# Haha (entertainer)

Ha Dong-hoon (Korean: 하동훈; born on August 20, 1979), better known by his stage name Haha (하하), is a South Korean singer, rapper, variety show host and member of RGP. He is best known for being in the sitcom, Nonstop and for co-hosting two popular variety programs, MBC's Infinite Challenge and SBS's Running Man. He has also hosted his own show, titled "Ya Man TV" on Mnet in 2015.

## Life and career
### 2000–2008: Debut and rising popularity

Haha was born on August 20, 1979, in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany and moved to Seoul, South Korea when he was an infant. His parents are both Korean, with his mother holding a doctorate in psychology, and he has an older sister, Ha Ju-ri (하쥬리) who is a pianist, also with a doctorate. Haha graduated from Daejin University, where he obtained a master's degree in Drama and Fine Arts. He later signed to Seoul Records and debuted as a singer and rapper in 2001 with hip hop group, Z-kiri [ko]. Despite excessive promotion, Z-kiri failed to get popular and was quickly disbanded.
In 2002, Haha became a co-host for the show, What's Up YO! alongside MC Mong and Jerome To. The three later became known as the "What's Up Trio" because of their strong friendship on-screen. Haha later joined the main cast of the third season of Nonstop, a sitcom about a group of college students and their friends and family. He remained a part of the cast up until 2003 which managed to gain him recognition for his acting and comedy skills. Haha later became the producer and presenter for his own radio show with MC Mong, known as Haha and Mong's Journey in 2004 for SBS Power FM.
After leaving Nonstop, Haha spent two years alongside singer Taw, to prepare and record his debut album titled, "The Beautiful Rhyme Diary". The album was released on February 18, 2005, alongside his debut single, "Love Song" but it failed to chart or garner popularity. He eventually guested on X-man on May 22, 2005, and became popular for his imitations of close friend, Kim Jong-kook. His sudden popularity spike allowed him to become a regular guest for X-man, arguably the biggest variety show of that time.
Thanks to his rising popularity, Haha was added to the cast of MBC's Infinite Challenge by December 2005 as the part of the program's format changes under new PD of the program, Kim Tae-ho. By the time Season 3 aired in 2006, the concept and format of "variety & reality program" became very popular, and Infinite Challenge became the forerunner of many programs that followed with the same or similar format. Since December 2, 2006, the program has received the highest ratings of prime-time lineups for Saturday evening. In his final episode before entering the service, Haha performed at a guerilla concert at Yeouido Park that was secretly organized by his fellow co-hosts.
He also returned as a guest for the sixth and final season of Nonstop in 2006. In 2007, Haha released his second single, "You're My Destiny" which took samples from the song "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King. The single managed to reach number one on the Gaon Chart and he performed it on his Comeback Stage on Music Bank in November. Haha later joined the show, Happy Shares Company as a co-host until February 2008.

### 2008–present: Military service, Running Man, and career in music

In February 2008, Haha temporarily left Infinite Challenge in order to serve his national service in the army. Previous reports had stated that he had been attempting to evade his military service. However, these reports were confirmed to be false and Haha's service had only been postponed. During his service, he collaborated with a new group Davichi for their song "Love and War". After 24 months of serving the military, on March 11, 2010, he was discharged.
After finishing his military service, Haha returned as a cast of Infinite Challenge following requests from his fellow co-hosts, Yoo Jae-suk and Noh Hong-chul. He also made regular guest appearances on Yoo Jae-suk's talk show Come to Play and was also the co-host of the Haha-Mong Show with MC Mong up until allegations sprung up that MC Mong had attempted to evade his military service. Since 2010, Haha is one of the co-hosts for SBS variety show, Running Man. On December 30, 2011, Haha received the award for "Best Entertainer" during the 2011 SBS Entertainment Awards for his work on ''Running Man''. He also performed his single, "Rosa" during the award ceremony.
In 2012, he continued his musical career by collaborating on a mini-album, "Skull & Haha Ya Man", with fellow reggae artist Skull, who was previously with Stony Skunk. The two performed one of its tracks, "Busan Vacance" on several TV music shows, and Haha performed the song along with other cast members during fan meets for the Running Man show. In 2012 he was also featured along with Gary, on their fellow Running Man cast member Kim Jong-kook's comeback album, "Volume 7 – Journey Home" in the song "Words I Want to Say to You".
In 2013, Haha collaborated with Skull once again, on a single titled "돈암동 멜로디" as well as an EP titled "REGGAErilla". Also, Haha and his wife welcomed their first son, Ha Dream, on July 9 on that year.
In 2014, he and Kim Jong-kook formed a musical duo, Running Man Brothers, and visited the United States for a concert tour, in July and December.
In 2016, Haha collaborated with Skull on a single titled "Love Inside", featuring Stephen Marley. The song ranked in the top ten of a Jamaican video chart when it was released. He has 2 new variety shows: Talking Road and Rebound. In addition, he will be hosting alongside Jeong Jun-ha for a new high school rap battle show, to be aired on Mnet in 2017.
In 2018, Haha had decided to resign as the CEO of Quan Entertainment and his longtime manager, Jang Hyung-chul will be taking over the position.
On December 8, 2021, Haha released his second extended play Gap, the first for 10 years since Quan Ninomarley A.K.A HaHa Reggae Wave in 2011.

## Personal life

On August 15, 2012, it was announced that he was going to marry South Korean singer Byul. The couple married on November 30, 2012. The couple welcomed their first child, Dream, on July 9, 2013. Their second son, Soul, was born on March 22, 2017. Their third child, a daughter, Song, was born on July 15, 2019.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Love in Magic | Park Dong-sun | Supporting role |
| 2006 | My Boss, My Teacher | Jin Soo | Supporting role |
| 2006 | Who Slept with Her? | Ahn Myeong-seop | Lead role |
| 2006 | Holy Daddy | Ha Dong-hoon | Lead role; Credited as Ha Dong-hoon |
| 2007 | The Friends | Halibut | Supporting role |
| 2007 | Happily N'Ever After | Mambo | Lead role; Korean dub voice-over |
| 2015 | MBC Chuseok Movie Special : Begin Again | Dan Mulligan | Lead role; Korean dub voice-over |
| 2016 | Life Risking Romance | | Cameo |
| 2022 | DC League of Super-Pets | Ace / Bat-Hound | Lead role; Korean dub voice-over |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002–03 | Nonstop | Haha | Lead role; Season 3 |
| 2012 | Star Life Theatre | Himself | Aired from April 16 to 20 |
| 2015 | A Girl Who Sees Smells | Himself | Cameo with Running Man members |
| 2015 | Temporary Idols | Lee Chan-Hyuk | Cameo as Lee Chan-hyuk of AKMU |
| 2018 | Lovely Horribly | Eul-Soon's ex-boyfriend | Cameo (Episode 1) |
| 2021 | So Not Worth It | restaurant customer where Jamie works | Cameo (Episode 1) |
| 2023 | My Dearest | Farmer | Cameo (episode 12) |
| 2024 | My Sweet Mobster | Pharmacist | Cameo (Episode 1) |

### Television host
#### Current programs

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2010–present | Running Man | Co-host | Episode 1–present |
| 2019–present | Eye Contact [ko] | MC | Episode 13–present |
| 2021–present | The Playlist | Main cast | Episode 1–present |
| 2021–present | Hangout with Yoo | Co-host | Episode 102–present |
| 2022–2023 | High School Daddy | Host | Season 1–3 |
| 2022 | Oh Eun-Young Report - Southern Couple | Host | |
| 2022 | Pahaha | Cast member | |
| 2023 | Haha Bus | Cast member | with family |

#### Former programs

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002–03 | What's up YO! | Co-host | Alongside MC Mong |
| 2005–18 | Infinite Challenge | Co-host | December 2005 – March 2008 March 2010 – March 2018 |
| 2006–08 | Music Bank | Host | Left in February 2008 to serve his national service |
| 2007–08 | Happy Shares Company | Co-host | Left in February 2008 to serve his national service |
| 2010 | HahaMong Show | Co-host | Alongside MC Mong |
| 2012–13 | Haha's 19TV Mutiny | Host | Ended in April 2013 |
| 2012–13 | Porridge Making Woman, Undying Man | Co-host | Alongside Kim Ok-jung (Haha's Mother); ended in April 2013 |
| 2015 | Invisible Man | Himself | Episode 1–12 |
| 2015 | Ya Man TV | Host | Episode 1–24 |
| 2015 | Law of the Jungle | Member | Episode 175–177 Brunei Hidden Kingdom Special |
| 2015 | Battle Trip | contestant | Episode 5–6, along with Hyun Joo-yup and Kim Seung-Hyun |
| 2015 | XTM Rebound | Regular player | , formed a team with Kim Seung-Hyun |
| 2016–17 | Talk Road | Co-host | Also known as "Talking Road" or "As I Say"; Alongside You Hee-yeol; Episode 1–24; Season 1 ended in March 2017 |
| 2017 | High School Rapper | Co-host | Alongside Jeong Jun-ha, Episode 1–8 |
| 2017 | Secret Variety Training Institute | Co-host | Episode 1 (Pilot variety); Alongside Noh Hong-chul |
| 2017–18 | Everybody is Dating Except Me | Co-host | Episode 1–12 |
| 2018 | How Are You.MOV | Co-host | Episode 1–present, Alongside Yoo Se-yoon |
| 2019 | Shopping Cart Savior | Cast | Episode 1–4 |
| 2019 | Earthian Live | Co-host | Episode 1–12 |
| 2019 | Na Na Land | Co-host | Episode 1–8, alongside DinDin and Lee Yong-jin |
| 2019 | We Play | Cast member | Episode 1–12 |
| 2019 | Music Box [ko] | Host | Season 1 |
| 2019–2020 | Rewind | Team Leader | Episode 1–24 |
| 2020 | Career Counseling | Host | Ep. 1–4, with Hwang Kwanghee |
| 2020 | Most Normal Family [ko] | Host | Episode 1–10 |
| 2020 | Strong Friendship | Cast | Episode 1–10 |
| 2020 | We Play 2 [ko] | Cast | Episode 1–12 |
| 2021 | The Return of Superman | Narrator | Episode 363 –382 |
| 2021 | Chick High Kick | Cast Member | Episode 1–12 |
| 2021 | Crazy Recipe Adventure | Main Cast | Episode 1–10 |
| 2021 | Quizmon | Co-Host | |
| 2022 | Riverside Song Festival New Challenge | Host | With Jung Da-hee |

### Web shows

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2017–19 | Big Picture | Cast Member | Alongside Kim Jong Kook |
| 2018 | Royale Adventure | Member | Episode 1–11 |
| 2021 | Outrun by running man | Cast Member | Running Man spin-off |
| 2021–present | Doo-Tap Nom | Host | with Park Myung-soo |
| 2021–present | Bottom Duo | Host | with Jung Jun-ha |

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | KOR |
| The Beautiful Rhyme Diary | Released: February 18, 2005 Label: Pure Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download | — |
| Acoustic Tuning Time (with Taw) | Released: March 22, 2012 Rereleased: July 10, 2012 Label: Quan Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download | 35 |

### Extended plays

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | KOR |
| Quan Ninomarley A.K.A HaHa Reggae Wave | Released: September 14, 2011 Label: Noah Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download | 19 |
| Gap (공백) | Released: December 8, 2021 Label: Quan Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download | — |

### Singles

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album |
| Title | Year | KOR | Sales | Album |
| "Love Song" (사랑가) | 2005 | — | | The Beautiful Rhyme Diary |
| "Story of a Short Kid" (키 작은 꼬마 이야기) | 2007 | — | | Infinite Challenge Gangbyeon Road Concert |
| "You Are My Destiny" (너는 내 운명) | 2007 | — | | Non-album singles |
| "It's Been 7 Years" (7년만이야) (with Wow, MC Jinri) | 2008 | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Yes, I Can't Sing" (그래 나 노래 못해) | 2008 | — | | Non-album singles |
| "Hangover" (술병) (feat. Tiger JK) | 2010 | 13 | | Non-album singles |
| "You Are My Destiny 2" (너는 내 운명 2) | 2010 | 23 | | Non-album singles |
| "How Are You?? Fine Thank You!!" (하와유?? 파인 땡큐!!) (feat. Skull) | 2011 | 34 | KOR: 277,732 | Quan Ninomarley A.K.A HaHa Reggae Wave |
| "Rosa" | 2011 | 47 | KOR: 281,610 | Quan Ninomarley A.K.A HaHa Reggae Wave |
| "Pat Pat" (토닥토닥) (feat. Sohyang) | 2012 | 34 | KOR: 323,318 | Non-album single |
| "Love" (사랑) (with Taw feat. Gary, Kim Greem) | 2012 | 14 | KOR: 517486 | Acoustic Tuning Time |
| "The Person by My Side" (내 품이 좋다던 사람) (with Taw feat. Ha Dong-kyun) | 2012 | 42 | KOR: 203,742 | Acoustic Tuning Time |
| "Acacia" (아카시아) (with Taw feat. Sosung) | 2012 | 82 | KOR: 48,649 | Acoustic Tuning Time |
| "Sexy Boy" (섹시 보이) (feat. Young Ji) | 2013 | 6 | | Park Myung-soo's How About This? |
| "Super Weeds Man" (슈퍼잡초맨) (with Kiha & The Faces) | 2013 | 8 | | Infinite Challenge Jayu-ro Song Festival |
| "Brilliant Is..." (with Skull, Geeks, Zico, Mad Clown, Swings, Double K, Zizo, Soul Dive, Heo Kyung-hwan, Kim Ji-min feat. Gill, Jung-in) | 2013 | 75 | | Non-album single |
| "$ponsor" (스폰서) (with Zion.T) | 2015 | 3 | | Infinite Challenge Yeongdong Highway Music Festival |
| "White" (화이트) (with Oh My Girl feat. M.Tyson) | 2016 | 88 | KOR: 25,689 | 1Love Winter |
| "Shoot" (쏘아) (with Mino) | 2016 | 3 | | Infinite Challenge Great Heritage |
| "What Sub?" (with Zizo, Ice Puff, H2adin) | 2017 | — | | Non-album single |
| "I Like It" (좋아) (with Running Man cast members) | 2019 | — | | Running Man Fan Meeting: Project Running 9 |
| "Little Taekwon-V Song" (병아리 하이킥 송) (with Dong Hyun Kim, Na Tae-joo, Taemi, Kim Yo-han, UL) | 2021 | — | | Non-album single |
| "Gap" (공백) | 2021 | — | | Gap |
| "Ice Bottle" (머리 물 뿌려) (with U-Kwon) | 2023 | — | | Non-album single |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. |||||

## Commercials

* 2002: 700–5425
* 2003: OTTOGI CORPORATION 3Minute
* 2003: Binggrae
* 2007: Lotte Card CO., LTD.
* 2008: TriGem Computer Inc.
* 2010: Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd.
* 2012: SKY
* 2013: Coca-Cola
* 2013: BRINICLE
* 2014: Coca-Cola
* 2018: K-Fresh Zone (With Lee Kwang-soo)

## Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the nomination :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee(s) / Work(s) | Result |
| Innovation Awards | 2010 | Fifth Category Innovation Award | Haha | Won |
| Korea Fashion World Awards | 2006 | Best Dressed (Broadcast Sector) | Haha | Won |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2006 | Distinguished Male Award | Infinite Challenge | Won |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2006 | Excellence Award (Variety) | Infinite Challenge | Won |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2007 | Grand Prize | Infinite Challenge | Won |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2014 | PD Award | Infinite Challenge | Won |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2015 | High Excellence Award (Variety) | Infinite Challenge | Won |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2015 | Achievement Award | With Infinite Challenge member | Won |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2021 | Best Couple Award | Haha (with Yoo Jae-suk and Mijoo) Hangout with Yoo | Won |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2023 | Top Excellence Award (Variety) | Hangout with Yoo | Won |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2023 | Popularity Award (Show/Variety) | One Top (with Yoo Jae-suk, Lee Yi-kyung, Joo Woo-jae, Young K and Kim Jong Min) Hangout with Yoo | Won |
| MBC Entertainment Awards | 2024 | Best Couple Award | Haha (with Yoo Jae-suk) Hangout with Yoo | Won |
| Mnet 20's Choice Awards | 2007 | Best DJ Award | Haha | Won |
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | 2012 | Best Collaboration Performance | "Busan Vacance" | Nominated |
| National Rowing Championships 2000m Novice | 2011 | Special Award | Infinite Challenge | Won |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2007 | Special Award | Haha | Won |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2011 | Best Entertainer Award | Running Man | Won |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2011 | Netizen Popularity Award | Running Man | Nominated |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2013 | Popularity Award | Running Man | Won |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2013 | Excellence Award | Running Man | Won |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2016 | Top Excellence Award (Variety) | Running Man | Nominated |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2017 | Excellence Award (Variety) | Running Man | Nominated |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2019 | Best Entertainer Award | Running Man | Won |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2020 | Golden Content Award | With Running Man member | Won |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2020 | Top Excellence Award in Show/Variety Category | Running Man | Won |