Biography of Leeteuk
Park Jeong-su, popular as Leeteuk, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, presenter, radio personality and actor. He debuted as the leader of the boy band Super Junior in 2005 and was a member of the subgroups Super Junior-T, Super Junior-Happy and Super Junior-L.S.S.
He started his career as a television presenter on the music show M! Countdown. He is celebrated for his roles in ‘Strong Heart’, ‘Star King’, ‘The Best Cooking Secrets’, ‘I Can See Your Voice’ and ‘Idol Star Athletics Championships’.
He is a recurring host for renowned South Korean year-end awards like the Golden Disc Awards, Gaon Chart Music Awards and Asia Artist Awards. He hosts annual concerts like Dream Concert and Asia Song Festival.
Early Life and EducationÂ
Leeteuk was born on 1 July 1983 in Seoul, South Korea. He has an elder sister Park In-young who is a singer and an actress. He completed his education at Chungwoon University and is an alumnus of Gachon University.
Career
2000–2005
Leeteuk was scouted in early 2000 and recommended for an audition at SM Entertainment’s Starlight Casting System. Following numerous trial recordings and performances, he signed with SM Entertainment and became a trainee. He was the supporting cast in the drama ‘All About Eve’. He briefly modelled for Pepsi in 2002.
In 2003, he was placed into the five-member boyband Smile, the rival group of TVXQ. Later, the project was dropped and the members were placed in a rotational group Super Junior. He was the leader of the group and the eldest among other trainees.
He changed his stage name to prevent confusion between himself and the veteran actress Park Jung-soo. He rejected two of the stage names suggested by his agency and adopted the stage name Leeteuk, meaning, ‘special’.
2005–2012
He officially debuted as a member of Super Junior 05 on 6 November 2005 on Seoul Broadcasting System’s music program Popular Songs. The group performed their first single ‘Twins’ (Knock Out). The debut album was released a month later on 5 December 2005 and topped three on MIAK K-pop album charts.
After adding a thirteenth member, Kyuhyun, the group dropped the suffix 05 and renamed it Super Junior. The group’s hit single ‘U’ was released on 7 June 2009. He was placed in Super Junior-T, the trot-singing subunit.
The subunit released the single ‘Rokkugo’ and later he became a member of Super Junior-H, a subunit producing cheerful genre music. Apart from music, he participated in Super Junior-centric television shows like ‘Mystery 6’ and ‘Full House’. His film debut was with other Super Junior members in ‘Attack on the Pin-Up Boys’ (2007).
His first gig as a host was in the weekly music show M! Countdown in 2005 along with bandmates Shindong and Kangin. He secured his first solo hosting role on the reality show called ‘Leeteuk’s Love Fighter’. The show was broadcast on the cable television channel Mnet in 2008. His show hosts credits during 2008 – 2009 are Road Show Quiz Expedition, Challenge! Good Song and Challenge! Golden Ladder aired on KBS2.
He was the radio DJ for KBS Super Junior’s Kiss The Radio (Sukira) with Eunhyuk in 2006 and left the program in 2011 as a result of overlapping schedules. Leeteuk, Eunhyuk and Shingdong were regular guests on SBS’s ‘Strong Heart’. In 2012, the show was re-vamped with Leeteuk and Eunhyuk as two of the six permanent guests.
In 2010, he hosted the special program Waving the Taeguki, to support the South Korean national football team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He replaced Big Bang’s Seungri as the new host for MBC’s Enjoy Today. He collaborated with f(x)’s Krystal and released the single ‘Grumbling’. He rose to prominence as a reputed host on South Korea’s major television channels as MC through MBC’s Love Chaser and SBS’s Oh! Brothers.
He has been a frequent guest on Star King with other Super Junior members. After Kang Ho-dong’s retirement, Leeteuk and Boom stepped in as co-hosts of Star King. He participated in the reality-variety show Hello Baby season 4.
He was a part of the MBC reality show We Got Married with actress Kang So-ra and was cast as an additional host in Jewellery House. His drama credits between 2011 and 2012 are ‘Dream High’, ‘All My Love For You’, ‘Salamander Guru’, ‘The Shadows’, and ‘My Bittersweet Life’. He hosted the 2011 Melon Music Awards, his first year-end awards-hosting gig.
2012–2014
He returned to the silver screen through the documentary film ‘I Am’. The film documented the lives of the singer’s quest and challenges during the SM Town Live’ 10 World Tour concert at Madison Square Garden in New York on 21 June 2012. He reunited with Super Junior bandmates for their sixth studio album ‘Sexy, Free & Single’ released on 4 July 2012.
The re-packaged edition of the album was re-titled ‘Spy’, he composed ‘Only U’ and co-wrote the lyrics with Donghae. He participated in the SM Town Live World Tour III concert tour and appeared at the Style Icon Awards on 25 October 2012. Before enlistment, he was featured in a male fashion magazine Geek.Â
In 2013 he co-starred in the musical ‘The Promise’. It was produced by the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of National Defense and the Korea Musical Theatre Association to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice. The musical was co-starred by actors Ju Hyun-woo, Kim Mu-yeol, Jung Tae-woo and singers Yoon Hak and Lee Hyun.
He was the MC for an annual military event, the 2013 Military Service Award Ceremony. He made his comeback performance at the SM Town Live World Tour IV concert tour after being discharged, performing ‘Sorry, Sorry’ and ‘Mr. Simple.
2015–2016
He hosted three award ceremonies in 2015: the 29th Golden Disc Awards with Jun Hyun-moo and Tiffany Young, the 4th Gaon Chart Music Awards with Hyeri, and the 24th Seoul Music Awards with Jun Hyun-moo and Soyou. He hosted several premiere events with versatile artists like Yura, Solar, Dahyun, Lia and Krystal Jung.
He hosted the celebrity sports competition Idol Star Athletics and the 2015 Idol Star Athletics Ssireum Basketball Futsal Archery Championships. He hosted the Idol Star Athletics Championships and presented Mnet’s new mystery music game show ‘I Can See Your Voice’ with Yoo Se-yoon and Kim Bum-soo.
He hosted all eight seasons of the series as of 2021. The program was a huge success as a global franchise. In 2015, he presented several shows like ‘Match Made in Heaven Returns’, ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’ and an episode of 782 of Music Bank.
He appeared in a cameo role, as a music show host in episode 5 of Persevere (2015). In the same year, he participated in his first travel series, Super Junior’s One Fine Day and The Friends in Switzerland.
Super Junior released the compilation album ‘Devil’ in 2015 followed by a re-packaged version ‘Magic’. He wrote the track ‘Sarango’ on Magic and performed a duet with Heechul. Later, the band went on hiatus as the band members enlisted for their mandatory military service.
In 2016, he co-hosted entertainment programs like Hidden Camera Shoy Battle, The Birth of a Song and Reform Show. He was the radio DJ of Sukira and took part in the reality documentary ‘Law of the Jungle’. His other credits include State Show 360, season 2 of Please Take Care of My Vanity, Idol Party and Lucky Race.
He is broadly popular for his unique ability to spotlight his guests and co-hosts, earning him a top three spot on My Daily News portal’s Idol MC of the Year list.
He became a public speaker through ‘The Moment’, SM Entertainment’s cultural lecture series, a featured collaboration with SM artists and other experts. The theme for the series was ‘Healing the wounded 2016 and welcoming the year 2017 happily’.
He shared the stage with renowned speakers Chef Lee Won-il for the lecture ‘The Single Man’s Lifestyle’, Kim Ji-yoon, director of the Institute for Good Relationships for ‘Love and Romance’ and ‘Leeteuk’s Unique Day with Webtoon Writer Lee Jong-beom’.
In 2016, he collaborated with Suho, Kassy and songwriter Cho Young-soo for the song ‘My Hero’, a tribute to South Korean Olympians of the 2016 Summer Olympics. He embarked on his first solo Asia fan meeting tour in 2016.
2017– Present
He hosted the longest-running South Korean cooking show The Best Cooking Secrets. He stepped in for Lee Soo-geun and BoA for episode 10 of Singderella and episode 6 of Produce 101 Season 2. His other variety show credits are Hard Workers, We Have Delivery, Sherlock’s Room and Fearless Guys.
In 2017, he held six concerts – the K-drama Festa in Pyeongchang, the Going Together Concert, the Dream Concert, the Incheon Airport Sky Festival K-pop Concert, the Asia Song Festival with Jackson Wang and the Dream Concert in Pyeongchang.
Leeteuk joined Super Junior as a part of the main cast of Super TV and wrote the single Super Duper for Super Junior, released on 23 March 2018. He played the supporting role in the commercial web drama ‘Secret Queen Makers’.
In 2018, he hosted the second season of ‘Real Life Men and Women’, the ‘Quiz on Korea’ with Sam Okyere, the 2018 ‘Asia Song Festival” and the 1st Korea Popular Music Awards with Jin Se-yeon.
The following year he was the special host of the twelfth episode of the reality show Under Nineteen and a Thailand-based talk show Beauty No. 9 . He appeared in a Japanese travelling show Leeteuk’s Solo Travel. He starred in the YouTube Original series ‘Analog Trip’ with Eunhyuk, Donghae, Shindong, Yuno and Changmin. He composed the show’s soundtrack ‘Come a Little Closer’.
He hosted the JTBC music show ‘Melody Bookstore’ and wrote the soundtrack ‘This Is Me’, sung by Sunwoo Jung-a and Suran. He hosted the music talk show ‘Hidden Track’ and the 4th Asia Artist Awards.
He was the first idol to release a cookbook on 20 January 2020. He appeared in several food-related shows like Home Cooking Live, Neighbourhood Two-Top, and Soo-mi’s Side Dishes. In 2020, he mentored for North Korean and overseas competitions People of Trot.
He hosted the 2020 Miss Korea beauty pageant and hosted other events like the K-Pop Global Donation Concert World Is One, the 26th Dream Concert, the 2020 Taekwondo Performance in Seoul and the DMZ Concert, a part of the 2020 Live in DMZ festival and the radio show Party B.
On 5 July 2023, the sub-unit Super Junior- L.S.S with members Leeteuk, Siwon and Shindong debuted their first Japanese single Close The Shutter. The trio released their official Korean debut single ‘Suit Up’ on 22 January 2024.
Achievements
Leeteuk is best known as the leader of the K-pop band Super Junior. The group has become one of the most popular and influential K-pop globally. He has contributed numerous albums and hits, hosted several television programs, and radio shows and won numerous awards. Here are some of his notable achievements:
- Leeteuk hosted the longest-running South Korean cooking show The Best Cooking Secrets.
- Leeteuk won the Newcomer Award for The Promise at the 7th Daegu International Musical Festival in 2013.
- Leeteuk was the first idol to release a cookbook on 20 January 2020.
- Park Jeong-su won the 20’s Variety Star at the 6th Mnet 20’s Choice Awards, Popularity Award (Variety category) for We Got Married (season 3) and Best Entertainer Award (Talk Show category) for Strong Heart in the 6th SBS Entertainment Awards in 2012.
- Leeteuk won the Excellence Award (Talk Show category) for Strong Heart at the 5th SBS Entertainment Awards in 2011.
- Park Jeong-su won the Best Newcomer Award (Variety category) – Star King and Strong Heart at the 3rd SBS Entertainment Awards in 2009.
Military Life
On 30 October 2012, he reported to the 306 Reserve Battalion training camp in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province. He underwent 5 weeks of basic training and was an active duty solider for 21 months.
He was initially not eligible for military enlistment, following a car crash in 2007 and had a herniated disk. However, he received treatment and was able to enlist. He completed his military service and was discharged on 29 July 2014.
Personal Life
From the latest update, Leeteuk is single and is not dating.
In early 2010, there were rumours that Super Junior’s Leeteuk was in a relationship with Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon. The gossip surfaced after the two SM artists were spotted wearing the same accessories. However, these rumours later turned out to be false allegations.
Net Worth and Style
Leeteuk has an annual income of 6-8 million US dollars.
He has been the leader of Super Junior for almost 15 years and is an active artistic personality on television shows, Korean variety shows, radio shows, and as a top MC hosting prominent award shows. He is a prominent figure who likely leads a busy life balancing his career as a singer, TV host, and various other roles.
Awards
- 7th Daegu International Musical Festival (2013)
Newcomer Award – The Promise - 6th Mnet 20’s Choice Awards (2012)
20’s Variety Star - 12th MBC Entertainment Awards (2012)
Popularity Award (Variety category) – We Got Married (season 3) - 6th SBS Entertainment Awards(2012)
Best Entertainer Award (Talk Show category) – Strong Heart - 5th SBS Entertainment Awards (2011)
Excellence Award (Talk Show category) – Strong Heart - 3rd SBS Entertainment Awards (2009)
Best Newcomer Award (Variety category) – Star King and Strong Heart
Interesting Facts about Leeteuk
- Park Jeong-su’s position in the group is as Leader, Sub Vocalist, and Sub Rapper.
- Leeteuk had the longest trainee period out of all the members.
- Park Jeong-su is the oldest member of the group.
- White is Leeteuk’s favourite colour.
- Park Jeong-su’s stage name Leeteuk means ‘special’.
- Park Jeong-su’s favourite foods are ramyeon and tteokbokki.
- One time, Leeteuk dressed as a woman to cheer up a sick Donghae.
- Park Jeong-su’s first kiss was inside a telephone booth on a rainy night.
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