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1019 Posts
http://esports.dailygame.co.kr/news/read.php?id=39653
Commentator Shark, “A new challenge, a new dream”
![[image loading]](http://img.dailygame.co.kr/news/201102/attachments/20110204_a7a59b229c5b0ac5865b8b59d72ba418.jpg)
If you have been watching the MBC Game channel recently, you can hear an unfamiliar voice among the commentators. Until the end of the match, the voice is a source of curiosity as there doesn’t seem to be a person that comes to mind. His pronunciation is very clear, yet his voice doesn’t sound like a commentator’s voice. But there are probably few who are able to figure out who this new person is.
Then when the game ends and the commentators’ faces appear on the screen, the viewers have nothing but surprise written on their face because the person they see is Shark – who through MBC Game’s variety shows has already experienced screen time – sitting next to caster Kim Min-chul. Progamer Shark. He has now entered the realm of commentating.
I met Shark right before the break, on the 1st. He is a rabbit on the Chinese Zodiac, which makes this New Year’s Day very special (T/N: This year is the Year of the Rabbit on the Chinese zodiac). But compared to most others who are happy to meet the new year, Shark’s feelings have rather fallen. His seriousness stems from the fact that he faces the difficult road of the commentator.
The luck of being able to be a commentator
Closing the book on his career as a progamer, Shark took on the goal to become a broadcaster. At first however, he did not begin working in broadcast to become a commentator. Because MBC Game already had outstanding commentators, Shark felt that there were no spots left.
“The commentators for MBC Game are very good at their jobs so I thought it would be impossible for me to try to get where they were. So for the past two years I focused more on building experience in the entertainment programs. I did not think that I would have ever been able to become a commentator for Proleague. It’s not that I didn’t dream of becoming a commentator; rather I couldn’t dream of becoming one.”
But after commentator Lee Seung-Won’s throat condition deteriorated, an opportunity came to Shark. Even before he could mentally prepare himself for the work, Shark found himself commentating and having to learn on the spot. One week before he began commentating, Shark received a message about the job and was able to grab the opportunity that he never even thought of before. Shark found himself both happy and nervous at the same time.
“Jumping into this job after not thinking about it was very surprising and confusing to me. At first I felt that I was really lucky to be given this opportunity but as time went on I felt more and more scared about it. I wasn’t preparing for this job so I hadn’t been watching Proleague recently. But I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.”
Shark remembers the phrase “Life gives you three chances”. And the opportunity to become a commentator seems to be one of those chances. Until he began commentating, Shark stayed up all night, watching the VODs that he hadn’t seen and preparing for his debut as a commentator.
Protect the pride of Zerg as a commentator!
Most of the players who transitioned into commentating roles have been either Terran or Protoss players. Strangely, there hasn’t been any commentators who played Zerg as progamers. Fans also discussed who would be the first Zerg player-turned-commentator.
![[image loading]](http://img.dailygame.co.kr/news/201102/attachments/20110204_441fce1158b606399c9b8a8da69fd3ed.jpg)
Shark was also pretty lucky in those regards. Even though he did not receive much attention as a progamer, the fact that he was the first Zerg player to become a commentator was the source of much notice from others. Becoming a commentator through good fortunes was the biggest change in his life.
“I guess I was pretty lucky because I’m a rabbit (laughs). I also found it interesting that there weren’t any commentators with Zerg background before. As a previous Zerg player, I know that I can protect the pride of being one by being the best commentator in ZvZ matchups. So I’m practicing my commentating for ZvZ a lot.”
Shark said that his role model was commentator Kim Jung-min. Kim also transitioned from progaming into commentating and is regarded as the most successful commentator. Shark explained how he wanted to become just like Kim.
“Being a progamer and then becoming a commentator can be bad in certain aspects. You only focus on the race you play so your understanding of the other races fall compared to other commentators. But Kim Jung-min hyung knows all three races at the highest level. It’s really amazing. I can tell that he put in a lot of effort. I want to become like him. I don’t want to know just Zerg but also be able to comment on the other two races at a deep level of understanding.”
Shark understands both his pros and cons.
I wonder if there are any commentators who knows about himself as much as Shark does. Along with comments from others, Shark knows exactly his strong and weak points, which suggests that he is progressing fast in his development as a commentator.
“A lot of people congratulate me on having a clear and distinct voice that is unlike a rookie commentator. My pronunciation and speaking improved a lot after attending acting school (T/N: Not “school” in the traditional sense, but Korea has many small private institutions that specialize in teaching certain subjects, like acting, for example, that many students enroll in, either to get better grades in regular school or specialize in some kind of skill.). But it’s hard even for me to hear the tone of my own voice (laughs). I have a relatively high-pitched, cheery voice that I think is a strong point for me personally, but now I realize that it’s a disadvantage for commentating.”
After hearing netizens and others comment that he “sounds like a gay guy”, Shark has been working on making his voice tone sound better. He tries to speak loudly at a lower tone. And the second day was better than the first, and the third day was better than the second.
“Along with my tone, my command of vocabulary is not strong. And I sometimes say the wrong thing while on air. I want to be able to say a variety of expressions but the words don’t come out as I want them to (laughs). I know my own weak points better than anyone else so I know I’m going to get better so I’m not worried about it.”
“Please pack some tasty food for me.”
Even during the holiday, Shark cannot rest peacefully. He needs to spend more time making up for his shortcomings and watching old VODs. But even though he won’t be able to pass his break having fun as he normally would have, Shark still feels thankful and gratified.
![[image loading]](http://img.dailygame.co.kr/news/201102/attachments/20110204_cdce1f522ec4bd9883aba000c28a1cf2.jpg)
“To be honest, I wasn’t that successful as a progamer. I practiced hard but I wasn’t sent out often and because I wasn’t given many opportunities, I began to wander and I felt lost. But now I have a task given to me and because I have the opportunity to work hard I am very happy. I feel like my success depends only on me now. I will continue to work hard during the holiday to become a better commentator.”
Shark lets out a sigh at the thought of missing out on the good food of the Lunar New Year holiday. During a previous interview he asked his fans “please pack the leftovers for me”. Shark must really miss the New Year’s food.
“I want to pass on my fortunes during the Year of the Rabbit to everyone. I hope you have a happy new year and I hope only good things happen to you all. And don’t forget to pack the leftovers for me (laughs). I will do my best to become a better commentator so please cheer for me.”
Interview credit goes to: Lee So-ra 이소라 기자 sora@dailyesports.com
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you scared me. I though the "new challenge" involved leaving commentating for SC2.
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Awesome article, thanks for posting.
I always just knew Shark as this mysterious legend who invented muta-stacking (never really saw him play), but after watching the Hyungjoon series, I became a huge fan. He seems like such a nice and genuine guy.
It's great to see him having some success in commentating!
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I love shark after watching him in hyungjun.
Will be watching out for him in live casts and possibly in the new season of hyungjun?!
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Whoo! I love shark! I hope he does well with his commentating career; Shark seemed to be a very knowledgeable player from what I remember from "Hyungjun becomes a progamer."
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Hope he'll be successful with commentating =)
Thanks for the translations
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Shark is one of the reasons I love MBC
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Best of luck to Shark. His commentary so far has been really good for someone with such little experience, I hope his commentating ability continues to skyrocket and it won't be such a let-down listening to MBC commentary vs OGN. Even as a player he was a revolutionist in his own right, if he hadn't discover the mutalisk stacking bug, we may have never seen the rise of July and other Zergs.
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Japan11546 Posts
Yo my brother! Just wanted to say that.
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go revolutionize commentary like you did with zerg 
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Hahaa, good stuff Shark! I want you to try yelling as loud as caster Park used to in the good ol' days!
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Reliable sources claim he's experimenting with voice stacking, casting might never be the same.
Thanks for the translation <3
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this is cool but then totally depressing because ill never get to understand his commentating at all :\
(exact same feelings I had when nal_ra became a commentator)
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Oh my god, Shark commentator? I won't be able to miss a single game in MBC ever again.
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Good for him.
Only guy I've seen hydraling rush a terran
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On February 05 2011 10:49 Saechiis wrote:
Reliable sources claim he's experimenting with voice stacking, casting might never be the same.
Thanks for the translation <3
LOL voice stacking
Shark is such a baller. Hands down.  Thanks for the translation! And Good luck to him!
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United States5582 Posts
You are on FIRE right now! Holy crap, you're on a translation rampage~ @@;;
Thank you very much for the interview! It's great to see Shark as a commentator now, even though his voice is relatively high-pitched compared to the other commentators and he stands out a lot from them, I think that he is really suited to his new job. And ugh, netizens. Being classy as always and calling Shark's voice "sounding gay"... If only Shark wouldn't worry about their stupid comments and just be himself, he really doesn't have to lower his tone, he does a fine job at what he does. But netizens will be netizens. ==; I wish Shark the best of luck in the future though as a commentator! I can tell that he's improving very rapidly already!
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What a boss, this is awesome
Hope he can keep it up for a long time!
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1019 Posts
On February 05 2011 11:21 Spica wrote:You are on FIRE right now! Holy crap, you're on a translation rampage~ @@;; Thank you very much for the interview! It's great to see Shark as a commentator now, even though his voice is relatively high-pitched compared to the other commentators and he stands out a lot from them, I think that he is really suited to his new job. And ugh, netizens. Being classy as always and calling Shark's voice "sounding gay"... If only Shark wouldn't worry about their stupid comments and just be himself, he really doesn't have to lower his tone, he does a fine job at what he does. But netizens will be netizens. ==; I wish Shark the best of luck in the future though as a commentator! I can tell that he's improving very rapidly already!
Haha thanks And thanks guys, you guys are very welcome. I haven't been able to translate articles because of school and I'm still busy with studying but its the weekend now and I want to go back at it. I don't think I can bang out a bunch at about the same time very often anymore but there are other outstanding translators who are very good so there should always be a stream of new BW news from Korea. I'll try to translate the longer ones, or anything else when they are published on fomos/ESD when I can
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United States5582 Posts
On February 05 2011 11:41 white_horse wrote:Show nested quote +On February 05 2011 11:21 Spica wrote:You are on FIRE right now! Holy crap, you're on a translation rampage~ @@;; Thank you very much for the interview! It's great to see Shark as a commentator now, even though his voice is relatively high-pitched compared to the other commentators and he stands out a lot from them, I think that he is really suited to his new job. And ugh, netizens. Being classy as always and calling Shark's voice "sounding gay"... If only Shark wouldn't worry about their stupid comments and just be himself, he really doesn't have to lower his tone, he does a fine job at what he does. But netizens will be netizens. ==; I wish Shark the best of luck in the future though as a commentator! I can tell that he's improving very rapidly already! Haha thanks And thanks guys, you guys are very welcome. I haven't been able to translate articles because of school and I'm still busy with studying but its the weekend now and I want to go back at it. Plus I enjoy translating and I enjoy bringing progaming news to english speakers. I don't think I can bang out a bunch at about the same time very often anymore but there are other outstanding translators who are very good so there should always be a stream of new BW news from Korea. I'll try to translate the longer ones, or anything else when they are published on fomos/ESD when I can
No probs! ^^ There are a LOT of long interviews/articles being released recently (it seems that Reach and Yellow have answered everyone's prayers), so there's plenty of translation material out there! I don't really have the patience to translate long interviews since I have a very short attention span, so it's great to see you stepping up and translating so much for everyone here on TL. Well, I miiight translate a certain progamer's interview that shares the same birthday as me, so... *Trails off with indirect tone* ;]
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Glad they added him! He is an amazing personality
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hell yea~
hes already looking like an MBC commentator lol
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Shark is really one of the most overlooked players in terms of starcraft history - you zerg's should be thanking him for muta stacking and for being one of the major influences in modern sim city ZvP
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United States7481 Posts
glad to see him remaining involved in esports
is the kim jung min mentioned  TheMarine? i didn't know he was one of the commentators
nvm i guess it is him! I thought i had remember something about him going to the army recently and it turns out it was, but he was having to stop casting to do so.
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can someone point out what latest games did he comment on?
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On February 05 2011 10:41 c3rberUs wrote:
Yo my brother! Just wanted to say that.
Yo my brother! I hope he throws one in once in a while
He seemed a little bit shy on the show but hopefully he will go crazy like the other MBC commentators
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awesome, thanks for translating
good luck to shark with his new career as well!
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28102 Posts
Shark is awesome. I think he will be a great commentator.
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Shark was my favourite character in Hyungjoon anyways and now hes a commentator. Gunna <3 him even more now.
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Wow good on ya Shark!! :D Thanks for translation
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After hearing netizens and others comment that he “sounds like a gay guy”, Shark has been working on making his voice tone sound better. He tries to speak loudly at a lower tone. And the second day was better than the first, and the third day was better than the second.
Bah. I didn't think he sounded like a gay guy on Hyungjoon. It's almost like there are no out, gay public figures in South Korea and they have no idea what a stereotypical gay person sounds like.
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the head commentator is kim chul min, not kim min chul which is  Soulkey's name just to clear some confusion
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He seemed like a really nice guy on hyungjoon. Hope he does well, I mean he did discover muta-stacking after all.
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Really cool to hear. I was actually hoping that they'd make Hyungjoon a commentator^^
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Damn, so many translations! 8)
Viva la Brood War.
I love Shark, I'm glad he's gone into more venues of BW.
Fighting!
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Great to know hes a commentator now.
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heh, kinda hard to get excited for a "better" zvz commentary.
but good to see shark as a commentator now.
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To be honest, I kinda actually recognized his voice. For some strange reason, I'm pretty good at recognizing voices, so much so that my friends think its kinda creepy.
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Epic epic translation work for past week you are so awesome white_horse!!
And Shark, what a baller, going straight to tv work after rough progaming career
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First time when I hear his voice in his first commenting in SWL, I wonder it is his voice? His voice is really different compare to other MBC Game commentators. It is good to see him as commentator now. Wish him good luck :D
By the way, thank you for translating. I am really appreciate it :D
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YO MAI BRATHA!!
So Shark was the new voice I've been hearing. Good luck to him and I appreciate him a lot as a zerg.
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Hong Kong20321 Posts
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On February 05 2011 10:13 hacklebeast wrote:
you scared me. I though the "new challenge" involved leaving commentating for SC2.
Hey, more Shark on any Star-something *and* TV is always good.
Shark fighting!
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hyun joon can now go find him & bug him to let him try out commentating a few game ~
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Holy ffffuuuuuuuuuck. This is awesome. Thanks for the translation.
It's always fun to hear about stuff like this that most of us would miss.
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Thanks for the translation, interesting info.
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I'm glad to see that Shark earned the position. It is unfortunate that commentator Lee had to leave, so it is nice to have a silver lining.
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EPT
