Seo Jang-hoon (; born 3 June 1974) is a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, who is currently active as an entertainer and variety show star.

Early life

Seo attended

Whimoon High School Whimoon High School () is a private high school in South Korea, located in Daechi-dong, Seoul. It is one of the oldest high schools in South Korea. History Whimoon High School traces its beginnings to the opening of ''Kwangsung-Euisuk'' in 19 ...

, known as one Seoul's high school basketball powerhouses, alongside close friend

Hyun Joo-yup Hyun Joo-yup (alternate spellings: Hyeon, Joo-yeop, Joo-yeob, Ju-yeop, Ju-yeob; ; born 27 July 1975) is a South Korean former professional basketball player and head coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time in th ...

. Their team drew attention as they measured an average height of 1.97 meters, around the height of their adult counterparts, despite being only teenagers.

Basketball career

Seo played college basketball for

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the "SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in the ...

. His time at Yonsei coincided with what is often retrospectively dubbed the "golden era" of domestic college basketball and was referenced in the television series ''

Reply 1994 ''Reply 1994'' () is a 2013 South Korean television series starring Go Ara, Jung Woo, Yoo Yeon-seok, Kim Sung-kyun, Son Ho-jun, Baro, Min Do-hee, Sung Dong-il, and Lee Il-hwa. It aired on tvN from October 18 to December 28, 2013 for 21 episod ...

''. He and his teammates, as well as their counterparts from traditional athletic

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea, established in 1905. The university is included as one of the SKY universities, a popular acronym referring to Korea's three most prestigious universities. The ...

, enjoyed a level of popularity similar to that of idol singers and A-list actors/actresses due to their skills and good looks. Together with his future national teammates Yonsei counterparts Lee Sang-min,

Moon Kyung-eun The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

and

Woo Ji-won Woo Ji-won (born 2 April 1973) is a South Korean retired professional basketball player. He played for three different teams over a fourteen-year career, the longest of which was spent at Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus, who retired his number 10 shi ...

and Korea University's Hyun Joo-yup,

Chun Hee-chul Chun Hee-chul (born June 26, 1973 in Seoul) is a South Korean basketball coach and retired player. Chun is a swingman who can play in both the center and forward positions. In his prime he boasted athleticism, the ability to dunk and a mid-ra ...

and

Shin Ki-sung Shin Ki-sung (born April 30, 1975) is a South Korean retired professional basketball player and former coach. He played for three different teams in the Korean Basketball League and the South Korean national team. Known for his speed and shooting ...

among others, they were collectively dubbed "Oppa Troupe" (오빠부대) by the media. By the end of Seo's college career, domestic basketball was transitioning into the professional era with the establishment of the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League (KBL; ) is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular season. H ...

. He was signed by

Seoul SK Knights The Seoul SK Knights ( ko, 서울 SK 나이츠) is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League. The club was originally founded by Jinro Group in 1997 as Cheongju Jinro McCass. Before the official launch of the basketball cl ...

, then based in

Cheongju Cheongju () is the capital and largest List of cities in South Korea, city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. History Cheongju has been an important provincial town since ancient times. In the Cheongju Mountains, specifically in the ...

, in 1998. That year he moved to

Seoul Samsung Thunders Seoul Samsung Thunders ( ko, 서울 삼성 썬더스) is a professional basketball team, competing in the Korean Basketball League. Ever since the club was founded in 1978, they have been associated with Samsung Electronics. Initially based in ...

and played for them until 2007. From 2007 to 2008, he played for

Jeonju KCC Egis The Jeonju KCC Egis is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League. Current roster Enlisted players Honours Domestic Korean Basketball League *KBL Championship :: Winners (5): 1997–98, 1998– ...

. In 2008 Seo went to

Incheon Electroland Elephants The Daegu KOGAS Pegasus (in Korean: 대구 한국가스공사 페가수스) is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League (KBL). Established in 1994, the team plays in the KBL since its existence. Since 2021, the club is base ...

, and played for them until his retirement in 2013. In 1994, Seo was first called-up to the South Korean senior national team and played in the 1994

FIBA world cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

. His team competed in the 1994

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

and got second place. In 1997, his team played in the ABC World Basketball Tournament and won. 1998, He played in 1998

. He was a mainstay of the team which won gold at the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games ( ko, 2002년 아시아 경기대회/2002년 아시안 게임, Icheoni-nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheoni-nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the XIV Asian Games ( ko, 제14회 아시아 경기대회/제14회 아시안 � ...

. He took 4th place in 2005

FIBA Asian cup The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the tourna ...

, and 5th place at the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. In his prime, Seo was widely regarded as one of the greatest

centers Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

of his generation and was dubbed "

National Treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...

Center" (Korean: 국보급 센터) by fans and the media. A formidable rebounder and scorer, he held the league all-time record for rebounds (5235 in 688 games) until January 2022, when it was surpassed by

center-forward

Ra Gun-ah Ra Gun-ah (Korean: 라건아; born Ricardo Preston Ratliffe; February 20, 1989) is an American-born South Korean basketball player for Jeonju KCC Egis of the Korean Basketball League (KBL) and the South Korea national basketball team. Ra played ...

. During the 1998–99 season, he led the league in rebounds (overall among both domestic and foreign players) and points (among domestic players); no other domestic player has simultaneously led the league in both a domestic and overall statistical category in a single season, until point guard

Heo Hoon Heo Hoon (born 16 August 1995) is a South Korean professional basketball player. He currently plays for Suwon KT Sonicboom in the Korean Basketball League and the South Korean national team. Early life Heo enjoyed playing various sports from ...

over two decades later.

Career statistics

Career averages

Entertainment career

After he retired from basketball, Seo began a career appearing on entertainment shows and was signed to

Mystic Entertainment Mystic Story (formerly Mystic Entertainment, , abbreviated as MSTSTR) is a South Korean entertainment company established by South Korean singer-songwriter Yoon Jong-shin. It has four subsidiaries, including Mystic Actors (formerly Family Actors ...

in 2013. In 2015, he was a guest on the critically and commercially popular variety show ''

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 ...

''. He won the 2015 SBS Entertainment Award for Rookie of the Year for his appearance in ''Flaming Youth''. He is a regular celebrity panelist on the singing competition show ''

Fantastic Duo ''Fantastic Duo'' ( ko, 판타스틱 듀오) is a South Korean television show where fans can sing a duet with their favorite singer using their cell phones. This show is currently hosted by Jun Hyun-moo, Kim Bum-soo and Kim Jun-hyun. It airs o ...

'', which debuted on April 17, 2016. He is also a regular panelist on the talk show '' Same Bed, Different Dreams'', and a permanent cast member of

JTBC JTBC (shortened from ''Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company'' (; stylized as jtbc) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on 1 December 2011. JTBC ...

's ''

Knowing Bros ''Knowing Bros'' (), also known as ''Men on a Mission'' or ''Ask Us Anything'', is a South Korean television entertainment program produced by SM C&C that premiered on December 5, 2015, and currently airs on Saturdays at JTBC. Although the sho ...

''.

Personal life

On June 23, 2009, Seo married Oh Jeong-yeon, a television announcer. They divorced in 2012, after 3 years of marriage.

Filmography

TV Show

Awards and nominations

Listicles

References

External links

Seo Jang-hoon's matches
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seo, Jang-hoon 1974 births Living people Mystic Entertainment artists South Korean men's basketball players Seoul SK Knights players Seoul Samsung Thunders players Jeonju KCC Egis players Daegu KOGAS Pegasus players Changwon LG Sakers players Suwon KT Sonicboom players South Korea national basketball team players Asian Games medalists in basketball Basketball career Basketball players at the 1998 Asian Games Basketball players at the 2002 Asian Games Basketball players at the 2006 Asian Games Whimoon High School alumni Yonsei University alumni Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea 1998 FIBA World Championship players Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games 1994 FIBA World Championship players Best Variety Performer Male Paeksang Arts Award (television) winners