They counted themselves out. Deutsche Oper Berlin did not

Kim Geon, Choi Young and Roh Min-hyung have a lot in common. All three stand over 180 centimeters and all three are around 30. All three are classical singers — Kim a baritone, Roh and Choi basses. And all three, at some point, concluded they were not good enough. Kim graduated from Seoul National University without having sung a paid operatic role. Studying abroad was the assumed next step, but when he added up rent, utilities and a phone bill in a foreign city, he could not see how to make it