Ong Seong-wu is a former member of Wanna One and now a promising actor.
There have been widespread talks in the media if Ong Seon-wu is an anti-Japanese because he was caught on camera wearing a sweatshirt with an anti-Japanese message.
Here I have discussed Ong Seong-wu’s profile and history, what is unusual about his name, if he has completed his military service, his pictures with BTS Jimin, the anti-Japanese allegations moving around him, and Ong Seong-wu on Instagram.
- Related: Cha-in Ha’s profile
Table of Contents
1. Ong Seong-wu Profile
2. How Did Ong Seong-wu Enter the Korean Industry of Acting and Singing
3. When Did One Seong -wu Join Wanna One
4. Ong Seong-wu’s Career As An Actor and Drama Ratings
5. Ong Seong-wu As a Singer
6. Is Ong Seong-wu’s name unusual?
7. Is Ong Seong-wu anti-Japanese?
8. Was the sweatshirt he wore with anti-Japanese slogan his private outfit?
9. Was he wearing the sweatshirt with an anti-Japanese slogan of his own volition?
10. Is it a mark of Patriotism?
11. Has Ong Seong-wu completed his military service?
12. Ong Seong-wu’s Instagram pictures
Ong Seong-wu Profile
Name: Ong Seong-wu
Born on August 25, 1995
Born in Incheon
Height: 179 cm
Weight: 58 kg
Siblings: One older sister Ong Seong Eun (born 1992)
Education: B.A. in Acting Arts, Dong Seoul University
Nationality: Korean
Career Roles: Actor, Singer
Popular Labels: Fantagio, YMC, and Swing
Associated Acts: Wanna One
How Did Ong Seong-wu Enter the Korean Industry of Acting and Singing
As a child, he learnt playing drums under the advice of his mother while his sister took piano lessons.
In his first year of junior high school, he played drums in the band club and participated in a competition, winning the grand prize.
Around this time, the entertainment agency Lion Media scouted him and he was inducted into the media company as a trainee.
There had been some internal troubles with the media firm and it was eventually shut down. Therefore, there had been some delay in his debut.
For quite some time, he could not sign up with any other firm due to contract issues.
In August 2016, he signed with Fantagio as an acting trainee at the behest of one of his professors at the college.
In 2017, at the age of 22, he participated in the survival audition show Produce 101 Season 2. In this program, he finished in fifth place.
When Did One Seong -wu Join Wanna One
On August 7, 2017, Ong joined Wanna One as a member in this project group. As part of the group, he showed up in some famed variety shows like Happy Together, The Return of Superman, Saturday Night Live Korea.
Along with his group member Kang Daniel, Ong was cast for the pilot episode of Master Key, a variety show. Later the organizers confirmed him as the fixed cast member of the show.
He successfully remained in the top 11 in Wanna One and led the group as lead vocalist and lead dancer. His contract with Wanna One ended on December 31, 2018.
“Energetic” was a song released on August 7, 2017 by the Korean boy band which became the lead single of 1X1=1, their first extended play. This single ranked #1 on the music charts for over 100 hours and garnered a total view of more than 100 million streams.
Wanna One’s debut album ranked No. 1 on several charts and this was the first time in history when a band’s debut album ranked #1 on charts.
Also, Wanna One became the first group to sell over a million albums since 2000. Their spectacular debut helped them stay on top of the Korean entertainment industry for quite sometime.
The band’s next single was “Burn It Up”, released in 2017. During their one-and-a-half year activities, they won a total of 43 awards at various award ceremonies.
Starting from Seoul for three months, the group has completed a world tour that has taken them to 14 cities around the world, including San Jose, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Australia, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
The group’s popularity was so great that there was some debate as to whether or not to extend their activities, but they disbanded on December 31, 2018, a year and a half later, as originally planned.
The 11 members regrettably moved on to their individual activities.
Ong Seong-wu’s Career As An Actor and Drama Ratings
After the breakup of Wana One, Ong Seong-wu started a new page in his career as an actor and solo singer.
In July 2019, he signed with JTBC and starred in the drama “At Eighteen“.
According to Na-Yeon Shim, the director of the drama, he had Ong Seong-wu in mind as the main character for this drama from the initial planning stage.
He said, “I saw a 15-minute short film that Ong Seong-wu was in, and I found him to be uniquely appealing.”
He was nominated for the Male Newcomer Award at the Baeksang Art Awards for this film, which was well received for its newcomer-like freshness and stable acting.
In 2020, he was selected to play the male lead in the TV series “More than Friends” and took on the challenge of a romantic comedy.
He is currently considered a rising star actor.
Ong Seong-wu As a Singer
On January 9, 2020, he released his first digital single, a fan song “WE BELONG”, a self-written song for fans, and held his first solo fan meeting “WE BELONG” with great success.
In March 2020, he released his first solo album “LAYERS,” in which he participated in writing all the lyrics, and began his full-fledged singing career.
It is for the fans who have supported Ong Seong-wu that he continues his singing career.
He considers music as a means of communication with his fans, but since he says “I originally wanted to be an actor and my passion still is acting,” it is expected that his acting activities will take center stage in the future.
Is Ong Seong-wu’s name unusual?
Ong is a very rare surname with only 1,000 people in all. This is the first time in history that there is a celebrity with the Ong surname in Korea.
One another famous person with this surname is the soccer player Ong Dong-gyun. Because of his unfamiliar surname, he is often called “Hongseongwoo” or “Ohseongwoo”.
Is Ong Seong-wu anti-Japanese?
Ong Seong-wu did not make anti-Japanese remarks. In April 2018, during his Wanna One activities, a fan caught him getting into a car after a fan meeting.
The reason why people say that the personal clothes he was wearing at that time might be anti-Japanese is because of the way he was dressed.
It was reported in Korea that this was a cool look.
Since it is not possible to get his true feelings about this from him, I will summarize the author’s opinion.
Was the sweatshirt he wore with anti-Japanese slogan his private outfit?
It is often reported that Korean celebrities go to the airport for their overseas schedule.
The fashion at this time is called airport fashion, and it is a great chance to see the celebrities’ personal clothes.
Fans find out which brand they are wearing, and the same items sell like hotcakes.
The manufacturers who take notice of this, even if only once, send a large number of fashion items to the office to be worn.
Based on this, airport fashion is not personal clothing, but a type of advertising.
Was he wearing the sweatshirt with an anti-Japanese slogan of his own volition?
With such popularity, everything he wears attracts attention, and the advertising effect is immeasurable.
Many people first learned of the existence of these trainers when they heard the news of Ong Seong-wu wearing them.
From the point of view of Japanese fans, this may seem quite insensitive, but in Korea, orders from the top are absolute.
The individual’s will is not reflected there, so if they are told to wear something, they have no choice but to wear it.
Is it a mark of Patriotism?
In Korea, there is no anti-Japanese awareness, and people are educated as pure patriotism. If he wore it of his own volition, it would be out of simple patriotism.
You would not think that the other side of patriotism would mean anti-Japanese. He probably has no idea what Japanese fans would think if they saw it.
With all the fashionable clothes out there, should a young person think that these clothes are cool? Walking around the streets of Seoul, I don’t see young people wearing clothes with political messages.
Has Ong Seong-wu completed his military service?
He was born in 1995, so as of 2022 he would be 27 years old, but he hasn’t finished his military services yet.
He is in his late 20s and is expected to be on a schedule for enlistment soon.
Ong Seong-wu’s Instagram pictures
Here we will see some of Ong Seong-wu’s incredible pictures posted on his Instagram account.
Finally
If you are conscious of the world, you have to be careful about every single thing you do and wear. You go out of your way to dress with a message and get caught on camera… it is bound to become a news, especially when you are a celebrity.
Personally, I think he was told to wear the clothes by his office or somewhere else, but only he knows what he really thinks.