For Son Ho-young, cooking is a ticket out of the ’90s
Published: 07 May. 2013, 20:23
Avid fans were known for gorging on cream-filled buns to collect stickers inside that were emblazoned with the members’ faces. Son’s heart-melting smile was in especially high demand.
Fame is fickle, though, and after six years at the top, the five-member boy group ran into trouble. After one member left in 2004, the others released a final album the following year but did not see much success. With the end of g.o.d., each idol had to find his own way, following a path well-trodden by other ’90s stars.
Now in their mid 30s, a few stars from the era have settled down as solo artists or businessmen, while others have been forced into lives of crime.
Among the pack is Son, who has been tirelessly seeking his next big break for the past eight years. Apart from pursuing a solo singing career, he’s been trying his luck at musicals and operas.
Son Ho-young, bottom left, debuted as a vocalist in boy group g.o.d. back in 1999. The five members ruled the pop scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s. [JoongAng Ilbo]
Most recently, he’s been trying to cook. Nobody expected that the former teenage idol could win the cooking reality show “Master Chef Korea Celebrity,” but he proved his critics wrong with a delicious three-course version of hansik, or a traditional Korean set meal, last month.
Eleven celebrities, including actors singers and a voice actress, took part in the fierce competition. Along with 100 million won ($91,621) and the latest refrigerator, Son earned a cooking show of his own titled “Son Ho-young’s Asian Cook,” which will air on four Wednesdays on O’live TV.
Son gave away the prize money and fridge, but he’s more than happy to take the television opportunity to prove his sustained potential as a star.
“It’s been seven or eight years for me since I walked away from g.o.d., and I’ve had a lot of worries about my career. I’m 34 and wonder if I should keep doing this or not,” Son said.
“In the middle of such a period, I got to find a new side of me thanks to this cooking reality show.”
top: Son won “Master Chef Korea Celebrity” last month and earned his own cooking show called “Son Ho-young’s Asian Cook.” Provided by O’live TV
Q. You received countless awards back when you were a member of g.o.d., but you never cried like the other members. However, we saw your tears this time when your name was called by one of the judges in the last episode of “Master Chef Korea Celebrity.” What do your tears mean?
A. When I was a member of g.o.d., I was always insecure because I thought the success we had wasn’t my own achievement. Although I jumped into this cooking show with a light heart, I found myself becoming serious about the job. I’m happy when I cook. When my name was called by the judges, it struck me that I was the finalist out of 11 contestants, and I think I can call that an achievement of my own right. You’re right, though. I hardly cry when the camera is on. I think I cried just once after I debuted [in 1999].
Nobody thought of you as a likely winner. Even Leo Kang, one of the judges, said you were one of the participants who would be eliminated early.
I knew nothing about cooking when I started. I just decided to appear on the show simply because I love to eat. Looking back, I think I have improved a lot in a short period of time. We shot eight episodes for a month, and I learned and practiced cooking five or six hours a day. We had these tutors, and they taught us how to deal with all different ingredients from beef to pork to chicken with this and that sauce.
I think I know what I want now. I definitely want to learn more about cooking, and there will be a restaurant in my future. I imagine having a restaurant with an open kitchen. Other chefs and I can cook together. There could even be a small stage so that I can sing for customers.
Stars are often admired wholeheartedly by fans. How did you put up with harsh criticism from the three judges?
It was mentally challenging. That’s why female contestants burst into tears one after another. It was a hard experience for all, but I tried to hold up. I didn’t think seriously of the show in the beginning, but harsh comments about my food provoked me to do more. I’m very competitive, and a reality show makes you even more competitive. This time was different, though. I didn’t care about being eliminated halfway through, but I wanted to cook more.
What was the most difficult part about competing on the cooking reality show?
We had to cook within a limited time. That was the hardest part. We don’t really care about the time when we cook at home. The pressure was huge.
How did you end up donating the prize money? And why did you give the refrigerator to Fei, a member of girl group Miss A, who was one of the three finalists?
I never ever imagined I would win. That’s why I promised I would donate the prize money if I won. But people around me always start the conversation by talking about the money whenever we get together these days! (Laughs)
Regarding the refrigerator, I knew Fei wanted to win the show because she wanted to send the refrigerator to her mother in China. I had no choice but to give it to her.
There is a saying that people who grow up eating delicious food become good cooks. What do you think?
I think I spend a great deal of time thinking about what to eat. If I go somewhere, whether it is outside the country or in Korea, I always visit the most famous restaurant in the region. I love to gorge on delicious foods, but I eat tasteless foods well. When all my former [g.o.d.] teammates were preparing the first album and living together, we hardly ate. Nobody cared because the company we belonged to was a management company for actors. We were out of the company’s primary concern.
We used to eat raw tofu or soup made of plain water and spoons of red pepper paste. We often skipped meals. I still have vivid memories of such foods, and it helps me know original flavors of many ingredients, such as tofu. If you want to be a good cook, you need to eat both good and terrible food.
You told multiple interviewers that you were always insecure when you were a member of g.o.d. even at the peak of success.
I knew I wasn’t good enough to enjoy the success. I kept thinking about my future, and I also knew we would fall apart someday. Thus I couldn’t enjoy all the things I had back then. But I got to know how to enjoy my work from last year.
You spent all of your 20s in the public eye. Do you have any regrets?
I always thought I couldn’t do anything. Blind dates, backpacking trips and clubbing were things I couldn’t dare to try. The situation is still the same, but I take it from a different point of view. I’ve tried to loosen up compared to a couple of years ago. I have started going to clubs. [Laughs] I also came to realize that I live a happy life.
When you were a member of g.o.d., people bought CDs to listen to music, but things have changed a lot. People now purchase MP3s. How do you feel the drastic change as a musician?
We used to call Tower Records and ask whether our CDs were selling well or not. But these music files are intangible. We can’t see or sense anything. It is very different for us.
Will we be able to see you as a musician in the near future?
I’m working on my new EP, and that is likely to be released this summer.
By Sung So-young [so@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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