[The Power of Genes] What Does Dad Do? Stars Who Inherited Talent from Their Parents

①Stars Who Gave Birth to Stars in Popular Culture

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Is it because they have celebrity DNA? The entertainment industry is seeing an increasing number of 'celebrity families.' The second generation, armed with the 'talent' inherited from their parents, tends to avoid being labeled as 'so-and-so's son or daughter.' There is a growing atmosphere where they carve their own paths by using pseudonyms and participating in various audition programs to avoid riding on their parents' coattails.

Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, began his acting career as a theater actor in 1971. After passing MBC's 6th open talent audition in 1973, he appeared in the MBC drama "Jeonwon Ilgi," which aired from 1980 to 2002, becoming a beloved national actor. In the late 2000s, he stopped acting to start his career as a cultural and arts administrator. He served as chairman of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, was the first Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism under the Lee Myung-bak administration, and held positions such as special cultural advisor to the presidential office and chairman of the Seoul Arts Center. Since 2014, he returned to the theater stage as an actor and director, and was appointed Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism again on October 7 last year.

The film "Spring in Seoul," which attracted 10 million viewers last December, featured Minister Yoo's son. Actor Nam Yoon-ho (real name Yoo Dae-sik) played Kang Dong-chan, the operations staff officer of the Capital Defense Command (Su-gyeong-sa) and the right-hand man of Lee Tae-shin, the Capital Defense Commander played by Jung Woo-sung. Having studied acting at UCLA in the United States, he began his acting career in 2012 with the play "Killing Romantics" and shared the stage with his father in "Pericles."

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo In-chon (left) Actor Nam Yoon-ho
[Photo by Yonhap News, Plus M Entertainment]

Group Rise Anton (left) and singer Yoon Sang [Photo by MBC]

The children of singers who dominated the 1980s and 1990s are also actively working as idols recently. Anton (real name Lee Chan-young), son of singer Yoon Sang (real name Lee Yoon-sang) and actress Shim Hye-jin, debuted last September as part of the multinational boy group RISE under SM Entertainment. RISE is considered one of the hottest rising idol groups recently. Anton, known as 'Yoon Sang's son,' attracted attention for his handsome looks as a child appearing on TV. He showed his father songs he wrote himself and received permission to pursue a career as a singer.

Si-eun Park (real name Park Si-eun), daughter of 90s original dance singer Park Nam-jung, debuted with the group STAYC. Si-eun often appeared on TV with Park Nam-jung since childhood and started her career as a child actress. She debuted as a member of STAYC in 2020 and released various hit songs such as "Bubble," "ASAP," and "Teddy Bear."

Shim Hye-won, daughter of singer Shim Shin, debuted as Bello in the group Kiss of Life last July. Before debuting, Bello showed her talent by participating in the lyrics and composition of LE SSERAFIM's "UNFORGIVEN."

Lee Hyo-jung and Lee Yoo-jin, a father and son duo, appeared together on MBC's 'I Live Alone'
[Photo by MBC]

Actress Lee Hyo-jung is well known to the younger generation as 'Lee Yoo-jin's dad.' Actress Lee Yoo-jin debuted in 2013 with the MBC drama "Goddess of Fire, Jung Yi," gained recognition by challenging to become an idol singer on Mnet's "Produce 101" Season 2 in 2017, and appeared in the KBS2 weekend drama "Three Bold Siblings" as an actress. Recently, she attracted attention by revealing her solo living lifestyle on MBC's variety show "I Live Alone." After Lee Hyo-jung was shown using a secondhand trading app on the show, they even filmed a commercial for the company together, becoming a hot 'rich family' topic.

Although not father-daughter or father-son relationships, many family celebrities share talent through bloodlines. Singer Shim Soo-bong is the great-aunt of singer Son Tae-jin, who reached the top in survival programs like "Phantom Singer" and "Burning Trotman." Son Tae-jin belongs to the group Forte di Quattro and actively performs various music genres, ranging from popera to trot. Shim Soo-bong's older sister is Son Tae-jin's mother. The two have shown their affection by performing joint stages on broadcasts.

Singer Shim Soo-bong (left) Son Tae-jin
Photo by MBN 'Bultaneun Trotman'

Actor Jo Tae-kwan is the nephew of actors Choi Soo-jong and Ha Hee-ra. Jo Tae-kwan, a Korean-Canadian actor who gained recognition through the drama "Descendants of the Sun" (2016), is also the son of singer Jo Ha-moon. Actress Choi Myung-gil and actor Kwon Yul (real name Kwon Se-in) are aunt and nephew, and actor Lee Dong-gun is an eighth cousin on the maternal side of actor Sung Hyuk (real name Hong Sung-hyuk). Musical actress Ok Joo-hyun, formerly of the group Fin.K.L, is a sixth cousin of actor Park Hyung-sik, formerly of the group ZE:A.