Taxes Se-rin revealed the background of becoming a Gayageum Sanjo performer.

On the broadcast of tvN's 'You Quiz on the Block' on the 7th, the first foreign Gayageum Sanjo performer, Se-rin, appeared.

On that day, Yoo Jae-suk asked, 'When did you come to Korea?' Se-rin replied, 'I came to Korea in 1992. At that time, President Roh Tae-woo was in office,' and noted, 'I have been living in Korea since 2008 for 17 years.'

Se-rin even surprised everyone by being able to speak five languages: English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and German.

Yoo Jae-suk mentioned, 'They say you are the first foreign Gayageum Sanjo performer. Congratulations.' In response, Se-rin said, 'I didn't know I would become a performer. Until now, foreigners were not allowed to take the exam, but it was recently permitted, and I wanted to be recognized. It was not an ordinary situation.'

Especially, it was noted that Se-rin passed the exam as the first foreigner, where many Koreans who have been learning for over 10 years have failed. He explained, 'I have been playing the Gayageum for a long time, so I can produce sound properly, and I wanted to be recognized for having learned it properly. The actual exam was terrifying, like a PhD exam at Harvard,' adding, 'I practiced for 33 years, and if calculated with sheet music, I memorized all 120 pages.'

In order to be recognized for his Gayageum skills, Se-rin would travel between Seoul and Jeonju every weekend to study. He explained, 'I would sleep in Jeonju on Sunday night, wake up early, prepare meals for my teacher, and from the weekend until Monday morning, I learned Gayageum, then on Monday afternoon, I quickly dressed in a professor's outfit and went back up. I practiced every day,' revealing that he did this for a full 15 years.

And on the highly anticipated exam day, Se-rin succeeded on the first try, reaping the fruits of his efforts. He shared, 'After the exam, I waited a week, and on the morning I went hiking, my teacher called. He said, 'Se-rin, you did it.' I felt so good. Two professors who were hiking with me cried, and I also started to tear up. I thought to myself, 'I studied a lot.'

[Photo] Captured from the broadcast of 'You Quiz on the Block.'

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