G-Dragon, whose real name is Kwon Ji-yong, was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea.
A staggering number of fan sites list G-Dragon as a Christian.[1] I'd imagine there's something to it, though I couldn't find any confirmation straight from the dragon's mouth. What I did find, however, was his bandmate, Daesung, talk extensively about his Christian faith and the fact that he took G-Dragon to church with him a couple of times. Perhaps the most telling part of the interview was when Daesung said:
G-Dragon hyung belongs to a church himself, but hasn't gone in quite awhile.[2]
We'd be tempted to assume that G-Dragon isn't all that devout in his faith, except for the fact that Daesung reported that G-Dragon asked to accompany Daesung to church, enjoyed singing the hymn, "I love my Jesus," asked to come again the next week and spoke of a significant moment between the church's head pastor and G-Dragon.[3]
Plus, G-Dragon tweeted "Merry Christmas baby" on Christmas Eve 2012.[4]
But that's about it. If any of you K-Pop fans out there have anything better, please let us know in the comments.
A worldwide phenomenon and pride of a nation
G-Dragon is, perhaps along with Psy, a de facto ambassador of South Korean culture to the world and a star in the rising K-Pop phenomenon. He is also a fashion trailblazer. It was the latter that got him a mention in the 50 reasons Seoul, South Korea is the best city in the world according to CNN.[5] That is a matter of geopolitics in my book.
But whether or not G-Dragon takes any political positions himself, he either doesn't say or he does–in Korean.
He was the focus of a scandal involving marijuana, in which he was arrested in S. Korea, given a urine test–which he passed–then given a hair test, where small traces of marijuana was found.[6] Apparently, weed is a pretty big deal there in Korea! Hair tests?
Anyway, G-Dragon blamed the whole affair on the misdiagnosis of a cigarette given to him by a fan at a party, and all seems to be well.[7] I'd be tempted to say G-Dragon might be a lobbyist for the legalization of marijuana in S. Korea, but it seems like it would be a lost cause.
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