Jung Hyung-don (; born February 7, 1978) is a South Korean comedian and television host. He is best known for his roles on the variety shows ''

Infinite Challenge ''Infinite Challenge'' (; abbreviated as ''Mudo'') is a South Korean television entertainment program, distributed and syndicated by MBC, that ran from 2005 to 2018. As of January 2013, it had the largest market share for its timeslot; with ...

'' and ''

Weekly Idol ''Weekly Idol'' is a South Korean variety show that began in 2011 and currently airs Wednesdays at 7:30 PM KST on MBC M, and 12:00 AM KST on MBC Every1. It is one of the longest-running variety shows to air on satellite TV in Japan. The sho ...

''.

Early life and education

Jung was born in

Gimcheon Gimcheon (; , trans., 'gold spring city') is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is situated on the major land transportation routes between Seoul and Busan, namely the Gyeongbu Expressway and Gyeongbu Line railway. In ancient t ...

North Gyeongsang Province North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...

, South Korea. As a child, he moved with his family to

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

, where he later attended Busan Electronic Technical High School. After graduation, he worked for

Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of ...

Suwon Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a populati ...

for six years before entering the entertainment industry.

Career

Jung made his television debut on the sketch comedy show ''

Gag Concert ''Gag Concert'' ( ko, 개그콘서트) was a South Korean sketch-comedy television show more commonly known as ''Gag Con'' ( ko, 개콘). It began airing on September 4, 1999 and aired its last episode on June 26, 2020, making it South Korea's ...

'' in 2002. On the show, he performed a sketch called "Do-Re-Mi Trio," in which he and two other comedians sang excerpts of popular songs, adding comedic

punch line A punch line (a. k. a. punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people laugh. It is the third and final part of the typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and the narrative which sets up ...

s to the end. In 2005, Jung joined the cast of a new variety show called ''

''. Though the show initially had low viewership ratings, it went on to be a hit, and several of the songs Jung recorded for the show's periodic "song festivals" charted in the top ten of South Korea's music charts. Jung joined the cast of the first season of the marriage simulation show ''

We Got Married ''We Got Married'' () was a South Korean reality variety show that aired on MBC from 2008 to 2017. The show paired up celebrities who pretended to be married couples and completed various challenges together. The show ran for four seasons and ...

'' in 2008. He was initially paired with television personality Saori until her departure from the show. He was later paired with singer

Taeyeon Kim Tae-yeon (; born March 9, 1989), known mononymously as Taeyeon, is a South Korean singer. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and one ...

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensembl ...

. The match caused an uproar from Girls' Generation fans, in part due to the 11-year age gap between the two entertainers. In 2011, Jung and rapper

Defconn Yoo Dae-joon (; January 6, 1977), known by his stage name Defconn, is a South Korean rapper and television personality. Biography 2004 In 2004, Defconn received the Korean Music Award for "Best Hip-Hop Album". His songs are mostly comical, som ...

became co-hosts of the new

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

-focused reality show ''

''.

Hiatus

In November 2015, Jung's agency,

FNC Entertainment FNC Entertainment (; stands for "fish and cake") is a South Korean entertainment company established in 2006 by South Korean singer and record producer Han Seong-ho. The label operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, ev ...

, announced that he was taking a break from all activities due to his anxiety disorder. At the time, he was a cast member or host on several television shows, including ''Infinite Challenge'', ''Weekly Idol'', and ''

Please Take Care of My Refrigerator ''Please Take Care of My Refrigerator'' (), also known as ''Chef & My Fridge'', is a South Korean cooking-variety program starring various chefs and celebrity guests. It airs on JTBC on Mondays at 21:30 ( KST) beginning November 17, 2014. Since O ...

''. Jung officially left the cast of ''Infinite Challenge'' in July 2016.

Return

Jung returned as the co-host of Weekly Idol in October 2016, ending his 11-month break from television activities. In March 2018, both Jung and Defconn left ''Weekly Idol.'' In May, they became hosts of the variety show ''

Idol Room ''Idol Room'' () was a South Korean television program which aired on JTBC every Tuesday at 18:30 (KST) and was hosted by Jeong Hyeong-don and Defconn. The program is inspired by JTBC Newsroom, and it is produced in order to be the idol-specialis ...

''.

Second hiatus

On November 5, 2020, it was announced by Jung's agency

that he will take another break from all activities due to anxiety disorder relapse. In October 2021, Jung decided not to renew his contract with FNC Entertainment. On November 15, 2021, Jung founded the Matched Project (MCP) agency with

Kim Young-man Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...

, Kim Sung-joo, and Ahn Jung-hwan.

Personal life

Jung married comedy writer Han Yu-ra on September 13, 2009. They have two children, twin daughters, who were born on December 11, 2012.

Television appearances

Current programs

Former programs

Drama

* ''Rollercoaster'' (재밌는TV 롤러코스터, 2009~) Leading actor with

Jeong Ga-eun Jeong Ga-eun (born Baek Ra-hee on May 21, 1978) is a South Korean actress and clothing retailer who has appeared in several Korean television series such as ''Rollercoaster'' and ''Sunday Sunday Night''. Career Debuting as a beauty contestant ...

Discography

Singles

Awards

References

External links

Jung Hyung-don
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jung, Hyung-don Infinite Challenge members South Korean Buddhists South Korean television presenters South Korean male comedians People from Busan People from Gimcheon 1978 births FNC Entertainment artists Living people Gag Concert Weekly Idol members