It was because I didn't know. Although I learned Korean,
I had to learn the way of life here.
So with that mind state, I decided to find happiness again.
(I decided to find happiness again.)
There was a time when I had to go to India for taping.
We were traveling by car.
India has a lot of land, so we got tired...
and we stopped in some village.
There were a bunch of young men gathered.
They were looking here and there,
laughing and talking.
I wanted to go up to them...
and tell them about real happiness.
They shouldn't be wasting their time like this.
So I said to them, "You don't look very happy under this tree."
"Wouldn't you be happier going to a big city..."
"like me and living a modern life?"
"You just don't look happy. That's why I'm asking you."
A fellow Indian responded to me,
"From my perspective,"
("From my perspective,")
"You look for more sad."
(An unexpected response by the Indian)
They wake up when they want and meet friends when they want.
He said they live very freely.
That was true happiness to him.
He was saying that living like me is more uncomfortable.
I really realized something big.
Is a financially comfortable Korean person happy?
Or is a free Indian person happy?
(Is a financially comfortable Korean person happy or is a free Indian person happy?)
I don't know the answer.
I realized that happiness can't be compared.
The famous Gandhi of India said,
"What is happiness?"
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say,"
"and what you do are in harmony. That's when you will find happiness."
Happiness isn't far away.
That which is within me is happiness.
Yes?
You talked to us about the value of happiness.
In Korea, if you were to try and go your own way,
you are accused of taking "my way" or get called an "outsider".
How do you deal with those situations?
I think if you listen to your question carefully,
you find the answer in your question.
"My way" is the path that I choose.
It's what I decide.
If I succeed, it's my success.
If I fail, there's no need to blame anyone.
Let's say these five people sitting up front...
are looking at me wearing green, yellow, red glasses.
The person wearing yellow glasses will see me as yellow.
The person wearing red glasses can only see me as red.
But that's not me changing.
Everyone's views must be different.
So "My way" is the good way.
That's as far as I'll go today. Thank you.
(Lucky's "Happiness" busking is over.)
Yes!
The weather has gotten too cold.
Well done. Have a seat.
How does it feel to finish your busking and come back?
Rather than what I prepared to say,
looking into the people's eyes...
made me think how I can get through to this person?
It was a very interesting experience.
It's a great program, really.
All right.
We are approaching...
the current time of 6:40pm.
The final busker is Oh Chan-ho.
- Get out there! - All right!
It's me right away?
He's the ace.
(The end of pessimism and denial)
(The pleasant pessimist, Oh Chan-ho)
Someone will read my book and say,
"It made me so depressed."
(Then I'm so happy!)
It will ruin everyone's mood.
That's trying until you die to be normal.
This is so irritating.
Does someone without that resolve, will, and passion have to die?
What are we supposed to do?
Hello.
As everyone listens to As I Say,
you get encouraged, right?
(Nodding)
But I won't console you.
I've written a number of books around sociology.
When you read those books, they will ruin everyone's mood.
It's so dark. It's so pessimistic.
So at the end of my busking today,
if you feel agitated in your mind,
that means you had a good connection with me.
Today I will tell you about how unstable our society is.
(How unstable is our society?)
In order to overcome that instability,
I will tell you what you should work on to overcome it.
First of all, we'll touch on the stigma of that insecurity.
I want to keep adolescence as the theme of this talk.
Before my teen years, my dream was...
dinosaurs, Ultraman, Santa Claus.
Those kinds of things were my dream.
It's fantasy.
People around me didn't interfere with my fantasies.
My mom couldn't say, "Hey, in order for you to become a dinosaur,"
"you need to go to this academy." She can't say that.
The dream itself is fantastic,
so there was no need to feel one's limit. I dreamt as much as I wanted.
If you take that into your twenties,
you know you can't become a dinosaur.
But in modern society, especially in Korea,
this pattern is all gone.
If a 7 or 8 year old is still dreaming of being a dinosaur,
the parents go mad!
Kids need to dream a realistic dream as fast as possible.
More than ever, competition...
has become fiercer and faster.
Wow, it does feel like that.
Dream has a friend...
that already got into a gifted school.
A gifted pre-school.
I kind of feel a bit intimidated for no reason.
- Like falling behind? - Falling behind.
If a 7 or 8 year old were to...
feel the competition and one's limits,
would they be able to recover from that upheaval?
They don't.
So in modern society,
kids enter adolescence sooner and sooner.
If a child enters the competitive world at the age of five,
a kind of fear will begin to form in that period.
Then are dreams complete when we go into our twenties?
You all know that it's not that kind of society.
Our society, right?
How realistic are you dreams?
It's not even like becoming the CEO.
Just get permanent employment at a corporation.
But we live in a society where no matter how hard I try,
the distance between that dream doesn't get any less.
Then let's take a look at people in their 40s and 50s.
Are these people living a secure life?
They never are. Middle-aged people in Korea...
are quick to quit but are slow to retire.
That's a common saying.
Whether it's being laid-off or quitting, they leave that job.
But they're unable to let go of working...
because their children aren't moving out.
Now these parents...
feel like they have to endlessly make money.
Then do we get happy when we're old? Definitely not.
Korea is number one in elderly poverty.
We're also number one in elderly suicide.
Even as I get older,
I can't foresee even an inch in front of my life.
They fold into that reality.
Listening to him talk is really depressing me.
This is so irritating.
(Sigh inducing busking)
Since being middle-aged and old is so difficult,
the younger people think,
"I can't end up like that."
Then they want an even more stable job.
In order to do what it takes to survive, the competition gets even more excessive.
The qualifications needed to enter a big corporation have increased.
In 2004, we called those qualifications the "Three Must-have Set".
In ten years or so, it's become three times that!
Now it's background, grades, English grades,
language training, competitions, certifications, volunteering, intern,
and finally and shockingly enough, plastic surgery.
It's like don't complain about looks anymore.
The fact that looks are a competition now is being openly admitted.
So now they need a "Nine Must-have Set"?
(The harsh reality of employment)
You're getting more and more depressed, right?
Our lives will get depressing, so I will tell you something more depressing.
In order to understand how insecure our society is,
we need to ask the question,
what is our youth today investing in?
The "what" is a list.
How many things do I have on my list that I want to become?
The more there is on that list,
the more it would become a society that guarantees diverse of careers.
When careers become diverse, people's opinions become more diverse.
Then the tolerance of a society goes up.
But in Korean society, that list is very limited.
One good example of this in modern Korean society is...
the civil servant craze.
"Why are you preparing for this exam?"
I ask students to yell out and an answer I get a lot is,
"It's still the fairest exam in Korean society."
(It's still the fairest exam in Korean society.)
Then they say things like,
"If there was no civil service exam, a revolution would've happened already."
Last year's Level 9 Civil Service Examination...
selected 4,120 people as national civil servants.
But 218,530 people fail that exam.
What's that ratio?
- That's crazy. - It's 1.85 percent.
But if you don't pass the civil service exam,
no one gets any indemnity.
It can't even be a qualification. "I wasted three years in Noryangjin studying."
"Wow, you took an impressive exam."
No one will acknowledge that! Rather, it verifies that you are dumb.
So unless you pass that exam,
you can't show that to any company.
The longer someone prepares for the civil service exam,
and when they finally give up on it,
they end up with a very low level job.
Then as a society,
"Look at that."
"If you study for the exam and you fail, that's what happens to your life."
So then they feel even more competitive.
Get into the competition faster and faster.
Then we become even more of a individualistic society.
So this thing called insecurity continues to persist.
It's not only the young people struggling with employment...
that study for the civil service exam.
Even people who are working...
study for the civil service exam...
because the salary is too low.
My boss treats me badly.
I get discriminated against as a woman. I get overtime and hard work as a man.
My career has a limit because I'm a woman.
Countless people like this...
gather in this place called Noryangjin.
So what are we supposed to do then? Tell us!
This is where my books usually end. You're probably happy.
Usually when I give these kinds of talks,
a lot of people ask me.
Yes! So what are we supposed to do?
(Please tell us.)
All right, I get it. So what can we do about it?
Isn't our posture right now so funny?
(So curious)
I would go overseas to expand my perspective.
I have to devote myself to new values.
Also, I have to continue make effort for my potential to explode.
Through traveling and such,
I want to become a better person.
Look for these kinds of alternatives.
Having studied sociology,
that alternative is never...
a socially accepted alternative.
It's a very sophisticated way of individualistic living.
Because these ways that I have mentioned...
require a kind of resolve,
a kind of will, and passion.
Does someone without that resolve, will, and passion...
have to die?
Of course not! They have to survive!
A good society is one that...
guarantees a person's dignity as a human...
even if they live a normal live without great determination.
(Guarantee a person's dignity even if they live without great determination)
We're not talking about sending a normal person to the moon right now.
I'm talking about dignity as humans.
If I work 40 hours, I should receive a salary...
that I can take care of my family with.
A society that makes that only possible with great passion and will...
can only regress greatly.
How is life in Korea like now?
It's about trying like crazy to live a normal life.
Working my butt of to be in the middle class is my dream.
In order for the average person in society...
to enjoy the happiness that life has to offer,
one has to ask the question, "What concerns should I have?"
Now there's a reason...
for all of us to care about...
policy and political decisions.
(There's a reason for all of us to care about policy and political decisions.)
It's not, "It's got nothing to do with me!"
Matters related to minimum wage,
fair salaries,
bills prohibiting discriminatory acts,
you need to get into these things.
If we could guarantee dignity even for people with temporary jobs,
or if interns were guaranteed their dignity as a human,
this society's quality of life can only increase.
(Society's quality of life can only increase.)
When I give these talks,
a lot of people say, "Do you think society will change because you do that?"
It won't change easily.
(It won't change easily.)
But there is a definite truth.
The more people a society has that say that society can't change,
it can only change for the worse.
That's for sure.
I was on my way to the TOEIC academy in Jongro.
I'm late for class,
but I heard you were talking so I've been here listening.
You said we try like crazy...
to become a normal person.
In order to become a person...
with any amount of influence to fix the problems of society that you pointed out,
you have to try in all the ways everyone else tries to be an influential person.
For example, civil servants are like that and so are people in corporations.
In any case, you have to at least be middle class...
to be someone with even a tiny voice.
In order to get there,
you have to study for TOEIC, be a low-paid intern,
and do all these different things.
What kind of mind state should students...
approaching employment have?
Can you give us some advice?
Of course the world won't change overnight.
So we try harder now...
and once I have power,
I can do something to change our society.
This kind of thinking is exactly what capitalism wants.
Okay! Our society is unfair!
But right now I have to study hard...
and go to Seoul University and become a civil servant. I'll do that later.
Continuing to delay that moment...
is one way that prevents change.
In the end,
using the insecurity and dissatisfaction that we have,
we will form a public opinion and with this opinion pressure politicians.
The change in the system through that politician...
can only be a benefit to us.
You must not quit thinking this way!
The things that I have told you today...
doesn't mean to quit your jobs tomorrow...
and dream of a brand new world. That's not what I'm saying.
Our lives will continue on.
But when you start having such concerns,
there will be moments here and there where the questions you ask...
and the decisions you make will be different.
The more we are like this,
the more we need to be complaining and dissatisfied.
In this way, we can truly change,
understand, and live in a more positive world.
Thank you!
All right. We need to start wrapping up here.
We have just concluded our 19th speaking performance.
How much is the total collected amount for the buskers' joint collection target?
The first busker, Hong Seok-chun's busking collection amount is...
Why are you announcing them separately?
- That's incredible. - How much did he get?
- It's 54 dollars! - Wow!
- That's great! - Is that a lot?
It's not just a lot.
I think you're in first place for 2017.
- That's incredible. - Really?
- Yes, bro. - All right.
It's a good energy.
- Nice. - Okay.
Adding busker Lucky's collection...
(Combined amount is?)
- It's 94 dollars! Wow! - Really?
This is an incredible Indian brother!
- This is an incredible Indian brother! - That's combined, right?
- He's incredible. - Just now...
- No. - he got really nervous.
He was went, "That's combined, right?"
- That's right. But that still a great record. - Thank you.
All right, how much is the final amount combined with Oh Chan-ho's collection?
(The final combined amount is?)
You didn't donate, right?
We will reveal Oh Chan-ho's busking collection in just a moment.
("Real Handsome Buskers Special")
(Idol of politics, Chungnam's EXO)
(Governor of Chungnam, Ahn Hee-Jung)
(Master of impersonation)
(Comedian of passion, Kim Yeong-cheol)
(Charismatic actor)
(Inventor of the Son Byeong-ho game, Son Byeong-ho)
(Total collection amount coming up next)
We will reveal Oh Chan-ho's busking collection in just a moment.
All right. The time has come to end As I Say busking.
You never know if we will run into you in the streets and talk to you.
If we do, please be friendly, open-minded,
and lend us your ear.
We really hope the dreams as we say...
will come true as we hope.
Let's all yell out together.
- Next week as well, As I say! - As I say!
- Thank you! - Thank you!
Subtitles by OnDemandKorea