Sam Hammington is probably one of the most prominent television personalities in the South Korean entertainment industry. He became famous through his appearance on the Korean military reality show Real Men in 2013, where viewers found him interesting because of his fluency in Korean and his funny but largely positive reaction to Korean military training, especially as a Caucasian without prior experience. His work on the series also earned him the 2013 MBC Entertainment Award. Read on as we guide you through the world of the Aussie entertainer living in Korea.
Sam Hammington’s Bio, Age
Sam Hammington was born on July 31, 1977, in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of a New Zealand father, Bruce William Hammington, and an Australian mother, Jan Russ, who is a casting director. He was named Samuel Mayer Russ Hammington and grew up in Melbourne, Australia.
Thanks to his mother’s career, he had the privilege of working in the Australian television industry from an early age. His earliest screen credits include Holiday Island (1981), All the Rivers Run (1983), The Flying Doctors (1983), and Neighbours (1985). However, he chose to concentrate on his studies, believing that appropriate knowledge would be useful in any project he embarked on.
After completing his secondary education he enrolled at the Swinburne University of Technology. During this time he decided to learn an Asian language to supplement his resume, so he studied Korean for 18 months. He graduated with a double degree in marketing and Korean studies before moving to the Korea University of Technology in 2002.
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During the 2002 World Cup, Hammington was given the opportunity to work in the Korean television industry, drawing on his previous television appearances and his knowledge and language skills that he has not looked back on since. Hammington has worked in various areas of the industry including radio, television, and film. He was also named the first foreign comedian in Korea after his breakthrough in the Gag Concert, the country’s most popular comedy program, in 2005.
His work also includes co-hosting a radio show called Drivetime from 2008 to 2012, co-hosting the variety talk show Witch Hunt in 2013, the TV series Let’s Eat (2014), a guest appearance on episode 15 of Who Are You: School 2015, and he was cast as Cha-Saem in Teacher Oh Soon-Nam in 2017. He has also starred in films such as How to Steal a Dog (2014) and has lent his voice to such film characters as the Soldier in the Boat in the 2002 film Jaemitneun Yeonghwa and the English explorer in Antarctic Journal (2005).
Over the years, the Korean-based Australian entertainer has become a big star in South Korea. Thanks to the numerous variety show in which he has appeared and his comedic contributions, he quickly became a heart-throb of the fans. Since 2013, he has appeared in a number of top Korean TV shows such as True Justice, Infinite Challenge, Creaking Heroes, Happy Together, 2 Days & 1 Night, Battle Trip alongside Sam Okyere. Others include the KBS2 show The Return of Superman, which follows famous fathers in South Korea who look after the home and children, My Neighbor Charles, Non-Summit, and Running Man.
For his appearance in Real Men, he received the 2013 MBC Entertainment Awards for Best Male Newcomer in Show/Variety.
Family – Wife, Son
Sam is married to a Korean woman, Jung Yumi, with whom he has been hitchhiking since 2013. The duo has had two wedding ceremonies in their respective countries; a traditional Korean wedding in Korea and a second one at Melbourne Zoo, Australia. They share two sons, both born in Korea.
Their first son, William Bruce Hammington (Jung Taeoh), was born after several failed attempts at conception, including four in vitro fertilization (IVF) and two artificial inseminations. He was finally born on July 12, 2016, while his brother Bentley Hammington (Jung Woosung) was welcomed the following year on November 8, 2017.
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Although he is famous as a comedian and actor, he is better known as “William’s father” because he regularly appears in The Return of Superman with his son William, who has won the hearts of the audience with his charming expression and intelligence. In addition, The Dead has won over 673,000 viewers on Instagram, which underscores his popularity with the Korean audience.
Other Facts About Sam Hammington
Sam Hammington not only speaks Korean fluently but also reads and writes it correctly.
He has two dogs, Mandoo and Gaji. A video, which his wife published on social media in April 2018, in which her son William beat his house dogs with a foam sword, made viewers shoot into his arms and accuse the toddler of animal abuse.
She then deleted the video and apologized for her careless behavior and upbringing. Hammington also published another apology for his son’s actions.
For an episode of The Return of Superman in 2018, Sam and his family went to Singapore on vacation and visited Sentosa and the Marina Bay area.
