Park Dae-ki

This is a Korean name; the family name is Park.

Park Dae-ki
Hangul	박대기
Revised Romanization	Bak Dae-gi
McCune–Reischauer	Pak Tae-gi

Park Dae-ki (born April 2, 1977) is a South Korean news reporter for Korean Broadcasting System. Park became an Internet sensation in South Korea after presenting a location report of heavy snowfall in Seoul in January 2010, during which he became increasingly covered in snow.

Biography

Born in Busan, South Korea, he graduated from Busan Science High School. He majored in electrical engineering at the School of Electrical Engineering, Seoul National University, and graduated with B.S. in 1999. He went to earn a Master's degree at the Graduate School of Public Administration (GSPA), Seoul National University. While he was at SNU, he prepared for the national bar exam.

In 2002, he won a grand prix at MBC's game show I love quiz. From 2003 to 2006 he also served as lieutenant at the Korean Air Force. Along with being accepted to Yonsei Law School in 2009, he was also one of eight new reporters selected by KBS. He currently covers news for the society division.

Internet phenomenon

On January 4, 2010, there was an unusual heavy snow in Korea which caused the roads be blocked and subways overwhelmed with a surge in ridership. Park Dae-ki was one of the new reporters reporting the weather situation and appeared in the news, trembling with cold, and his face and shoulders covered in snow. The frustration among the people because of the snow and the comic effect of his image, coupled with the fact that his name in Korean means "waiting", struck a chord with many online users in Korea. His email ID was also "waiting", which captured the frustration of the people for waiting next bus or train that are constantly delayed because of the overload and power outage caused by the snowfall. Some were impressed by his perseverance and tenacity that he stood outside preparing his time in the news. He became an instant celebrity and covered in the news media and thousands of blogs. Within a few hours an article about him appeared in Korean Wikipedia. He received over two thousand fan letters, and was interviewed in radio talk shows, appeared in the local game show 1 vs. 100 and made a cameo appearance in the pop drama God of Study as a news reporter for fictional KBC. His story was also one of the issues noted by a German student in KBS Global Talk Show.

References

• Star Reporter Born With Heavy Snowfall