From BTS member RM’s discovery by rapper Sleepy, to Song Joong-ki getting friend Lee Hee-joon cast in Netflix’s Vincenzo: 4 K-stars who would be nothing without their celebrity mentors

Aug 16 , 2021

Song Joong-ki recommended Lee Hye-jung to be in the smash Netflix K-drama Vincenzo and BTS’ RM made his debut thanks to rapper Sleepy’s support. Photos: @songjoongki.kg, @sweetyhye, @btsrm.offical, @sleepycamo/Instagram

There are many ways Korean stars can be scouted – from Chae Eun-woo and Bae Suzy being discovered outside a toilet, to the stories of Exo’s Suho and NCT’s Jaemin being plucked from obscurity whilst doing volunteer work. So it’s clearly not always the most obvious routes to fame – typically hopeful auditions followed by years of arduous idol training – that produce the brightest stars.

Exo’s Suho and NCT’s Jaemin, who were discovered while doing volunteer work. Photo: @NouraL_Se, @NCTsmtown_Dream/Twitter

One path to success that’s perhaps among the most tried and tested, however, is when established names shower praise on would-be idols, using their own fame to bring fresh talent to the spotlight. In short: having friends in high places can really pay off when it comes to K-pop and K-drama, it seems. Here are our favourite instances of K-stars “discovering” K-stars.

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Song Joong-ki saw the acting potential in K-model Lee Hye-jung

Song Joong-ki starred in Vincenzo, and roped in a few of his friends for the ride – much to their delight. Photo: @joongkisource/Twitter

Of all the hit dramas Song Joong-ki has left his mark on, Vincenzo is the one that truly broke on a global scale and set K-drama fans’ hearts aflutter. It just so happens that Song was the one championing Korean model Lee Hye-jung to take a role in the drama too. Fans of the crime romcom series will know her as Jung Do-hee, the director of Ragusang Gallery.

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Lee Hye-jung in a still from the K-drama Vincenzo. Photo: @do_ftoom/Twitter

According to Topstarnews, Lee Hee-joon, who also made a special appearance in Vincenzo, is another close friend of Song Joong-ki’s thanks to the fact that they both starred in the film Bogota, and it was this friendship that saw him get a part in the show. During her appearance on MBC’s Radio Star, the actress said she happened to contact Song Joong-ki on the day she dyed her hair red, and Song directly recommended her to Vincenzo’s director for a part.

Lee added that she had only expected to put in a cameo appearance, but was extremely grateful that Song championing her talent resulted in a larger role with a greater impact.

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BTS’ RM got his big break thanks to Korean rapper Sleepy

RM from BTS has always had a talent for rapping, so perhaps it was only a matter of time before he made it to the big time. Photo: Handout

It seems the world’s K-pop fans might owe a debt of gratitude to the rapper Sleepy, who was the one responsible for leader RM’s debut with BTS. During his appearance on MBC’s Radio Star, Sleepy revealed that he first met Rap Monster at a rapper crew audition, back when RM was a middle school student.

Sleepy said he immediately fell in love with the aspiring rapper’s style, and directly asked for his number, which he duly held onto until he was asked to recommend a rapper. Sleepy later passed RM’s contact to a producer at Big Hit Entertainment – now known as Hybe. RM became a trainee for BTS and the rest, as they say, is history.

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Sleepy posing beside a cut-out of BTS’ RM, the rapper he helped turn into a megastar. Photo: @BTS_BUZZ/Twitter

As you might imagine, the pair’s friendship has been solid ever since. In 2018, during his appearance on MBC’s Section TV, Sleepy sent a photo of himself with a cardboard cut-out of RM, who replied instantly, writing, “Thank you, hyung (older brother).” Sleepy jokes that he has one of the best relationships with megastars BTS despite their huge fame, and that he’s always grateful to his “dongsaeng” (little brother) for responding to his texts.

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Lee Sun-hee knew Lee Seung-gi could become a great singer

Lee Seung-gi is known for his soaring ballads, but he got noticed singing rock songs. Photo: @actorleeseungg/Instagram

Lee Seung-gi, aka the “King of Ballads”, was also discovered by an older and more experienced singer, Lee Sun-hee, known herself as a “national diva” for her immense popularity, commercial success and vocal ability.

During her appearance in SBS’ Healing Camp, Aren’t You Happy, she shared the story of her discovery of Lee Seung-gi as a singer.

Lee Sun-hee made her debut in 1984 and, with a string of hit songs under her belt, soon invested in a small theatre. By chance, Lee Seung-gi was one of the performers in a band at the theatre. Just a high school student at the time, he sang a song by renowned Korean rock singer Kim Kyung-ho, which evidently impressed Lee Sun-hee, who described him “a real rocker”.

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Lee Seung-gi and Lee Sun-hee performing together on Yu Huiyeol’s Sketchbook. Photo: @ibhayoam/ Twitter

Spotting his innate talent, Lee Sun-hee asked Lee Seung-gi to become a trainee. But in that same Healing Camp episode, Lee Seung-gi admitted that he hadn’t recognised Lee Sun-hee for who she was at first, and declined the offer. It was in fact his mother – surprised to hear he’d turned it down – who pushed him to reconsider. Phew!

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Lee Sang-woo waited more than a year to get Han Ga-in to take to the big screen

K-drama actress Han Ga-in was discovered in a truly unconventional way – but still has singer Lee Sang-woo to thank. Photo: @hgi.0202/Instagram

Did you know that Han Ga-in – the K-drama and K-movie diva who’s starred in everything from Architecture 101 to The Moon Embracing the Sun to Bad Guy – was initially discovered by Korean singer Lee Sang-woo after appearing on a news segment?

Little could Han Ga-in know that her brief appearance on KBS News would change her life. Photo: @jullia4823/Instagram

In 2000, two years before her debut, Han Ga-in appeared on KBS News as part of an interview about the failures of Korea’s education system. Despite it being an extremely short appearance lasting no more than 20 seconds, Lee Sang-woo decided right then and there that Han would make a great actress – and decided to track her down.

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However Han was known to be one of the cleverest teens at the school, and her parents were reluctant for her to discontinue her education to pursue a career in acting. In the end, Lee said it took more than a year to persuade Han and her parents she had a shot at the big time. Lucky for us they eventually saw the light!

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South Korean celebrities

NCT’s Jaemin and Exo’s Suho were famously scouted volunteering – but these K-celebs got lucky when established K-drama actors and K-pop idols began rooting for them
RM’s rap dreams only became real after Sleepy recommended him to BTS and Lee Seung-gi’s talent was first spotted by ‘national diva’ Lee Sun-hee