"I want to live amongst normal people. And I wish underprivileged children didn't have to suffer pain." After his audition on 'Korea's Got Talent', Choi Sung Bong has been named the 'Full Force' of Korea, and earned attention from international media sources like CNN. It wasn't until very recently however, that he conducted his first formal interview. During a phone interview with Herald Media, Choi was asked what other interests he had other than singing. Choi responded, "When I was younger, I met a lot of people in the adult entertainment business. I haven't had the chance to talk to ordinary people. I want to learn how to associate with normal citizens." "Normal people can meet with their friends to share their burdens and encourage each other. But I don't have friends; I have my music. Music has offered me the comfort I needed, but now I would like to have relationships with average people." Maybe it's because of the way he grew up, but it seemed as though Choi was still uncomfortable making conversation with other people. His answers were short and brief, and he had a difficult time elaborating what was on his mind. "Children should never have to suffer through what I did," he stated. At the tender age of 3, he had no name and was given to an orphanage. He left the orphanage when he was 5 and began selling things like gum and energy drinks in an attempt to support himself. Most nights, he slept in public bathrooms. When he was asked about his painful past, he got a little worked up as he told Herald News, "Each day, I didn't know if tomorrow would come. When you're poor and hungry, no matter who you are, you resort to stealing. And the only people around me were violent and drunk people." He admitted that during his most arduous times, he was angry at the world. And because he was angry, he made a lot of poor decisions and did a lot of things he shouldn't have. He also let out his pent-up frustrations as he spoke about how he was taken advantage of. On the flip side, however, there were also a lot of people who helped him out of challenging times. He introduced us to the lady at the cart bar who finally gave him his name. Because he was never given a name, everyone around him would call him things like "Hey" or "You bastard", but a lady who ran a cart bar near the nightlife scene felt bad for him and gave him the name, "Ji Sung". It was with her help and encouragement that he became determined to pass the qualification exams for elementary and junior high school. To do so, he needed some basic information about himself, so he found a social worker to find his records at the orphanage he briefly stayed at. His name was recorded as "Choi Sung Bong", the name he "doesn't like". He cherished the name the cart bar lady gave him; he says it feels more like his own name. Auditioning for 'Korea's Got Talent' was a turning point in Choi's life, and he is eternally grateful to the person who encouraged him to try out. Choi explained that he saw a lot of singers perform during his days selling gum at nightclubs and thus developed a desire to sing himself. "I wanted to sing, but I didn't have the money to learn. I looked online for vocal instructors and found some, but none were willing to teach for free. In the end, I did find someone, but I only had one lesson a month, so it was really hard to get better." In regards to his final performance on 'Korea's Got Talent', he stated, "I'm intimidated by all of the sudden attention, but I'm going to do my best. I'm not sure if I can win; the results aren't up to me, but I think if I put in the hard work, it'll pay off." Although Choi was left at an orphanage at a young age, his birth father has been found. When asked if he reached out to his father, he informed us that he didn't want to answer. It was obvious that he was still extremely hurt and felt betrayed by the father who basically threw him away. Meanwhile, major media sources including CNN refer to Choi Sung Bong as the newest international star sensation after England's Susan Boyle to be discovered by a TV talent show. He is definitely attracting attention in Korea as well as overseas, as there are more than 1 million viewers (and counting) who have already watched his performance (official video) on YouTube alone. Source: Herald M via Nate