Lee Soo Man Wanted "Udong" As Debut Name for Shindong

SM Entertainment’s chairman Lee Soo Man has been gaining attention for his unique(?) way of naming idols.

On the December 13 episode of SBS “Strong Heart,” Super Junior‘s Shindong revealed some of Lee Soo Man’s name-making methods. On this program, he said, “Chairman Lee Soo Man suggested at first, ‘Since you have a funny image, how about Udong for your name?'” Shindong continued on to say, “I couldn’t debut with the name Udong (Udong is the Korean pronunciation of Japanese udon), so I told him that it was too much. He then suggested, ‘How about Dong Choon?'” 

Names containing “Choon” are considered very country-like and outdated in Korea. It’s almost like having a girl group idol debut with the name “Nancy,” Thelma”, or “Helga.” Either that, or it would be like seeing a hot male idol named “Hank,” “Norman,” or “Jenkins.”

“So I said, How about Shindong, since my real name is Shin Dong Hee? I could just take out the Hee from my name? Then he said, ‘Nah, that’s too ordinary sounding. Let’s go with ‘Shindon.”” 

Shindon can mean “New Pig.” “Shin” means new, and “don” means pig in chinese characters (新豚). 

Shindong continued on saying, “Since Kangta, Shinhwa, and Junjin all succeeded, I think he (Lee Soo Man) insists on naming people the same way.. but Shindon was too much!”

After the show aired, the netizens showed great interest by commenting, “Oh my goodness, Lee Soo Man has such great humor,” “The reason why SM is big is because of his naming strategy,” “All the celebrities and idols that belong to SM have unique names,” “LOL Udong is so funny!” and “Shindon IS too much…”

Would you still have liked Shindong if his name were to be “Udong,” “Shindon,” or “Dongchoon?” What are some idol groups or idols with crazy names? Please leave comments below on what you think!