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You probably know Choo Sunghoon from Korean variety programmes.
Back in 2013, he was known as the adorable Sarang's loving dad from "The Return Of Superman":
Screenshots via KBS
More recently, he was the oldest contestant and the best leader on "Physical: 100":
Screenshots via Netflix
Screenshots via Netflix
What you might not know is that Choo—also known as Yoshihiro Akiyama and Sexyama—is a celebrated athlete, particularly in the mixed martial artist (MMA) world.
The relatable good guy
Choo was in Singapore to attend a ONE Championship special event on Mar. 25, where he got to find out first-hand how popular he is here.
Although his meet and greet session was held at 7:30am—yes, you read that right—fans lined up to meet the 47-year-old.
Photo from ONE Championship
He told Mothership,
"Before I came to Singapore, I heard that ["Physical: 100"] was really popular here. When I was signing autographs for the fans, they kept mentioning 'Physical: 100'. I was taken aback by the show's popularity."
With the unusual timing of the event, we asked Choo if he's someone who would usually wake up bright and early—a question he laughed at before admitting: "No. I usually get up at maybe nine."
Age is just a number
While on the topic of "Physical:100", he shared that the challenge of moving a 1,500kg ship from one point to the other was "more difficult than it looked".
Photo from Netflix
After the three teams competed in this challenge, he recalled speaking to the 29 other contestants, who unanimously agreed that this was the hardest mission they had to go through.
While Choo ultimately didn't emerge as the "Physical: 100" champion, he doesn't feel that his time there was wasted.
In a Feb. 21 Instagram post, he wrote:
"I wanted to prove that people in their 40s and 50s around the world, like me, can beat young people if they work hard.
I'm sorry I lost. But old men all over the world! We can still do it!"
In our interview, he elaborated, "Ahjusshis (the Korean equivalent of uncles) all over the world were watching me, which is why I worked extra hard to prove [to them that age is just a number]."
Your typical dad next door
Out of the many who have watched "Physical: 100" around the world, it may come as a surprise that Choo's wife, Japanese model Shiho Yano, along with Sarang, haven't watched the show.
"They couldn't watch it... Or rather, they didn't watch," he shared.
Sarang, who turns 12 this year, hasn't watched herself on "The Return of Superman" either.
And while Sarang had traumatic experiences of people swarming her at the peak of her popularity, she now appreciates why they might have done that at the time.
"There are short clips that appear on TikTok and Instagram, which she sometimes sees, but she hasn't watched the full episodes of the show," Choo explained.
"I think she doesn't want to watch it because it's a bit embarrassing."
Top photos from Netflix