In every season of Netflix’s Single’s Inferno, a couple of contestants always stand out from the rest. This time around, in the third season of the dating show, Lee Gwan Hee gained attention for both his confident demeanour and charismatic personality ‒ resulting in three girls “fighting” over him.
But beyond the onscreen portrayal, fans who’ve known Lee Gwan Hee since his days as a professional basketball player would know that there is so much more tot him. Check out the list of facts about the 36-year-old below.
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In Korea, three universities are considered the most prestigious in the country ‒ Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University aka SKY. To gain admission to any of them, you have to be really smart and lucky.
Thanks to Lee Gwan Hee’s stellar performance as a basketball player in high school, he earned a place at Yonsei University as a sports major. Although he mainly served as the sixth man for three years – the first player to be substituted in a match – he couldn’t fully showcase his skills until his final year in university. Since then, he has been nicknamed, Ace.
Here’s a surprising fact ‒ Lee Gwan Hee actually applied to be on the second season of Single’s Inferno. Picture him alongside other contestants from Season 2 like Jin Young and Nadine.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to get clearance from his basketball team Changwon Sakers, and as a result, he couldn’t appear on the show. However, after a year of persuasion, he finally got the green light and submitted his application again to be on the dating show.
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Well, you’re not alone if you think you’re seeing double. Lee Gwan Hee bears a striking resemblance to Korean rapper Beenzino. Even before Lee Gwan Hee appeared on Single’s Inferno, many of his fans had already commented that he looked like the Korean rapper.
Fingers crossed that both of them would meet up for a photo together one day. Cue Spider-Man pointing meme.
After graduating from Yonsei University, Lee Gwan Hee began his professional career with the basketball team Seoul Samsung Thunders in 2011. He stayed with the team for a total of 10 years, only moving to Changwon to play for Changwon Sakers in 2020.
He is currently the captain of the team, and plays as the shooting guard. According to various reports, he also renewed his contract with Changwon Sakers in 2021, and will be playing with them at least until the end of the season in 2025.
Most basketball players are tall, so it is not surprising that Lee Gwan Hee stands at a height of 190cm. He mentioned his height on the dating show, and his tall physique garnered the attention of many netizens.
If Lee Gwan Hee seemed familiar before Single’s Inferno Season 3, it might be because of his notable appearance on a 2019 episode of the Korean variety show Running Man. In that episode, he displayed his impressive basketball skills and easygoing personality, shooting hoops with the Running Man members.
After the filming of the episode ended, Lee Gwan Hee also took a photo with popular Korean MC Yoo Jae Suk, and uploaded it on his Instagram.
Basketball player aside, Lee Gwan Hee is a YouTuber who creates content about his daily life, basketball competitions, and travel adventures. Many of his fans enjoy watching them, and now that Single’s Inferno Season 3 has come to an end, some are also wondering if he will be uploading any videos that feature his fellow cast members.
Check out his YouTube channel here.
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When Lee Gwan Hee was called to serve the nation, he enlisted in the Korean Armed Forces Athletic Corps Basketball Team in 2014. Rumours circulated that during his time in the army, he was allegedly bullied by his superiors, who were also his basketball seniors.
Although there was no concrete evidence that the bullying had occurred, many speculated about the tension he experienced with several other basketball players during matches.
Sometimes, it isn’t easy to keep your cool on the court, and there were several instances when Lee Gwan Hee became agitated and actually got physical with other basketball players. One incident involved him chest-bumping basketball player Lee Jung Hyun so forcefully that the latter fell and landed on his back, as seen in one YouTube video.
Although it remains unclear why the two have been “hostile” to each other, there were speculations that Lee Jung Hyun was the bully when Lee Gwan Hee was in the army. Moreover, many believe that their strained senior-junior relationship since their time at Yonsei University has led to such a predicament.
Here’s the thing about life ‒ there will always be people who dislike you no matter what you do. Lee Gwan Hee knows this firsthand, with anti-fans sending trash to him via the pay-later delivery system during the 2019-2020 basketball season. As a result, he needed to fork out his own money to cover the delivery fees.
There are many ways to determine how skilful a basketball player is – one of which is by looking at the average points scored in a game. According to Lee Gwan Hee’s official profile, he averages 9.6 points per game, and is ranked 38th in Korea as of 2023.
In 2016, Lee Gwan Hee went to the Philippines and played for the Filipino Professional Basketball Association (PBA) during his off-season. He became the second Korean basketball player after Kim Ji Wan to play in the PBA, and participated in a total of 12 games.
Not long ago, he shared a heartwarming photo on Instagram, reminiscing the moment when he had a meal with his coach and friends in the Philippines.
Lee Gwan Hee may have attained the nickname Ace, but he went through a slump, and didn’t perform as well as he used to. He faced criticism for his inaccuracy in throwing 3-pointers as well as his “violent” behaviour during games.
To start afresh, he decided to shave his head and keep his hair short as a way to express his fighting spirit. It turned out that his new look received positive feedback, and perhaps that is why even till now, he has been keeping his hair short.
When Lee Gwan Hee first started his career as a professional basketball player, reports indicated that he was earning around KRW100 million won per year (~S$101,00). More than a decade later, his annual salary has increased to KRW600 million won (~S$610,000) ‒ six times the amount he earned initially.
In one of his YouTube videos, during a shopping spree with a friend, eagle-eyed fans noticed that Lee Gwan Hee owns a black card. In Korea, owning a black card means you belong to the top 0.05% of the country’s wealthiest people. Wow.
Besides playing for Changwon Sakers, Lee Gwan Hee was selected to be part of the lineup for the Korea Basketball League (KBL) All-Star Game 2023. This selection speaks volumes about Lee Gwan Hee’s popularity, given that only 24 basketball players were chosen to play the game based on fan voting.
As part of an initiative to fund the basketball youth development programme in Korea, players auctioned their KBL All-Star Game jerseys. Remarkably, Lee Gwan Hee’s jersey fetched the highest bid of KRW1.98 million (~S$2,004).
Seeing may not always be believing, and sometimes, it is better to take a step back and give a person the benefit of the doubt. While Lee Gwan Hee’s appearance in Single’s Inferno Season 3 has led many to believe that he is a walking red flag, he might just be portrayed in a certain way due to the editing by the producers to make the show more interesting.
Nonetheless, these facts about Lee Gwan Hee show that he is a hardworking person who is very passionate about basketball, and works diligently to achieve his dreams.
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