Here’s The Full Story Behind Why BIGBANG’s Seungri Is Also Known As “Richard Lee”

What would you do if you really wanted to follow one of your dreams but weren’t allowed to under your company’s rules? In Seungri‘s case, he decided to pretend to be someone else!

Due to a rule in YG Entertainment and everyone knowing his legal name is Lee Seung Hyun, BIGBANG‘s maknae decided the only way to follow his heart was to pretend to be someone else!

Last year, Seungri entered the 1st West Japan Beginners Championship under the name Richard Lee causing quite the stir!

Seungri proved to be quite the Jujistu fighter and took home third in the Adult White Featherweight Class and 2nd in the Adult White Openweight Class. While his win was certainly impressive, it was his newfound English name that had won over fans’ hearts.

Fans got quite the laugh at his new name at the time and couldn’t stop themselves from using it. But he recently revealed on the Japanese show Ariyoshi something else about the name that makes it even better!

“Actually YG Entertainment doesn’t allow artists to participate in those kinds of activities, however, I really wanted to join the Jujitsu match. I thought I would get caught if I used my real name, so I joined under the name of an exchange student from Germany, Richard Lee.” — Seungri

But what makes it his story even funnier is the thought that not a single person doubted he was Richard Lee!

“I was always called Richard Lee. Even if people had doubts that I was Seungri from BIGBANG, they never doubted I was Richard Lee!” — Seungri

So maybe Seungri isn’t really Seungri at all. He’s Richard Lee, master Jujitsu fighter and German exchange student!