Seo Jang-hoon

Seo Jang-hoon (; born 3 June 1974) is a South Korean former professional basketball player, who is currently active as an entertainer and variety show star.

Early life Seo attended Whimoon High School, known as one Seoul's high school basketball powerhouses, alongside close friend Hyun Joo-yup. 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. 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. He and his teammates, as well as their counterparts from traditional athletic rivals Korea University, 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 and Woo Ji-won and Korea University's Hyun Joo-yup, Chun Hee-chul and Shin Ki-sung among others, they were collectively dubbed "Oppa Troupe" 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. He was signed by Seoul SK Knights, then based in Cheongju, in 1998. That year he moved to Seoul Samsung Thunders and played for them until 2007. From 2007 to 2008, he played for Jeonju KCC Egis. In 2008 Seo went to Incheon Electroland Elephants, 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. His team competed in the 1994 Asian Games and got second place. In 1997, his team played in the ABC World Basketball Tournament and won. 1998, He played in 1998 FIBA world cup. He was a mainstay of the team which won gold at the 2002 Asian Games. He took 4th place in 2005 FIBA Asian cup, and 5th place at the 2006 Asian Games.

In his prime, Seo was widely regarded as one of the greatest centers of his generation and was dubbed "National Treasure Center" by fans and the media. 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 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 in 2013. In 2015, he was a guest on the critically and commercially popular variety show Infinite Challenge. 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, 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's Knowing Bros.

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

In July 2026, it was reported that Seo had listed a five-story building he owns near Yangjae Station in Seoul's Seocho District for sale at 45 billion won. He originally purchased the building for 2.817 billion won in 2000. Seo is regarded as one of the wealthiest entertainers in South Korea in terms of real estate holdings, owning at least two other buildings in Seoul.

Filmography TV shows

Accolades Awards and nominations + Year presented, name of the award ceremony, award category, nominated work and the result of the nominationYearAwardCategoryNominated workResult201610th SBS Entertainment Awards Excellence Award in Variety ShowFlower Crew,My Little Old Boy Best Friends Award (with Flower Crew team)Flower Crew 201711th SBS Entertainment Awards Excellence Award in Show/Talk CategoryMy Little Old Boy Top Excellence Award in Show/Talk Category My Little Old Boy,Same Bed, Different Dreams 2 201854th Baeksang Arts AwardsBest Variety Performer - MaleKnowing Bros,Same Bed, Different Dreams 2 201917th KBS Entertainment AwardsBest Couple Award (with Lee Soo-geun)Ask Us Anything Fortune Teller 13th SBS Entertainment AwardsGrand Prize (Daesang) My Little Old Boy,Same Bed, Different Dreams 2 19th MBC Entertainment AwardsPopularity Award Best Couple Award (with Boom) 202014th SBS Entertainment AwardsGrand Prize (Daesang)My Little Old Boy,Handsome Tigers,Same Bed, Different Dreams 2 Special Award: Lifetime Achievement Award 202115th SBS Entertainment Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) with My Little Old Boy team (Shin Dong-yup, Cho Hye-seon, Kim Sun-ja, Park Young-hye, Lee Sang-min, Tak Jae-hoon, Im Won-hee, Kim Joon-ho, Kim Jong-kook, Kim Hee-chul, Lee Tae-sung, Oh Min-suk, Park Goon, Choi Jin-hyuk)My Little Old Boy Entertainer of the Year Award My Little Old Boy, Same Bed, Different Dreams 2: You Are My Destiny

Listicles + Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement Publisher Year Listicle Placement Forbes 2020 Korea Power Celebrity 13th