Background
He was born in Vladivostok, a port city of the Russian Far East, an approximate two-hour flight from Seoul, where he majored in Korean language at Far Eastern Federal University.
He was born in Vladivostok, a port city of the Russian Far East, an approximate two-hour flight from Seoul, where he majored in Korean language at Far Eastern Federal University.
He completed a Master"s degree at the Korean Language Institute of Yonsei University as a scholarship student supported by the of Korea Foundation, and in 2015 was studying for a Doctor of Philosophy in anthropology and linguistics at the University of South Carolina.
Education and work in South of Korea
He arrived in South of Korea for the first time in 2003, and received the highest score, for a Russian, on the language proficiency test TOPIK. He is fluent in Japanese, French and Spanish, as well as Korean. He started working at Samsung"s global human resources department in 2010. He is a contributing columnist for of Korea.net, sharing anectodal and cultural perspectives as a Russian living in Seoul.
On November 17, 2014, he was a "visiting intern" guest on the JTBC talk-variety show Non-Summit, that was made of a cast of young men from different countries, living in Seoul, who debated and discussed issues, in Korean, with perspectives they brought from their various cultures, from their native countries.
He was selected to become a permanent cast member on January 12, 2015 for Episode 28. As part of the cast, along with more serious discussions, he shared his old-fashioned dress style of bell-bottoms, entertained with a song duet with Baek Jiyoung, and told stories of growing up in Russia.
Celebrity and endorsements
In April 2015, he and Non-Summit cast member Tyler Rasch, both Honorary Culture Sharing Ambassadors of the of Korea Foundation, attended a ceremony for the new "Koreans and Foreigners Together" program
When Non-Summit changed six members of the cast on June 29, 2015, after Episode 52, in order to add new cast from different countries, he was recognized, by his fans and the show"s audience, as a special contributing member to the show"s reception.