Ko Ji-yong surprised everyone when he posted a photo with the caption, “Seung-jae’s last shoot” on his Instagram account. Ji-yong is an inactive member of the first generation K-pop group Sechskies. His equally famous 5-year-old son, Seung-jae, is one of the children featured in the show “The Return of Superman.”
We know we will miss the antics of Seung-jae. We listed the reasons why we fell for his charms.
1. He loves animals, especially sea creatures
We saw him crying over crabs, eels, lobsters and shrimps. His dad once brought home crabs to cook. He cried and begged him to keep the crabs alive because he cannot eat his friends. When his Dad left to receive a phone call, he hid the crabs while telling them he will protect them.
In another episode he cried when a restaurant staff cut and grilled eels right in front of him. He caught some eels earlier. He did not stop crying until his dad told him that the staff can put the eel back together. The staff grilled it out of sight. The only reason Seung-jae ate it was because he was told it was meat.
2. His patriotism is inspiring.
Seung-jae’s favorite song is “Dokdo is our Land.” Dokdo or Liancourt Rocks is a group of islets located at Japan Sea. It is a point of contention between Korea and Japan. The song asserts Korea’s sovereignty over Dokdo.
When Seung-jae visited Dokdo, he paid respect to all the guards on the island by giving them a salute. He also gave them signed CDs of singer Sunmi. Before leaving, he took a group photo with the other tourists while holding the Korean flag and a banner saying “Dokdo is our island.” He led the singing of his favorite song.
3. His confidence is one for the books
In one episode, Seung-jae was asked to sing the national anthem and throw the ceremonial pitch before a baseball game. He said he was feeling nervous but when it was time to sing, he did it with confidence that made Ji-yong proud of his son.
4. He cares about other people.
Seung-jae and his dad attended a mountain festival to participate in a parent and child cook-off. While waiting for their food, two actors playing the role of beggars approached the father and son asking for food. Seung-jae felt so sorry for the two that he cried and hugged them. He then asked his dad for money which he gave to the beggars. He told his dad that he wants to cook delicious food to share to the beggars.
5. The kid is a genius.
He was given a psychology test when he was 27 months old. The result revealed that Seung-
jae is part of the 0.1 percent of kids with high intelligence. His advanced vocabulary was the reason why he likes to talk to adults and older children. Seung-jae’s intelligence was on display in almost all episodes of the show. There were also episodes of Seung-jae conversing with foreigners in English, Spanish and Chinese.
6. Seung-jae is an idol.
Seung-jae has shown that he inherited his father’s singing and dancing talent. One time they were walking on a busy street when Sechskies song “Couple” suddenly played out of nowhere. He started dancing and performing to the delight of the people around him. He also danced perfectly to SHINee’s “Ring Ding Dong” after Choi Min-ho babysat him. His fans hope that he would meet other members of Sechskies in the future.
7. He is hardworking and responsible.
They went to Pyeongchang to help the elders make Kimchi. Seung-jae worked hard from cabbage picking to the actual making. It annoyed him that his father kept eating the cabbages that they were seasoning. He gave back massages to the other workers but skipped his Dad because he thought he was not working hard enough.
8. He truly is adorable and playful.
Seung-jae’s playful side was in full blast when they visited a studio to get his photo taken. When he was instructed to sit still and smile, he would raise his arm and stick out his tongue. He kept on running away so the photographer resorted to a high chair to keep him still.
Seung-jae helped him eat when Ji-yong hurt his arm. When dad was not looking, Seung-jae prepared a wrap full of spicy sauce. He also prepared his specialty soy sauce coffee for “2 Days and 1 Night” star Kim Jong-min when he babysat him
9. His loves his Mom
Whenever he had to pick between his mom and another woman, he always chose his mom. On his mom’s birthday, Seung-jae told his mom that he loves her like he loves his dinosaurs. It is one of the best compliments ever.
10. Dad is everything for him
Seung-jae would tell the crew of “Superman” that he does not like his dad. But his actions would always be the opposite. He was acting up once so Ji-yong used the “Daddy has Shrunk” method to correct his behaviour. He told his son that he will only return to the regular size if he behaves. Seung-jae cried and made sure to take care of his tiny daddy.
Once his father him money to buy snacks. Seung-jae bought the snacks but returned with a bowl of porridge for his then sick father, too. The best one yet was when Ji-yong and another “Superman” dad Dong-gook played a prank on Seung-jae. Ji-yong wore a polar bear costume. Dong-gook’s son Sian asked the bear if he ate Seung-jae’s dad. The bear nodded his head. Seung-jae started crying and begged the bear to return his dad to him.
When Ji-yong removed the bear’s head, Seung-jae got mad at first. But it passed quickly and he ran to his father to hug him. He cried even harder because he could not contain his gratefulness that his father is safe.