Hyun Sung Park is all set to battle his Japanese nemesis, Tatsuro Taira, at UFC Vegas 108. ‘Peace Of Mind’ has been making waves in the eastern MMA community with his phenomenal striking and grappling skills. He has a total of 10 wins and zero losses on his professional MMA record. Out of these, he has won four bouts via KO/TKO and another five via submissions. But as he continues to raise the entropy in the fighting world, the fans are wondering: Where do Hyun Sung Park’s roots lie?

As ‘Peace Of Mind’ looks forward to his fourth UFC appearance, the questions about his ethnicity and nationality have also begun to rise. Let’s take a closer look at the undefeated flyweight contender’s background and other aspects of his life. 

Where is Hyun Sung Park from? Ethnicity and nationality

Hyun Sung Park was born and brought up in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. With over 11.8K followers on Instagram, his bio reads “UFC Flyweight Fighter 🇰🇷.” Yes, he’s a proud South Korean. But his pride multiplied a thousandfold when he finally debuted in the UFC at UFC Fight Night 218. 

Park entered the promotion by winning the Road to UFC tournament season 1. But before his first battle in the tournament, he revealed, “Saying that I do make it to the finals or win the tournament makes me the first-ever Korean flyweight to make it to the UFC. It’s not just history within the community of MMA in South Korea, but it will entirely change my life.” And as far as his religious beliefs are concerned, he hasn’t been vocal about it. 

All physically fit men in South Korea are required to serve in the armed forces for at least 18 to 21 months. South Korean men usually enroll in the military between the ages of 18 to 28 years. But what about Park? Does the UFC flyweight contender also have military experience? Let’s find out. 

Hyun Sung Park’s military background and early life

Back in 2022, before his attempt at making history by becoming the first South Korean flyweight in the UFC, Park had an interview with The AllStar. Therein, he revealed, “I started when I was 24 years old after I was discharged from the military. Actually, I did do a little bit of MMA for about two months prior to my military service. It actually just made me want to do MMA more when I was doing my military service. So, right after I served, I decided to pursue my career in MMA.”

Serving in the military must have helped Park mature both mentally and emotionally. After all, the kind of discipline that MMA demands can be easily taught through military service. While many kickstart their fighting career usually when they hit the age of 20, Park began his career at 24. And despite the delay, he managed to go on a 10-fight undefeated spree. Yes, he did lose one kickboxing bout, though. 

Now, fresh off a round one submission win over Carlos Hernandez, Park is getting ready for his battle against Tatsuro Taira. We know that the bout is going to be interesting. But can the South Korean star defeat the #6 flyweight contender?