Leeteuk

When Leeteuk traveled to Apgujeong-dong for sightseeing in early 2000, he was recommended by a talent scout to audition for SM Entertainment's Starlight Casting System.[8] After several test recordings and performances, he signed with SM Entertainment and became a trainee. That same year, he appeared as an extra in the drama All About Eve which aired on MBC TV, and briefly as a model for Pepsi in 2002.[9][10] In 2003, he was put into five-member boyband Smile, with future bandmate Donghae and aimed to be a rival group of TVXQ. The project was dropped and they were then put into rotational group Super Junior along with ten other boys.[11] Being older than the other trainees, Leeteuk became the leader of the group.[12]

Leeteuk has explained that he uses a stage name due to his desire to have a name with the same effects as Kangta, and also to prevent confusion between veteran actress Park Jung-soo and himself.[13] His stage name Leeteuk, meant "special". He previously rejected two of the stage names designated to him by his agency. The agency's chairman at the time, Lee Soo-man called him "a special child" and said the name Leeteuk suited him better.[14]

Leeteuk officially debuted as part of the 12-member project group, Super Junior 05 on November 6, 2005 on SBS' music program Popular Songs, performing their first single, "Twins (Knock Out)".[15][16] Their debut album SuperJunior05 (Twins) was released a month later on December 5, 2005 and debuted at number three on the monthly MIAK K-pop album charts.[17]

In March 2006, SM Entertainment began to recruit new members for the next Super Junior generation. However, this was met with fans' objections and strong opposition to the rotational style (much like popular rotational groups in Japan's pop music industry) that the group intended to be. Thus, plans changed and the company declared a halt in forming future Super Junior generations.[18] Following the addition of thirteenth member Kyuhyun, the group dropped the suffix "05" and officially named as Super Junior.[19] The re-polished group's first CD single "U" was released on June 7, 2006, which was their most successful single until the release of "Sorry, Sorry" in March 2009.[20][21] In February 2007, Leeteuk was placed in the trot-singing subunit, Super Junior-T.[22] The subunit debuted with the single "Rokuko", which quickly reached number one in weekly music chart and held the spot for two consecutive weeks.[23][24] A year later, Leeteuk became a member of Super Junior-H.[25] Besides music, he also participated in Super Junior-centric television show such as Mystery 6 and Full House.[26][27] He also made his first film appearance with Super Junior members in Attack on the Pin-Up Boys in 2007, taking the role of the school panda mascot.[28]

Apart from Super Junior activities, he has hosted several television shows. In 2005, he become the host of a weekly music show, M! Countdown, his first gig as a host, with fellow band mates, Shindong and Eunhyuk.[29] It eventually landed him his first solo hosting act in the reality show Leeteuk's Love Fighter, which aired on the cable television channel Mnet in 2008.[30][31] He received praises for his act as a newcomer and reveived a plaque of appreciation by the crew members on his last appearance on the show.[32][33]

Leeteuk during Kiss the Radio public broadcast in 2009

Leeteuk became a radio DJ for KBS Super Junior's Kiss The Radio (Sukira) with Eunhyuk in August 2006.[34] From March to June 2011, bandmate Yesung temporarily replaced Eunhyuk while he was away on promotional activities for Super Junior-M's third EP Perfection.[35] Leeteuk left the program in November 2011 due to conflicting work schedule.[36]

From 2009 onwards, Leeteuk, along with Eunhyuk and Shindong, were regular guests on SBS' Strong Heart, where they hosted a special segment, Boom Academy, headed by entertainer Boom.[37] In October 2009, when Boom enlisted for mandatory military service, Leeteuk took over and the segment's name was temporarily changed to Teukigayo, or Teuk Academy. He was a frequent guest on Star King, also on SBS, with fellow Super Junior members.[38]

In 2010, Leeteuk became the new MC for MBC Enjoy Today, replacing Big Bang's Seungri who left to focus on Big Bang's new album. On the show, Leeteuk sang with f(x)'s Krystal for the song "Grumbing".[39] Leeteuk was also the MC for MBC's Love Chaser alongside Yesung.[40]

In 2011, following Kang Ho-dong's retirement from the entertainment industry, Leeteuk and Boom took over as co-MCs of Star King.[38] From September to November, Leeteuk became a dad in Hello Baby season 4 with girl group Sistar.[41] Leeteuk also became part of MBC reality show We Got Married, as a new on-screen couple, with actress Kang So-ra becoming his on-screen wife.[42] As of the April 10, 2012 broadcast, following the change in MCs and the departure of Shindong from Strong Heart, the show was re-vamped with Leeteuk and Eunhyuk billed as two of the 'six-fixed guests'.[43]

In June 2012, Leeteuk reunited with his Super Junior band-mates for their sixth studio album, Sexy, Free & Single released on July 4, 2012. On June 23, Leeteuk's teaser photo was released showing him with platinum silver hair, a gold necklace and heavy black eye makeup.[44] On June 25, he also tweeted another version of his teaser photo with the same outfit but in a different pose, leaning on his hand looking as though he was deep in contemplation.[45] In the repackaged edition of the album, re-titled Spy, Leeteuk composed "Only U" and co-wrote the lyrics with Donghae.[46]

During the Indonesia leg of the SMTown Live World Tour III concert in Jakarta on September 22, Leeteuk was unable to perform with his label mates due to exhaustion and enteritis, for which he made an apology the following day, via his Twitter account.[47]

Leeteuk stated in September 2011 that he planned to enlist for his mandatory military service in 2012.[48] He made his final appearance before enlistment at the Style Icon Awards on October 25, 2012.[49] On October 30, 2012 he reported to the 306 Reserve Battalion training camp in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, to undergo five weeks of basic training, followed by active duty for 21 months. He was initially ineligible for active duty following a car crash in 2007 and an aggravated herniated disk, but after receiving treatment he was able to enlist for active duty.[50][51][52]

In January 2013, Leeteuk co-starred in military musical The Promise. It was co-produced by the Ministry of National Defense and Korea Musical Theatre Association, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice. It ran from January 9 to 20 at the National Theater of Korea, co-starring actors Ji Hyun-woo, Kim Mu-yeol, Jung Tae-woo; as well as singers Yoon Hak of Supernova, and Lee Hyun of 8Eight. The musical is centered around a group of soldiers who keeps a promise made to each other during the Korean War.[53][54][55] He won the Newcomer Award at the 7th Daegu International Musical Festival for his role as Mister Kim in the musical.[56]

Leeteuk completed his military service on July 29, 2014.[57] He returned to the line-up for the August performance at Music Bank, marking the first time he, Heechul and Kangin had been together in the line-up since they each completed their military service.[58][59]

With Super Junior on a temporary hiatus for much of 2016 due to the enlistment of four other members, Leeteuk has returned to hosting and co-hosts I Can See Your Voice with Yoo Se-yoon and a new co-host Kim Jong-kook. He also appeared in Star Show 360, Please Take Care of My Vanity, Lucky Race and Idol Party, which earned him the top 3 spot on the Idol MC of the year list as published by My Daily news portal.[60]

In June 2016, he collaborated with Suho, Kassy and songwriter Cho Young-soo in a song titled "My Hero", part of SM Entertainment's music project SM Station, as a tribute to South Korean Olympians past and present in honor of the 2016 Summer Olympics.[61]

Leeteuk became the host of The Best Cooking Secrets in January 2017, replacing ZE:A's Hwang Kwanghee, who enlisted in the military. His first episode as the host was broadcast on EBS on January 30, 2017.[62] On February 22, 2017, he hosted the 6th Gaon Chart Music Awards with Mamamoo's Solar.[63] On March 31, 2017, he appeared on JTBC's new quiz game show The Sixth Sense Hit Show 1/N as host, alongside band member Shindong.[64]

In May 2017, he hosted the reality show Produce 101 Season 2, as a stand-in for BoA, who had a conflicting work schedule in Japan.[65] He also hosted the 2017 Asia Song Festival with Jackson Wang on September 24, 2017.[66]

He hosted the 7th Gaon Chart Music Awards with Twice's Dahyun on February 14, 2018.[67] He returned as the host of the fifth season of I Can See Your Voice from January to April 2018, along with Kim Jong-kook and Yoo Se-yoon.[68][69] Leeteuk wrote and composed the song "Super Duper", which was released through SM Station on March 23, 2018. The song was later inserted into Super Junior eighth repackage album, Replay.[70]

In August 2018, he joined the cast and hosted the second season of Real Life Men and Women. The show looked into everyday life of celebrities and compared the differences between men's and women's.[71] He became the host of 2018 edition of Quiz on Korea alongside Sam Okyere. The recording was held on September 8 while the program aired on KBS1 on September 24, 2018.[72] He also became the host of the 2018 Asia Song Festival on October 2 and October 3, 2018.[73] On December 20, 2018, he hosted the first Korea Popular Music Awards, (KPMA) with Jin Se-yeon.[74]

He appeared as a special host on the twelfth episode of the reality show Under Nineteen, which aired on January 19, 2019 as a stand-in for the regular host Kim So-hyun, who had conflicting work schedule.[75] He also hosted the final episode with Kim So-Hyun, which was broadcast live on February 9, 2019.[76] From January to April 2019, he hosted the music game show, I Can See Your Voice for its sixth consecutive season, along with fellow co-hosts Kim Jong-kook and Yoo Se-yoon.[77][78]

From May to July 2019, Leeteuk hosted a Thailand-based variety show, Beauty No.9, which focused on Korean beauty products. His hosting act was well received by the locals and media.[79] In August 2019, it was announced that Leeteuk is set to publish a cookbook, which was targeted for single-person households and he became the first idol to publish a cookbook.[80] It was published on January 20, 2020.[81][82] On September 12, 2019, he hosted Idol Star Athletics Championships (ISAC) 2019 alongside Jun Hyun-moo and Twice's Dahyun.[83]

He starred on a YouTube Original series Analog Trip with fellow band members, Eunhyuk, Donghae and Shindong, and TVXQ's Yunho and Changmin. The program aired on YouTube Premium starting in September 2019. Analog Trip is a travelling show where the cast travelled across Indonesia, mixed with the element of time travel where they are supposedly travel back to 2002 before their debut. They have to accomplish a few goals and compose a theme song along the way to return to the current time.[84] He was credited as one of the composers of the show's soundtrack, "Come a Little Closer".[85][86]

He was cast as a host for Melody Bookstore in September 2019, which aired on JTBC beginning October 6. In the show, the hosts have to choose a book and create a theme song according to the chosen book.[87] He wrote and composed the soundtrack for the show, "This Is Me", which was sung by Sunwoo Jung-a and Suran.[88][89] He also became the host of Hidden Track in October 2019. The program focused on introducing song that are not one's title tracks. The show was jointly produced by JTBC and KT, and was aired live on Olleh TV for eight weeks, starting from October 2, 2019.[90]

He joined his band members for the release their ninth studio album, Time Slip in October 2019.[91] He participated in the production of the album by composing and writing one of its songs, "No Drama".

He hosted the 4th Asia Artist Awards on November 26, 2019, which was held at Mỹ Đình National Stadium in Vietnam.[92] On December 6, it was announced that Leeteuk would be returning as the host for Idol Star Athletics Championships (ISAC) in 2020, along with Twice's Dahyun and Jun Hyun-moo. Pre-recording of the show is set to begin on December 16.[93][94] He also hosted the 9th Gaon Chart Music Awards on January 8, 2020 for the fifth time, with Itzy's Lia as co-host.[95]

He returned as the host of the seventh season of I Can See Your Voice, alongside Kim Jong-kook and Yoo Se-yoon in January 2020.[96]

On April 19, 2007, almost two months after Super Junior-T's release of their first single "Rokuko", Leeteuk was seriously injured in a car accident, along with Shindong, Eunhyuk, Kyuhyun, and two managers. When returning home after a recording of the radio show Super Junior Kiss the Radio, they were on the highway when the front left tire burst as the driver was switching lanes. The van ran into the guard rail on the driver's side, and skidded for about 30 metres. At some point, the momentum caused the van to flip over on its right side.[97][98]

While Shindong and Eunhyuk suffered minor injuries, Leeteuk and Kyuhyun sustained more serious injuries, which required both to be hospitalised. Leeteuk had glass shards embedded in his back and above his eyes, requiring over 170 stitches.[99][100] Leeteuk was discharged from the hospital on April 30, 2007.[101] Due to this accident, Leeteuk did not take part in Super Junior's debut big-screen production, Attack on the Pin-Up Boys in 2007.[102] He was credited as the panda mascot at the end of the film, while it was later confirmed that it had been Ryeowook who portrayed it throughout most of the film.[103]

On January 6, 2014, Leeteuk's father, Park Yong-in, and his grandparents were found dead in their home. SM initially released a statement saying that the trio had died in a car accident,[104] but it was later discovered that it had been a murder-suicide, with Yong-in strangling his parents and then hanging himself. A note left near the bodies read "I will bring my parents with me. My children, I am sorry. Please forgive me." It was later revealed that Park Yong-in had been dealing with depression for a long time, and a police report stated "We discovered that Leeteuk's father was trying to make ends meet in order to take care of his parents. Both his parents were suffering from dementia, and Park Yong-in struggled with financial problems. Park Yong-in must've felt too much burden on his shoulders, leaving him no choice but to end his parents' life as well as his."[105][106][5][107][108] The funeral was held on January 8, with the Super Junior members in attendance.[109]

On January 11, 2014, Leeteuk resumed his mandatory military service and was discharged on July 29, 2014.[110][111]