The year he turned 26, he debuted on Gag Concert as a member of KBS’s 27th open recruitment of comedians. In 2013, he married after his then-girlfriend became pregnant.
In 2014, his first daughter was born. In 2020, Gag Concert, on which he had appeared for eight years, was canceled, and he opened the YouTube channel Ppangsongguk with Lee Chang-ho.
The breakthrough yearThe year he turned 35, he drew attention with his alter ego Mad Monster, and Ppangsongguk passed 100,000 subscribers.
In 2022, Ppangsongguk joined Meta Comedy, and he won the Best Icon Award at the KBS Entertainment Awards. In 2023, he drew attention again with the Lee Geung-young impression Gyeongyeongjadeul and also appeared on Netflix’s Comedy Royale. In 2024, he joined JTBC’s The Gentlemen’s League 3 and finished runner-up on Netflix’s Comedy Revenge.
In 2025, his Jung Woo-sung impression “Apologize to me” became a catchphrase. While appearing on The Gentlemen’s League 4, he needed surgery for a leg injury.
In 2026, he won the Comedy YouTube Grand Prize at the Busan International Comedy Festival, and his daily life juggling eight regular programs was shown on TV.
Kwak Bum (born Nov 1, 1986) debuted on Gag Concert in 2012, the year he turned 26, as a member of KBS’s 27th open recruitment of comedians, and became known in 2021, the year he turned 35, when his YouTube alter ego Mad Monster drew attention. In 2026, the year he turned 40, MBC’s Omniscient Interfering View showed his daily life juggling eight regular programs.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.
Selected in 2011 as a member of KBS’s 27th open recruitment of comedians and took the Gag Concert stage the following year. He had tried for the recruitment for four years.
Source 02 · Newsen (Korean) · Selection and debut · opens in a new tabSource 01 · Korean Wikipedia · Kwak Bum · opens in a new tab The period of attempts at the open recruitment is from Wikipedia and could not be confirmed in news reports.Married after his then-girlfriend became pregnant.
Source 04 · Newsen (Korean) · Birth of a first daughter · opens in a new tabSource 05 · At Style (Korean) · Birth year and second daughter · opens in a new tabA first daughter was born four months after the wedding.
Source 04 · Newsen (Korean) · Birth of a first daughter · opens in a new tabA second daughter was born.
Source 05 · At Style (Korean) · Birth year and second daughter · opens in a new tabOpened it with Lee Chang-ho around the time Gag Concert was disappearing. The title of the first video was “Gag Concert canceled!! What do we do for a living now?”
Source 07 · Xports News (Korean) · Ppangsongguk’s first video · opens in a new tabSource 06 · News1 (Korean) · Ppangsongguk and Mad Monster · opens in a new tabGag Concert, which began in 1999 and ran for 21 years, was canceled.
Source 03 · My Daily (Korean) · Gag Concert is canceled · opens in a new tabIn episode 12, the cast was split into Kwak Bum’s team and Yoo Se-yoon’s team.
Source 27 · Topstar News (Korean) · Jangreuman Komidi, episode 12 · opens in a new tabSource 06 · News1 (Korean) · Ppangsongguk and Mad Monster · opens in a new tab The date of his first appearance could not be confirmed. The date given is that of episode 12, in which his appearance is confirmed.Drew attention as Tan, his character in the alter-ego act Mad Monster, which grew out of the content “Girlfriend POV.” Ppangsongguk passed 100,000 subscribers.
Joined Weverse, the fan community platform of HYBE, home of BTS and others.
Source 08 · Topstar News (Korean) · Mad Monster joins Weverse · opens in a new tabBecame part of Meta Comedy, which is also home to Psick University and Shortbox.
Source 09 · Star News (Korean) · Exclusive contract with Meta Comedy · opens in a new tabWon it with Kkondaez, a project group formed on Boss in the Mirror, together with Hur Jae, Kim Byung-hyun, Kim Jung-tae, Lee Dae-hyung, Jung Ho-young and Yoo Hee-kwan.
Source 10 · OSEN (Korean) · 2022 KBS Entertainment Awards winners · opens in a new tabSource 11 · OSEN (Korean) · Kkondaez members · opens in a new tabCompeted as the team Janabi Jeongsang with Lee Seon-min and Lee Jae-yul and was eliminated quickly.
Source 13 · Star News (Korean) · Comedy Revenge producer interview · opens in a new tabSource 28 · TV Report (Korean) · Comedy Royale interview · opens in a new tabA YouTube segment in which he impersonated the actor Lee Geung-young with Hwang Je-seong and Kwon Hyuk-soo became an internet catchphrase.
Source 12 · Sports Donga (Korean) · Gyeongyeongjadeul draws attention · opens in a new tabA fake documentary in which he and others, including Lee Soo-geun and Lee Su-ji, teach actors comedy acting.
Source 14 · Dailian (Korean) · Method Club · opens in a new tabJoined after the audition “Draft 47.” He described himself as a true fan of The Gentlemen’s League.
Source 15 · OSEN (Korean) · The Gentlemen’s League 3 audition · opens in a new tabSource 18 · TV Daily (Korean) · The Gentlemen’s League 3 finale · opens in a new tabCompeted again with Lee Seon-min and Lee Jae-yul, with whom he had been on Comedy Royale, and finished runner-up.
Source 13 · Star News (Korean) · Comedy Revenge producer interview · opens in a new tabSource 16 · Newsen (Korean) · Comedy Revenge challenge · opens in a new tabParodied the song by Rosé and Bruno Mars with Eom Ji-yoon. The video passed 1 million views about 14 hours after its release.
Source 17 · Korea Economic Daily (Korean) · “APT.” parody · opens in a new tabGot his wish to play a full match as the lone striker in the finale.
Source 18 · TV Daily (Korean) · The Gentlemen’s League 3 finale · opens in a new tabPerformed an impression of Jung Woo-sung’s acting in the drama Padam Padam. Sports Chosun wrote that the impression became a meme and was acknowledged by Jung Woo-sung.
Source 19 · Sports Chosun (Korean) · Jung Woo-sung impression · opens in a new tabHe said that while appearing on JTBC’s The Gentlemen’s League 4 he broke his fibula and completely tore ankle ligaments. He appeared on crutches as a special DJ on SBS Power FM’s Cultwo Show.
Source 20 · Sports Seoul (Korean) · The Gentlemen’s League 4 injury · opens in a new tabTook part as the team Ppangsyotguk with Lee Chang-ho.
Source 21 · Nocut News (Korean) · Joins Comedy Short League · opens in a new tabNews emerged that he would appear as a player on the Wavve survival variety show.
Source 22 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Joins Game of Blood X · opens in a new tabNot a regular member, but has appeared four times since June.
Source 24 · Ilgan Sports (Korean) · Appears on Hangout with Yoo · opens in a new tabThe prize goes to the comedian who was best liked on YouTube over the year. He said he has taken part for 10 years in a row.
Source 23 · Hankook Ilbo (Korean) · Busan International Comedy Festival · opens in a new tabMBC’s Omniscient Interfering View showed his daily life juggling eight regular programs. He said that after Gag Concert ended he sold off his wife’s luxury bags and even his daughters’ first-birthday gold rings and tried to give up on becoming a comedian.
Source 25 · Maeil Business Newspaper (Korean) · Confession of financial hardship · opens in a new tabSource 26 · News1 (Korean) · Eight regular shows · opens in a new tabEND OF SELECTED RECORDSSelected records, 2012–2026 · not a complete list of work. “Key moment” is an editorial label, not a measure of success.
What did they do, and at what age?
AgeTrail lines up the key moments of a life by age.
Debut and breakthrough are marked separately, and every record has a source.
Comedy · South Korea
Nov 1, 1986 —
Ages are counted from the birth year 1986: the year of the event minus 1986, birthdays aside. “Key moment” labels and the connecting story are AgeTrail's editorial reading.
Fact-checked: 2026.09.29 · An independent archive, not affiliated with the person or their agency.