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| Korea's forward, Cho Gue-sung / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Dong Sun-hwa
Some of the stars of the men's national football team from this year's FIFA World Cup are set to appear in variety shows on the small screen, giving a sneak peek into their everyday lives and sharing behind-the-scenes stories of their Qatar World Cup adventure.
Korea's forward, Cho Gue-sung ― who became the first Korean player to score two goals in a single World Cup game during Korea's match against Ghana, Nov. 28 ― will be featured in MBC's popular reality show, "I Live Alone," on Dec. 23.
After MBC aired a preview of its next episode featuring Cho on Friday, it immediately generated a buzz among online users, who were itching to delve deeper into the 24-year-old footballer's life. Through "I Live Alone," Cho will offer a glimpse into his personal life and show a more candid side to himself.
"I desperately wanted him to be on 'I Live Alone,' and my Christmas wish has finally come true," reads one comment.
Thanks to his stellar performance during the World Cup and good looks, Cho has seen a spike in his popularity over the past few weeks, with the number of his Instagram followers jumping from 20,000 to 2.8 million. He now has the second-largest number of followers among all Korean footballers, after only Captain Son Heung-min, the Tottenham Hotspur winger, who has more than 10 million followers.
Cho will also be seen on tvN's "You Quiz on the Block," a popular talk show hosted by comedians Yoo Jae-suk and Jo Se-ho. However, before he makes an appearance, two other World Cup stars ― Kim Min-jae and Hwang In-beom ― will share their World Cup experiences on Dec. 21.
Kim is a defender and Hwang is a midfielder for the national team, playing vital roles in leading Korea to the World Cup knockout stage for the third time in its football history. The preview of the episode featuring them was released on tvN's YouTube channel Thursday, and has already attracted over 270,000 hits.
On top of that, defender Kim Jin-su, 30, is slated to appear on the second season of SBS' program, "Same Bed, Different Dreams" with his wife Kim Jung-a, a former sports announcer who is six years his senior. On the program ― which zooms in in the lives of different celebrity couples ― Kim and his wife will talk about their love story and disclose aspects of their family life. The two tied the knot in 2017 and have one daughter.
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