Sung-Bong Choi: Korea’s Answer to Susan Boyle (Warning, You Will Cry)

Sung-Bong Choi on Korea's Got Talent

I’m going to warn you now: The following video will make you cry. On the first episode of Korea’s Got Talent, we’re introduced to 22-year-old Sung-Bong Choi. He tells his story (and we assume for now that it’s legit) about being in an orphanage until he was five, which he then fled after being beaten there.

He has lived alone ever since, selling drinks on the streets for ten years and sleeping in stairs or public toilets. Choi says that the first school that he attended is high school. And while it doesn’t say so in the video, that school is reportedly an art/performance high school.

Nevertheless, the story is a moving one. Korea’s Got Talent’s original video clip has racked up over 170,000 views, and unless this turns out to be a massive fraud those numbers should continue to climb. Check out the subtitled version of the video below. You’ll hear Choi explain all about his difficult childhood, and then have a listen to him sing.

I recommend that you grab a few tissues first.

[Via Reddit, Lead photo kyeongin.com]