Kang Ho-dong

Kang Ho-dong (born June 11, 1970) is a South Korean television host and comedian, who first became known to Koreans as the top Korean traditional wrestler. Along with comedian Yoo Jae-suk, he has terminated his contract with De Chocolate E&TF (a.k.a. Stom E&F) for issues of non-payment. In September 2011, Kang retired from the entertainment industry and withdrew all his TV shows due to a demand for back taxes, but has since announced his return to the entertainment industry from late 2012.

Personal life

Kang Ho-dong was born in Jinju on 11 June 1970 to a family of one brother and three sisters. On November 12, 2006, Kang married Lee Hyo-jin. On March 13, 2009, they had their first child, a boy named Kang Si-hoo. Kang was not present at the birth as he was away filming an episode of 1 Night 2 Days. He was also away filming for the program on the couple's first wedding anniversary.

Career

Kang Ho-dong graduated from Masan Business High School. After graduating from high school, he started participating actively in professional Ssireum (Korean wrestling) matches. Early in his wrestling career, he lost many matches. However, on July 8, 1989, at the 44th national ssireum championships, the unseeded Kang managed to defeat the legendary Lee Man-ki and went on to win the tournament, which marked the start of his successful Ssireum career. Known as 'Devil on the sand' for his arrogant and fearless demeanor, he went on to win the Baekdujangsa Ssireum Championship seven times and the Cheonhajangsa Ssireum Championship five times, he was widely recognized as the youngest ever Cheonhajangsa title holder.