Tyler Rasch

Tyler Josef Rasch (born 6 May 1988) is an American writer, educator, lecturer, actor, and television personality in South Korea. He was the author of bestseller "No Second Earth (두 번째 지구는 없다)" and a cast member of hit TV shows such as JTBC's Non-Summit and tvN's Hot Brain: Problematic Men. among others. He has received various awards and distinctions for his work in media, education, and social and environmental issues.

Personal

Early life, education, and work in the U.S.

Rasch was born in the northeastern United States in 1988. His mother is American and his father an Austrian immigrant.

He graduated from a college-preparatory high school, The Putney School in Putney, Vermont in 2006. The school sits on a 500-acre working dairy farm, with a student-led "work program" and the belief that "education is something to be actively pursued rather than passively received."

As the son of an immigrant and growing up in Vermont near the Canada – US border where both English and French are commonly spoken, he was interested in foreign languages at a young age. He first learned French, then in college, switched to different languages every semester including Spanish, German, Portuguese

In 2011, Rasch was accepted into the Korean Government Scholarship Program and moved to Seoul. He studied Korean at the Seoul National University Korean Language Education Center, and in 2012, began pursuing his Master's degree in International Relations at Seoul National University (SNU).

Between July 2013 and July 2014, he worked with other foreign SNU students on creating a webzine about Seoul. "Seoulism", as he stated, was "a means to gather foreigners and Koreans altogether so that we could become a community to initiate a forum of conversation."

From February to July 2014, he was an Intern at the private think tank, the Institute for Global Economics (IGE) at the World Trade Center Seoul.

In August 2016, Rasch graduated from Seoul National University with his Master's Degree in Diplomatic Studies.

Career

On July 7, 2014, he began starring in the new JTBC talk-variety show Non-Summit, which has a cast of young men from different countries, living in Seoul, who debate and discuss issues, in Korean, with perspectives they bring from their various cultures, from their native countries. Early promotions noted him as a detailed scholar who read the works of Mencius.

In February 2015, he became a recurring member of the cast of the Non-Summit spinoff reality-travel show Where Is My Friend's Home, starring for ten episodes, through April, 2015, for the first two trips to China and to Belgium. In August 2015 he starred in two episodes visiting South Korea's historical Buyeo County. In February 2016, Where Is My Friend's Home announced plans for a United States trip to visit his home in Vermont for a series of episodes.

On February 26, 2015, he became part of the cast of a new tvN talk-variety show, Hot Brain: Problematic Men, with six men "boasting a high IQ and unique way of thinking". The show is also referred to as "brain-sexy man" using a newly coined term that is becoming popular in Korea, and Rasch is called "an American student who speaks very fluent and high-standard Korean".

He writes newspaper columns for JoongAng Ilbo, with topics like "study abroad", and guests on talk shows, including Arirang TV's News Tellers to discuss education, immigration, jobs, and current affairs issues.

According to his presentation on South Korean military TV published on January 16, 2017, he started working at an environmental solution start-up company in South Korea post his Master's degree from Seoul National University in 2016.

Celebrity and endorsements

He was a model and promoter for major brands such as Krispy Kreme, Ben & Jerry's, Samsung, Puritan's Pure, Microsoft, Subway, Korean made Binggrae yogurt, Yopa, Yoplait yogurt, and the EDM Study Center.

On March 25, 2015, he attended a Korean traditional food tasting event hosted by the KTO and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, along with U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert, on one of the Ambassador's first public appearances after recovering from a knife attack in early March.

In April 2015, he and Non-Summit cast member Ilya Belyakov attended a ceremony for the new "Koreans and Foreigners Together" program as Honorary Culture Sharing Ambassadors of the Korea Foundation.

On January 12, 2016, he and Non-Summit cast members Guillaume Patry, Alberto Mondi and Zhang Yuan, along with Psy and violinist Clara-Jumi Kang, received the Corea Image Communication Institute awards, for their work in bridging cultural understanding between Koreans and non-Koreans.

Filmography Film Year Title RoleNotes 2020 Samjin Company English Class Jerry (English instructor)Cast member. This film received the 57th Baeksang Arts Award for Best Film in 2021

Television series

Radio