Hong Seok-cheon was born in
Cheongyang County in
South Chungcheong Province. He began his entertainment career as a male
model, and made his screen debut in 1994 as a reporter for
Live TV Information Center. In 1995, he won the bronze prize at the
KBS Comedian Festival (for college students). Due to his versatility and comic timing, Hong went on to a prolific career on South Korean television, appearing in children's programs and
variety shows, as well as
sitcoms and
dramas. After Hong revealed his homosexuality, he was fired from his network television programs and advertisements amidst public uproar, and no longer landed any major acting roles. He faced massive
stigma after becoming the country's first openly gay celebrity, and later said he experienced
shunning, verbal abuse and
discrimination that he rarely stepped out of his social circle. He then wrote his
memoir My Heart Still Throbs for Forgotten Love, in which he recounted his failed romance with a Dutch man named Tony. Forced out of the entertainment business, Hong wanted to leave the country to study in New York, but he said he decided stay in Korea to prove to his detractors that he could be a success. He started his first restaurant
Our Place in 2002, two years after he came out. He now owns and runs nine high-end restaurants in
Itaewon, home to a large
expat community in
Seoul. Hong's restaurants are all characterized by the prefix "My," namely: My Hong, My Chi chi*s, My Thai, My Thai China, My X, My Chelsea, My Noodle, and My Suji. In 2004, he joined the
Democratic Labor Party and was selected by
Time magazine as the year's Asian Hero. Hong also continued appearing regularly on talk shows, notably
Yeo Yoo Man Man, on which he guested with his parents and discussed his life since coming out. Acting-wise, Hong starred in the
thriller Puzzle (2006) and the stage play ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (2009). He also founded the
internet shopping mall Ne2Nom in 2007, and became a professor at
Korea National University of Arts (teaching Broadcast Content Production in 2010 and Fashion Arts in 2011). After his sister's divorce, Hong adopted her two children and changed their last names to his. In 2008, he hosted his own talk show
Coming Out, which featured gay issues. Despite Korean society's continuing conservatism, Hong overcame initial public disapproval and gradually gained more mainstream acceptance, especially among the younger generation, in part because of his activism in fighting for
LGBT rights. From
bit parts and
cameos, he now
emcees shows on cable television and has a sizeable following on social media. Having lived in
Yongsan District for ten years, he said he aims to promote cultural spaces for young artists and small businesses, while providing welfare for sexual minorities. If elected, he will become the first openly gay person to become a publicly elected official in Korea. In 2016, he participated in the program
Law of the Jungle. In 2018, he revealed that he is third cousins with
Taeyong of
NCT. == Filmography ==