Yoo Jae-suk (; or ; born on 14 August 1972) is a South Korean comedian, host and television personality. He has hosted several variety television shows in South Korea, including Infinite Challenge, Running Man, Happy Together, and Hangout With Yoo. Known for his quick wit and appeal across a wide range of demographics, Yoo has established himself as one of South Korea's top comedians and TV personalities, as well as one of the most well-known and popular celebrities in South Korea.
Early life and education
Born on 14 August 1972 in Seoul, Yoo is the eldest of three siblings. In 1991, he completed his high school education and graduated from the Yongmoon High School in Seoul. In the same year, Yoo entered the acting department of Seoul Institute of the Arts.
Career
Beginnings
Yoo's television debut was on the KBS Comedian Festival (for college students) in 1991, where he performed a parody of a commercial with Choi Seung-gyung. His dancing to a cover of the song "Step by Step" by New Kids on the Block was another early memorable moment. In 2002, after nine years as a relatively unknown comedian, thanks to a recommendation by Choi Jin-sil, he hosted the program Live and Enjoy Together. He then rose to prominence when he co-hosted a program called The Crash of MCs with Kang Ho-dong, Lee Hwi-jae, and Kim Han-seok.
His first Grand Prize award was for the talk show Happy Together Friends.
Mainstream recognition as "Nation's MC"
X-Man
Yoo later hosted the show X-Man, which soon grew to be one of the most popular and highest rated shows in South Korea. During that time, Yoo became increasingly popular and many programs began to nickname him "the nation's MC". He went on to host various shows, including New X-Man, Old TV, and Haja! Go! (Let's Do It) for SBS, but these were all soon canceled due to low ratings on Sunday evenings. However, X-Man has found success in international syndication, and Yoo gained popularity among Korean Wave fans.
Infinite Challenge
Yoo was a part of the cast of the top-rated comedy variety program Infinite Challenge. He had been the host-in-chief since 2005 and was one of the program's founding members.
Despite low ratings during its premiere, the show went on to become one of the most popular and influential variety programs in Korea. Dubbed the "national variety show" in Korea, Infinite Challenge became the forerunner of many programs that used a similar format. Since 2 December 2006, the program has received the highest ratings of prime-time lineups for Saturday evening.
Yoo revealed his love for the program during 1-on-1 talk with fellow co-host, Jeong Hyeong-don, on a "Pause" special (S04E300) that aired on 20 October 2012. He said, "I think my life on television and variety shows will be tied to the fate of Infinite Challenge... When will we ever get to do another program like this? No matter how hard you try, it's going to be impossible to do another show like this."
Talk shows
Yoo also co-hosts Come to Play with Kim Won-hee and Happy Together Season 3. In particular, Happy Together was one of the longest running talk shows in Korea and has consistently earned high ratings.
Good Sunday Variety Programs: Family Outing and Running Man
Yoo became the main host of Family Outing as part of SBS's Good Sunday lineup. Together with Lee Hyori, Yoon Jong-shin, Kim Su-ro, Lee Chun-hee, Kang Dae-sung, Park Ye-jin, and Kim Jong-kook (since episode 19), they made up the "family" (cast members) of the show. Family Outing became one of the top-rated shows in Korea, consistently achieving the highest ratings for the Sunday mid-afternoon time-slot, and it gained popularity among Hallyu fans.
Since 11 July 2010, Yoo has hosted the urban action variety Running Man together with fellow Infinite Challenge member Haha, fellow Family Outing member Kim Jong-kook, other entertainers such as Ji Suk-jin, Leessang's Gary (who left since episode 324 to focus on his music career), Song Ji-hyo, Lee Kwang-soo (who left after episode 559 to continue with the rehab of an injury he sustained from the past year), Song Joong-ki (who left since episode 41 to focus on his acting career), Lizzy of After School (who left due to schedule conflicts), Jeon So-min and Yang Se-chan (both joined since episode 346). Although the program did not have a good start in ratings, it later became very popular and has held a consistent international fanbase to this day.