Meet Bisu, the representative of the handsome progamer (T/N: “Handsome” here is “꽃미남” which literally means “flowerboy”, a common expression for a guy who is good-looking in a pretty, cute way, as opposed to being masculine.)
“I want to meet a girlfriend who is considerate of others.”
With both a good-looking face and being a highly skilled progamer, Bisu can be considered the “best progamer” of this generation. He is currently ranked 1st in number of wins in the 2010-11 Shinhan Bank Proleague and has recorded 3 all-kills in this season’s Winner’s League; Bisu is at his height again.
How could we not interview him in spite of all this! He is the subject of interest for those who want to interview him before the Lunar New Year holiday. Rather than asking him about his matches again, this interview focused more on his private life, which we don’t get to hear about often. Can’t we learn about his individual leagues and the Proleague in the interviews after his matches? Today, lets meet the person Bisu, rather than the gamer Bisu.
“Hobbies? I don’t have any.”
Even with busy practice schedules, other progamers have at least one personal hobby. Sea enjoys soccer while Light buries himself in books. Canata collects figures (T/N: I’m not sure what they mean by “figures”) while Jaedong participates in health training, for example.
But Bisu doesn’t have any hobbies. Even on rest days he usually stays inside the practice house and spends time by himself. He seems dull if you look at it a certain Way but Bisu doesn’t seem to mind.
“I don’t have any particular hobbies. So on rest days I usually stay in the practice house and spend time there. I watch TV, go on the internet, or exercise, and that’s pretty much all I do. But most of our team members are like that (laughs). Most of their homes are far away and it’s difficult to meet friends so they end up staying in the practice house.”
“But isn’t this kind of lifestyle boring and dull?”
“I don’t think of it that way. Progamers have very tight schedules so we have to rest when we can rest. And most of my friends live far away so unless I have someone special to meet, I just stay in the practice house (laughs).” So we asked him if he wanted to start up any hobbies because we remember when he enjoyed soccer during his days as a member of the MBC Hero team.
“I think I’d enjoy a sport like skiing or snowboarding but I don’t know how to ride them and I’m afraid that I’ll hurt my hand (laughs). I played soccer a lot back then but now I want to protect my hands so I don’t anymore, and there aren’t really any good playing fields around the practice house…if there is a nice hobby that you can do without having to use your body so much, please recommend it to me.”
Already 6 years as a progamer, he is now a veteran player.
It has already been six years since Bisu has debuted as a progamer. Since moving to SKT1 from MBC Hero, Bisu, along with his Samsung KHAN counterpart Stork, has been leading the Protoss players, leading both to be called “Twin Carriages”.
Although he is still young in age, he has become one of the senior members of his team. With the exception of their Captain Hyuk, no one else is older than Bisu. Simply by looking at his age (23) and the number of years he has already been in the progaming scene, One can tell how young average progamers are.
“I am very far Into my career. When I was a part of MBC Hero, I was the youngest but after 3 years in SKT1, I guess I’m a veteran now. I’m the oldest after Hyuk hyung. And I’m the same age as Best.”
Since teams have been decreasing the size of their team, SKT1’s number of players have decreased a lot. There was once more than 20 players but now there are just 10 members. Bisu appeared sad that the team was scaled down.
“Teams have become a lot smaller recently and it seems like a lot of energy has disappeared. Our team is continually looking for new players but it seems like the level of amateurs have decreased a lot. I hope we get more players so that the team atmosphere can become lively again.”
SKT1’s lodging and practice house are separated. Players wake up in the morning and prepare for practice and then have to walk to the practice house. This is a rare occurrence in progaming teams.
“Because our team’s practice house and living area is separated, it is hard to walk to the practice house during Winter. We have to walk 10 minutes. But I think that keeping the two places separate is good for us.
“I share the room with Hyuk and Fantasy so we’ve become pretty good friends. But we don’t go out together or have fun together. Fantasy has been busy practicing for his individual leagues and Hyuk and I have to practice a lot so there isn’t a lot of time. Ever since our team got a lot smaller, I miss being able to eat out with team mates .”
Because he was a member of MBC Hero for a while, he is still friends with their players. Recently, Sea, Tyson, and Shark visited the SKT1 lodging and they went out to eat together.
“I usually talk with MBC Hero players through MSN chat. Recently, Shark hyung, Tyson, and Sea came to our place and had cooked gut. There was a really nice restaurant but they suddenly closed so now we can’t go there anymore”. (T/N: Yes I know “cooked gut” sounds really disgusting but that’s the literal translation. It’s just one of hundreds of different dishes you can eat in Korea.)
Handsome Progamer Bisu!
As we had mentioned in the beginning of the interview, Bisu is one with both skill and good looks. Many girls are surprised at how good he is and how handsome he is at the same time. Bisu gets commented that he is good-looking in every interview, but he denies it…but isn’t it obvious that people will comment on his good looks if he is good looking?
“What do you think of your good looks?”
“No I’m not that handsome. If you saw my actual face, you’d be disappointed.”
“But at the fan meetings, all your fans look at your face and say you are handsome…”
“That’s because I put makeup on. You’ll be surprised if you look at my face without makeup on it. Look at me right now. My skin condition is very bad. I’m worried because my skin on my face isn’t looking very good recently. It might be because of stress, I don’t know.”
To put it bluntly, the player with a nice face will get more attention than the other, even if they are both equal in skill. People are naturally attracted to beauty. By looking it at it this way, Bisu seems like he is really a blessed person.
“I guess you could say that being handsome while at the same time being a good player puts beauty on top of what is already beautiful. (T/N: “금상첨화” is an expression to describe this) I think Junitoss hyung from MBC Game or control are really good looking.” “But don’t you think you are just as good looking?”
“I think I’m lacking (laughs). There are a lot of players that are better looking than me. I think players like RuBy, Best, and Fantasy are better looking than me.”
“But I think you are better looking than them…”
“That’s because everyone’s standards are different (laughs).”
Even guys who are not that good looking have their moments when they feel that they are handsome. For example, your appearance when you see yourself after taking a shower or after sweating a lot after heavy exercise. Most guys would probably attest to this. So we asked Bisu too: When does he feel he looks the most handsome?
“I’m not sure. I guess my face right when I wake up? It seems cute and funny when my hair is really messed up (laughs).”
Because he is good looking, he is popular with the makeup staff from both broadcasting channels (OGN and MBC Game). One staff member said “Bisu’s face is so perfect that he doesn’t really have to worry about makeup”. Bisu suggested that his TV appearance is better than his regular face.
“The staff members from both companies are really good at putting makeup on. I think the staff at MBC Game have the right style set up for my hair. I like my hair the way it is, not making it crazy (laughs). To be honest I want to lift my hair up to show my forehead but that makes me look old so I can’t do it. I’m already 23 years old so I want to look younger.” “Don’t you have any thoughts on getting your skin (on your face) checked at a clinic?”
“I’m thinking of doing it offseason. And since I’m already putting on makeup during broadcast, getting my treatment for my skin seems like it won’t be good for it (laughs). But I don’t know any good skin clinics around here. If you’re a fan and you’re reading this interview, please recommend some good clinics near our place.”
Considerate and thoughtful? Then good enough to be my girlfriend!
23 is an age when one is very interested in the opposite sex. But progamers have limited time to meet people and have busy schedules, making it hard to meet girls. Bisu agrees that he’d like to date a girl but he feels he doesn’t have the chance to, feeling kind of sad about it.
“Do you have a girlfriend right now?”
“Me? No. I’ve actually dated several girls but all of them couldn’t understand my lifestyle. They didn’t understand how I was so busy when all I did was play games so I couldn’t have a long relationship with any of them. I always want to date a girl but at the same time I get anxious that my match records will fall so I keep hesitating.”
“What is your ideal person like?”
“Most guys would agree that it be nice if she was pretty (laughs)? The most important thing to me is someone who can understand my lifestyle as a progamer. I want to meet a girl whose tolerance and understanding of another is deep.”
Bisu and “TaekBaengLeeSsang”
Bisu is a member of TBLS. Because the four players were put together because of their skill, it seems like Bisu is friendly with all of them. Bisu seems especially friendly with Stork and Flash.
“Stork hyung is really approachable. He’ll do any favor you ask him. He seems very composed and sure of himself. And Flash is very considerate. And because he’s won so many tournaments his wallet is thick too (laughs). After KT won the finals last time, Flash offered to pay for me and Fantasy when we went out to eat together. So we ate a really nice meal, but it turned out that Flash forgot his wallet at KT’s lodging. So I offered to pay that day but Flash insisted that he pay me back and afterwards he gave me the money for the meal. So I got a free meal I guess (laughs).”
“Then what about your relationship with Jaedong?”
“To be honest it hasn’t been long since we’ve known each other personally. I haven’t been able to figure out his personality yet.”
“You seem to be doing the best out of TBLS right now.”
“Not really. Stork hyung beat me in the last MSL. If it wasn’t for him I could have gone higher in the bracket but it seems like I don’t have a lot of luck. And Flash is doing really well too. Flash’s play is always solid but when I see my own play it seems unstable. I feel like I’d lose to him (laughs).”
Happy New Year! (T/N: Asian countries celebrate the Lunar New Year in addition to the western New Year on January 1st)
Bisu’s house is in Seoul but his hometown is in Cheonan. He always visits his hometown during the holidays every year and in this Lunar Year holiday break, he’s planning to spend time there.
“I have these cousin hyungs who live in Cheonan that I go to the internet café with to play Brood War. They really like the game.” “But a progamer playing with amateurs? Your cousin hyungs must be very lucky (laughs).”
"Before I became a progamer, they were much better at Starcraft than me. So I used to think that they were really good. But after playing them now they seem so bad. They didn’t get worse at the game; rather I’ve gotten better than them (laughs).”
Because of the new year, Fomos did fortune telling for some of the well known progamers. Of course Bisu’s fortune has been posted as well, just yesterday. Bisu said that in the New year he’d like to get the most wins in the Proleague and also be able to go to school like a regular student.
“Because I’m doing pretty good right now, I want to get the title for most wins. The Proleague’s standards have gotten higher so the “most wins” title has also become more prestigious so it’d be Nice to win the title. And a lot of fans would Remember my name more. And I want to go to school. I became a progamer when I was 17 so I haven’t Really been able to Live my life as a student. I think it’d be fun to go around having fun with my classmates.”
Bisu is currently attending Sejong Cyber University. Bisu said during the interview, “I usually say that I go to Sejong University,” commenting that it’d be very misleading if a “Seoul Cyber University” student said that he went to “Seoul University” (T/N: Seoul National University is the most prestigious university in South Korea) but just saying that I go to “Sejong University” isn’t as misleading, laughing about it.
(T/N: Bisu is basically shortening his university’s name to just “Sejong University” to make it appear that he goes to a better school than he actually is, and is laughing about how calling his own university “Sejong University” instead of “Sejong Cyber University” isn’t as bad as someone claiming to attend “Seoul University” when in fact they go to “Seoul Cyber University”.)
The interview went for an hour without any mention of Proleague or Bisu’s matches. It was kind of awkward to interview him about more personal subjects but Bisu laid out a very social and comfortable atmosphere, making jokes and helping the interview go smoothly. In his last interview before the break, Bisu had a few words to say.
“For those who are going south to their hometowns, I hope you have a safe trip. Since you’re meeting your family members in a long while, be sure to play “Yut” and “Hwatu” (T/N: Both of these are traditional Korean games) and other fun games. I hope you have a good time and have a happy new year. I’ll be sure to have a good time myself and return to Proleague with a well-rested appearance. Thank you.”
Interview credit goes to:
Lee Jung-han - 이정한 기자 leoleo@fomos.co.kr Lee Hae-rin - 이혜린 기자 rynnn@fomos.co.kr
On February 04 2011 12:19 white_horse wrote: You guys better enjoy this article because I spent like 2 hours translating it lol.
I LOVE ARTICLE! Even though I can read Korean ... lol still, reading it in English has a different feeling to it. Plus Bisu is my favourite progamer! THanks! ^^
Not a surprise that Bisu cannot have a normal relationship. Typical shy nerd that is incredibly cute. Makes me wonder how often he was put in the friendzone in the past.
Thanks for the translate. Even though im not a Bisu fan, the interview is appreciated since it's about his personal life. I wish Bisu and Jaedong start becoming good friends
I didn't know this about Light... hmmm, now I want a Light interview. Too bad there are only like 3 people on all of TL that actually are Light fans, even if there is an extended Light interview floating around.
thanks for the translation, white_horse! =D It seems cool that Bisu is friends with Stork and Flash, but I kinda wished that Bisu and Jaedong would be better friends (meaning that they'd practice together more meaning that the level of PvZ would rise to new heights XD)
i was going to do this article after i read op's post about "having no time due to study" lucky i found this thread otherwise id have wasted a heap of time good work on the translations
is it just me, or does anyone else think that bisu isnt so "hot" or "handsome" he definately isnt ugly..in fact above average, but i get the feeling jaedong is abit more good looking.. and u got to love how sea looks! ^_^
Canata collects figures (T/N: I’m not sure what they mean by “figures”)
“I usually talk with MBC Hero players through MSN chat. Recently, Shark hyung, Tyson, and Sea came to our place and had cooked gut.
just some things id like the point out canata collecting "figures" refers to action figurines etc and also i think rather than MSN they would be using NateOn
On February 04 2011 13:02 SpaceFighting wrote: is it just me, or does anyone else think that bisu isnt so "hot" or "handsome" he definately isnt ugly..in fact above average, but i get the feeling jaedong is abit more good looking.. and u got to love how sea looks! ^_^
Obviously "hot"/"handsome" is subjective. But generally someone who is considered attractive by the majority of people is hotter than someone who is only considered attractive by some people. So no, you're obviously not the "only" one, but you're definitely in the minority.
Thank you very much for the translation! I saw this interview on Fomos when it came out, but my reaction whenever I see long articles, no matter what language they're in, is to go "ahhh tl;dr" and ignore it for ages until I finally muster up the attention to go read it. You're quite fast at translating; since I have the attention span of like 3 seconds only, this interview would definitely take days for me to translate compared to your fast pace! So your hard work and efforts are definitely appreciated here. Great job!
And lmfao, Bisu liking Flash's wallet... Yes, we all like good friends with fat wallets too. ;P
Thanks for the translation! Longer interviews are more fun because they aren't short and snappy, it has a little more body to it. A shame Bisu doesn't get to do much with his free time, but tis the life of a pro gamer.
On February 04 2011 12:19 white_horse wrote: “Do you have a girlfriend right now?”
“Me? No. I’ve actually dated several girls but all of them couldn’t understand my lifestyle. They didn’t understand how I was so busy when all I did was play games so I couldn’t have a long relationship with any of them. I always want to date a girl but at the same time I get anxious that my match records will fall so I keep hesitating.”
Sounds like all the girls Bisu dated dumped him... how greedy can you get?
Canata collects figures (T/N: I’m not sure what they mean by “figures”)
“I usually talk with MBC Hero players through MSN chat. Recently, Shark hyung, Tyson, and Sea came to our place and had cooked gut.
just some things id like the point out canata collecting "figures" refers to action figurines etc and also i think rather than MSN they would be using NateOn
Hmm... I recall Shark using MSN in Hyungjun's show. Pretty sure most Koreans use MSN still. Also the "figures" Canata collects are more likely along these lines.
So, I have a question, because I am seriously working towards this...
I want to move to Korea and either become a procaster or interviewer, maybe do ESL? Aside from learning Korean, how do I go about this? I want to meet Bisu in person and just have a chat, that would honestly be a bucket list kind of deal for me.
I just don't think he is good looking, I think he looks weird. His overall facial shape looks like an upside down pear and his eyes look like a dead fish's. I think Reach, Calm, Hwasin, Savior, Anytime etc are better looking progamers.
Also, I think the reason Bisu and Jaedong don't get along is they are both shy and awkward but since Bisu is older and it's Korean culture, it's on him to reach out to JD which he doesn't do. I think Bisu resents JD because he was the first zerg who really just straight up beat him at his best matchup, shattering his world. i still remember that game on blue storm.
Ok Bisu always is saying he is ugly and always lists Ruby as someone who is more handsome, but this time when he said FANTASY of all ppl was more handsome than him I knew it was just an act put on by Bisu
and lol @ the gf comment, the reason he hasn't died out skill-wise like the progamers of old was because he didn't get with any girls
Am i the only one who think Fantasy is really handsome? Back in 2008, I found this guy look exactly like young Boxer and became fan of him. His face looks attractive (with make up ofc and also no mouth breathing, lol)
On February 04 2011 14:41 The Intrepid wrote: Don't go binging on fangirls, Bisu! Stay celibate. Make the ultimate sacrifice to starcraft (at least until OSL gold)!
You can't expect the guy to be celibate for the rest of his life.
I didn't know this about Light... hmmm, now I want a Light interview. Too bad there are only like 3 people on all of TL that actually are Light fans, even if there is an extended Light interview floating around.
Yep. No recent Light interview but DES did long interviews with Jaehoon, Shark and Dream.t)check this yr. Most MBC fans here don't know Korean though so we can't read them.
Edit: It's sad that SKT had to let go 10 b-teamers in the off season. But I know at least 2 of them went to MBC so at least they're still in BW.
Thanks for translating! I have a better understanding of Bisu after reading this interview.
I didn't know this about Light... hmmm, now I want a Light interview. Too bad there are only like 3 people on all of TL that actually are Light fans, even if there is an extended Light interview floating around.
me too. I mean, I want Light interview. In my opinion, Light is mysterious :D It nice to hear that Bisu still close with MBC Hero team members especially Shark & Sea :D
By the way, thank you for translating. I'm really appreciate it.
“But don’t you think you are just as good looking?”
“I think I’m lacking (laughs). There are a lot of players that are better looking than me. I think players like RuBy, Best, and Fantasy are better looking than me.”
Fantasy? Really? Either way, I think the only two people at Bisu's level regarding looks (my opinion) are Hwasin and Baby. I'd also put Yooi over the three, not gonna add Reach to the equation cause that would be plain unfair.
“But don’t you think you are just as good looking?”
“I think I’m lacking (laughs). There are a lot of players that are better looking than me. I think players like RuBy, Best, and Fantasy are better looking than me.”
Fantasy? Really? Either way, I think the only two people at Bisu's level regarding looks (my opinion) are Hwasin and Baby. I'd also put Yooi over the three, not gonna add Reach to the equation cause that would be plain unfair.
Why is it that guys always have to deny they're handsome? I understand them saying opposite if someone keeps calling them cute but handsome is different deal.
I agree with Bisu on Fantasy's looks though, I mean from some angle he actually looks quite fine. From that one certain angle :D
I read this before in Korean but I'm so very glad that you took time to translate this because I couldn't understand everything. Thank you and Happy Lunar New Year!
If you don't think Fantasy is ugly, I implore you to look for the gif where he's spraying a super soaker into the crowd after beating Jaedong in the 09 Proleague finals.
On February 04 2011 12:19 white_horse wrote: “Do you have a girlfriend right now?”
“Me? No. I’ve actually dated several girls but all of them couldn’t understand my lifestyle. They didn’t understand how I was so busy when all I did was play games so I couldn’t have a long relationship with any of them. I always want to date a girl but at the same time I get anxious that my match records will fall so I keep hesitating.”
Sounds like all the girls Bisu dated dumped him... how greedy can you get?
Canata collects figures (T/N: I’m not sure what they mean by “figures”)
“I usually talk with MBC Hero players through MSN chat. Recently, Shark hyung, Tyson, and Sea came to our place and had cooked gut.
just some things id like the point out canata collecting "figures" refers to action figurines etc and also i think rather than MSN they would be using NateOn
Hmm... I recall Shark using MSN in Hyungjun's show. Pretty sure most Koreans use MSN still. Also the "figures" Canata collects are more likely along these lines.
some koreans might, but the majority use nateon on if anything to chat nateon is connected to their "cyworlds" (korean alternative to facebook?) and so it is much easier for them to chat that way rather than use a whole new program
I used to really think bisu was the man. Now i honestly think he doesn't have the hard edge that a progamer should have. I feel like hes happy being one of T1s aces and performing well, but not amazingly. He doesn't have that all-consuming hunger to the be the best that flash and jd have, and all of the true gods of starcraft before them.
I wonder how many of Bisu's fanboys will be able to say "I'd go gay for Bisu" after this reading this interview and seeing so many of his awesome pictures.
I agree amateur skill is dropping. At least, its rising so slowly it appears that way. Even though its 'harder' to get higher ranks on iccup...that's merely because people don't emulate the techniques and basic timings of pro gamers. I'll even watch current A- users miss simple timings.
Nice interview many many thanks for the translation ! :D It's cool to see even tho all these players, stork, Flash, jaedong and compete against eachother at this high level and give everything they got to beat each other, they remain very good friends outside the sport and eat together and hang out :D !
On February 05 2011 00:42 tryummm wrote: I agree amateur skill is dropping. At least, its rising so slowly it appears that way. Even though its 'harder' to get higher ranks on iccup...that's merely because people don't emulate the techniques and basic timings of pro gamers. I'll even watch current A- users miss simple timings.
This is something I'm concerned about. As time goes on, interest in brood war will decrease slowly in Korea, especially as SC2 has appeared. Kespa should do all it can to promote the progaming industry and continue to promote the courage tournament to encourage more young people to enter the industry.
Still my favorite intro (ok maybe after Ever 2004, or Gilette 2004 for that matter). Just pause at 0:30 to see Fantasy. + Show Spoiler +
I was really looking for the Finals intro but I couldn't find it
...
Bisu > Fantasy guys, but then again Bisu isin't going to just go and say "Oh yea, and I think I look better than my team-mates, especially the ones I sit next to in practice ^^ ..."
The "Handsome Progamer" should hopefuly have someone send him something interesting, constructive and fun to play with, [hint hint ppl living in the eastern hemisphere], like a competition-grade Rubik's Cube (DaYan GuHong, Diansheng, Eastsheen, sube4u DIY, Type-A, GhostHand, Hiyan Memeory etc.), or a
I'm not surprise there are a lot of closets among many gamers. I mean look at all the replys just by the op "meet bisu, the HANDSOME progamer". I'm just kidding LOL Bisu is really unlucky with the recent OSL and MSL but doing great in SWL ( 3 all kills?)
men who appear on TV all wear makeup, and its no different for progamers either. Its not like bisu walks out in the street with eyeliner on, they just want him to look good on TV.
On February 12 2011 20:46 Raii wrote: Bisu thinks Hwasin is handsome, but I really can't accept that. Hwasin friggin looks like a real-life buddy of mine. For reference: Hwasin
On February 04 2011 12:19 white_horse wrote:Meet Bisu, the representative of the handsome progamer (T/N: “Handsome” here is “꽃미남” which literally means “flowerboy”, a common expression for a guy who is good-looking in a pretty, cute way, as opposed to being masculine.)
On February 05 2011 03:22 Mumei wrote: He's ugly, and the mouth-breathing (HiyA has nothing on him) makes it worse.
Are you implying mouth breathing is bad?
In N. Amerca, mouth breathing gives off a negative image. Go to the wikipedia page on mouth breathing if you want a short read on it.
i think it's more like open-mouth progamer (they play with the :O expression on their face). Oov used to do this, I guess that's what happened when you had to practice with Boxer 24/7 haha
EPT
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