2PM
2PM is a South Korean boy band,
originally a seven-member group, but currently consisting of six members due to the sudden
contract termination of leader Jaebeom following an Internet
controversy in September 2009. They are managed by JYP
Entertainment. The current members are Junsu, Junho, Nichkhun, Taecyeon, Wooyoung and Chansung.
2PM is made by Korean
musician Park Jin Young after GOD for the first time in 10 years to launch
boyband. 2PM is one of the two subgroups branched out from the eleven-member
(before Jaebeom's departure) boy band One Day, the other being 2AM. They debuted with the
song "10 Jeom Manjeome 10 Jeom" (10점 만점에 10점, lit. 10 Points Out of 10
Points), which showcased their acrobatic dance styles. They achieved their
first No. 1 song with "Again & Again".
History
Pre-Debut
The members of 2PM all
auditioned (except Nichkhun, who was scouted) to become part of JYP
Entertainment, to which the Wonder Girls & 2AM also belong. Some
members held their auditions in other countries; for example, Park Jaebeom
auditioned in the United States. Other members already had experience in the
entertainment industry prior to their acceptance into JYP Entertainment, such
as Kim Junsu, who had won various singing competitions, and Ok Taecyeon, Lee
Junho and Hwang Chansung, who had participated in the show 'SuperStar
Survival'.
2PM's and 2AM's training days were
filmed in a documentary called Hot
Blood Men, which aired on Mnet. The show documented the time by
time training program of the JYP trainees who were to be part of the group
"One Day", as well as the elimination of three trainees from the
group during the time.
2008: Debut and early success
Unlike other Korean
record labels, their record label JYP
Entertainment opted
to promote them with a more mature than "pretty-boy" (in Korean ggotminam)
image.
2PM debuted with their
single "10 Jeom Manjeome 10 Jeom"
(10점 만점에 10점, lit. 10 Points Out Of 10 Points) on September 4, 2008.
On October 17, 2008, they began promotion of "Only You", another song
from their debut mini album "Hottest Time of the Day."
On April 16, 2009, the
group released their second mini album 2:00PM Time For Change,
which they began promoting on April 23. On May 9, 2009, they won their first
Mutizen Song award onM!Countdown since
their debut; in the same week, they won their second Mutizen on SBS Inkigayo. The
group earned their third Mutizen the following week, completing the triple
crown and making them ineligible to win for the following weeks. However, the
award that had been eluding them - Music
Bank - was
quickly won soon after. On June 11, 2PM began promotions for "Niga
Mipda" (니가 밉다, lit. I Hate You) on M!Countdown. On
July 2 and 3, 2PM achieved first place on the M!Countdown and Music Bank charts for the song
"Niga Mipda". They achieved the triple crown for the song onM!Countdown by July 16. On July 30,
2PM won the 'Only One Song' award on M!Countdown.
2009: Controversy and rise to prominence
On September 4, 2009,
articles surfaced on the internet regarding Jaebeom's posts from 2005 on his
personal Myspace account, in which he
expressed his dislike for Korea while still a trainee for JYP
Entertainment. Jaebeom issued an apology regarding this matter. Although outraged
protesters demanded that Jaebeom should be forced out of 2PM, JYP Entertainment
CEO Park
Jin-young stated
on September 7 that he was going to continue to remain part of the group. The following day,
Jaebeom announced on his official fancafe that he would be leaving the group
and returning to the United States, with plans of going back to school and
bettering his understanding of music, and also apologized to the other 2PM
members for not being a good leader and older brother to the group. Park Jin-young has
confirmed that he will respect the singer's decision, and that 2PM will
continue on as a 6-member group. Additionally,
due to the sensitive topic of Jaebeom's departure, all 2PM members were
withdrawn from their regular appearances on variety shows.
The group finished
re-filming their music video for "Heartbeat", the title song of their
first full-length album, without Jaebeom on October 31, 2009. During a press
conference, it was revealed that Jaebeom's vocals would not be removed from the
songs. The
day after the now 6-member 2PM's full-length album was released, Park Jin-young
released a statement that Jaebeom would return as a member of 2PM if he wanted
to make a comeback, while indicating that his return was not imminent. In further support of
Jaebeom's place in the group, the six 2PM members have also decided to
distribute their income from their 1st album with him, sending him an equally
divided amount of the earnings.
The group's first full
length album, titled 1:59PM, was
released on November 10, 2009. Both
the album and title track, "Heartbeat", quickly rose to the #1
position on multiple music sales charts. The group made their first comeback
performance, signifying the beginning of their promotional activities for the
album, on M.Net's ‘O Good Concert’ on Thursday, November 12, 2009, subsequently making
their KBS Music Bank, MBC Music Core and SBS Inkigayo comebacks on Friday,
November 13, Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, respectively.
On November 20, 2009,
2PM performed at and was honored with two awards by the M.net Asian Music Awards (previously known as
M.net KM Music Festival): the award for Best Male Group and Artist of the Year
(the latter being one of the three most prestigious awards, or
"Daesang"s, at the show, which also include Song of the Year and
Album of the Year). The
group paid homage to him during their performance of "Again &
Again", in which a spotlight was shown over Jaebeom's usual position in
the dance formation and his vocals were not replaced.
On November 26, 2009,
after two weeks of promotional activities for the 1:59PM album, 2PM earned
their first #1 on a TV music show (KBS Music Bank's "K-Chart") since
the album's release, with "Heartbeat", which went on to take #1
on the K-Chart for three more weeks. In addition, "Heartbeat"
achieved the "Mutizen" song award Triple Crown on SBS Inkigayo by being the #1 song the
Inkigayo "Take 7" chart for three weeks, the maximum amount of time
for which a nominated song is eligible to win. On December 30, 2009, at Korean Broadcasting System (KBS)'s end of the year
Music Festival, "Again & Again" was recognized as "Song of
the Year", winning
with 57,060 votes.
2PM followed up
end-of-2009 activities with the second single off of 1:59PM album, "Tired
of Waiting". The song was performed live for the first time at the SBS
Music Festival on December 29, 2009. 2PM's promotion for the album ended with
their SBS Inkigayo performance on January 17, 2010.
2010: Don't Stop Can't Stop
On February 25, 2010,
JYP Entertainment announced that Park Jaebeom would not be returning
to 2PM, as his contract with the company had been permanently terminated. A fan meeting/press
conference was held two days later with the 6 remaining members of 2PM and JYP
Entertainment CEO Choi Jungwook in attendance, where it was announced that
although 2PM would continue promoting as 6 members, a new leader would not be
chosen to replace Park.
In mid-April 2010, 2PM
released image and video teasers for their third single Don't Stop Can't Stop, for
which the group promised to showcase an even stronger side of themselves than
before. The
EP, containing six tracks, was released on April 19, 2010. The lead single, Without U,
quickly rose to the #1 position on 6 different music charts. The group made their
television performance comeback on Mnet's music program M! Countdown on April 22, 2010.
2PM has been confirmed
as the opening act for their label-mates, popular girl group Wonder Girls for 9 shows on the
latter's United States headlining summer tour. 2PM also performed at
the 8th annual Korea Times Music Festival in Los Angeles, California on May 1,
2010, and at the Dream Concert in Seoul, South Korea on May 22, 2010.
On May 24, 2010, 2PM
released the song "What's Your Celebration?" for the FIFA 2010 World Cup. The song samples K'Naan's Wavin' Flag.
On July 11, Taecyeon
& Wooyoung left the position of MCs at SBS Inkigayo. And a while after, on
August 2, Wooyoung also left Winwin to concentrated on 2PM's busy schedule.
Then they have prepared so hard for their 1st concert in Seoul & Busan. The
1st concerts took place on July 31, August 1 (in Seoul) & August 7, 8 (in
Busan) (2AM & missA were invited as the guests of the concert).
2PM's first concerts
were ended successfully with the number of 12,000 people (not only are Korean,
but also come from Japan, Taiwan, China & Thailand) attended each day. In
these concerts, 2PM performed in turn all their hit-songs since 2008. Also, the
members put their impressive solo performances on the stage; which attracted a
lot attention. The concerts ended with the song "THANK YOU" written
by 2PM. 2PM sent the messages to all fans, who always stand by them &
support them no matter what. Towards these concerts, 2PM proved how they
improved & how they passed through together with their fans, Hotttest.
After the success of first concert, JYPE has informed that 2PM will have two
encore concerts in Seoul on September 4 & 5 to celebrate their 2nd
anniversary.
On October 11, 2010, 2PM
released their fourth extended
play, Still 2:00PM, with the lead single
"I'll Be Back" staying at number one for two consecutive weeks in the Music Bank. On November 1, 2010, Still 2:00PM debuted unexpectedly on
the 13th spot of the Billboard's World Album-Chart though no specific
promotions for the album were made in the US.
2PM was granted the “Most
Popular Asian Singer” award at the Mandarin Music Honors 2010 in China. The
boys attended the grand event on October 18th at Wukesong Arena; it was the
tenth annual MMH, and was broadcasted on MTV and CCTV in China. Previously,
Rain, Jang Nara, and Shin Seung Hoon have each taken home the “Year’s Best
Korean Singer” award, but this is the first time a Korean artist has ever won
the “Most Popular Asian Singer” award. To the delight of fans, boys performed
“Heartbeat” and their new hit, “I’ll Be Back.” 2PM shared, “We are so happy to be
at one of Asia’s biggest music award shows as Korea’s representative; we wanted
to perform for all our Asian fans. We also won this award! We would appreciate
more love and support in the future.”
2PM officially debuted
on Japan on December 8th with their first live event in Japan at the Ryogoku
Kokugikan Gymnasium, a place well known for sumo games. The platinum showcase
was called the “2PM 1st Contact in JAPAN” LIVE. The stadium holds more than
10,000 spectators and 2PM put on a total of three showcase performances, so in
total more than 30,000 people came to get a glimpse of 2PM.
2011
- Present
On March 6, 2011, it was announced that 2PM
will release their Japanese Debut-Single "Take Off" on May 18, which
was also featured as an Ending Song for the Blue Exorcist anime series. Due to the major online
pre-order of the limited version A, regular version and limited version B of
the single, "Take Off" has ranked from No. 1 to 3, respectively, on
the pre-order chart of Tower Records Japan. It has also reached No.1 in
the USEN's J-Pop Chart. 2PM is the first Korean band that has reached that spot
in this particular chart.
While dominating the music charts with #1
spot on Japanese music charts with ‘Take Off,’ 2PM also managed to dominate
ticket booth sales as they quickly sold out all the seats for their Japanese
concert tour. Well, the tour is over now and it has reportedly been a huge
success. 2PM’s first Japanese concert tour–entitled ‘2PM 1st Japan Tour 2011
‘Take Off”–kicked off in Sapporo on May 6th and ended earlier today on the 13th
in Tokyo. Tour stops also included Fukuoka (8th), Osaka (9th) and Nagoya
(10th). 2PM also added another concert in Tokyo on the 12th to please fans who
couldn’t get a hold of a ticket when they were first released. In response to
the success of their tour, 2PM stated, “Before the tour started,
we were nervous and had our worries. However, the love that our fans showed us
at the concert became our strength; it was really touching. We deeply thank our
Japanese fans for loving both our music and us. In addition, we want to thank
the staff members for working so hard. We will work even harder in the future.”
After 2PM's first venture to the Japanese
music market, JYP Entertainment released a set of publicity photos of the band
along the tracklist of their upcoming second studio album entitled "Hands
Up" on June 12, 2011. One day later, MTV Korea announced the release date
of the album as June 20. The MV for the title track
was filmed in Singapore and for the first time, the album featured two songs
composed by 2PM members: "HOT" by Junsu and "Give it to Me"
by Junho.
Hands Up successfully managed to snag the
coveted “all-kill” crown on all of the major charts. Not only has their title
track landed at the number one spot, several of their ancillary songs on their
album also managed to place on the charts as well. The promotions ended on
Sunday, July 24th, with a total of only 1 month after its release in order for
the boys to prepare for their japanese promotions and their 'Hands Up Asia
Tour'.
Starting in July, “2PM Show“ will broadcast
on SBS’s E!TV cable channel with all six members, and it will mark the first
time 2PM emcees a program with their name on it. SBS E!TV’s PD Kim Yong Kyu
expressed great anticipation for the show, as he stated, “The key point is that all
of the members will be included in the show. 2PM is showing great enthusiasm
for the program, especially because the show will require the members to
fulfill missions given to them by the viewers.” “2PM Show” will heavily
rely on social networking sites to communicate with fans and netizens alike.
Currently, producers are utilizing the official “2PM Show”Twitter website to
ask survey questions such as “Which member seems to have the least
perseverance?”, “Who is most likely to be the best father in the future?”, “Who
is most likely to get married first?“, and more. PD Kim commented further by
saying, “We will not only focus on
2PM’s younger fan base, but also on their growing 20-to-40 year old fan base as
well. The program will concentrate on unlikely mission topics like ‘Be a father
for a day’ to appeal to a larger audience. 2PM will distance themselves from
their ‘beastly idol’ image and will even take on a cooking mission as well.” 2PM previously starred in
cable shows like “Wild Bunny” and “Idol Army Season 3” during their rookie
years. However, after their rise in popularity, it is rare for all the 2PM
members to appear on a single show together. As such, fans are showing fervent
support for the show, especially because of the busy overseas and individual
schedules the members had to endure until now. Regarding 2PM’s busy schedule,
PD Kim replied, “The members have shown an
interest in having a show with their own name before. It is true that 2PM has a
tight schedule, but the members have a strong desire to carry out the program,
so I do not expect members to pull out midway through.”
On September 2nd, ‘Beast idols’ 2PM finally
held their first concert for their first Asia tour titled “2PM HANDS UP TOUR
CONCERT“. With amazing performances, stellar live vocals as well as colorful
stages, this 2PM concert made the crowd’s hearts beat with excitement and sheer
satisfaction. The concert was applauded as a success, and the boys hope to
deliver even better ones for the future stops. 2PM stated with overflowing joy, “We waited patiently and
prepared diligently for today, the day we got to meet with our fans. The two
hours we spent together was like a happy dream. Armed with the love and energy
that fans gave us today, we will show an even better stage for our Asia Tour.
For the people who suffered for our fans and our concert, thank you. We will
always be a 2PM who tries our best“. 2PM kicked off their Asia Tour with a
two-day concert in Seoul on September 2nd and 3rd. They headed to Taiwan for
October 7th and 8th, Indonesia for November 11th, Singapore for November 19th
and Malaysia for November 26th until now.
On November 30, 2011, 2PM released their
first studio album in Japanese language called "REPUBLIC OF 2PM". It
contains all their japanese singles released so far (Take Off, I'm Your Man and
Ultra Lover) plus the Japanese version of their most recent Korean hit song
“Hands Up”, as well as a new song composed by Junsu for Japanese fans called
“Hanarete Itemo,” and 4 other completely new songs. The main point of the album
artwork motif is a taste of the 50’s and 60’s. The high production cost of this
unique work includes a reserved hotel, a gigantic constructed set, a chartered
helicopter, a limousine, and more.
The boys of 2PM showcased their masculine
appeals at their most recent Arena Tour stop. 2PM kicked off their first
Japanese Arena Tour: ‘Republic of 2PM‘ at the Osaka-Jo Hall on December 5th and
6th, and their explosive fame was confirmed by the 20,000 fans that filled
every seat in the enormous facility. The arena tour began after the boys
released their first full-length Japanese album ‘Republic Of 2PM’, and they
will be performing 9 shows total in six different cities. The members performed
their major Korean hits as well as the songs from their first full-length
Japanese album. 2PM put on an energetic performance that lit up the stage, and
even spoke to their fans in an Osakan accent. 2PM also gifted their fans with a
performance of “Hanarete Itemo“, a song member Junsu wrote and composed for
their fans, which caused the touched audience members to shed some emotional
tears. The official Japanese 2PM fanclub ‘Hottest Japan‘ was also established
along with the arena tour kick off, and the boys will be heading to Nagoya to
perform on the 8th, followed by Tokyo on the 14th, Fukuoka on the 17th and
18th, and the Nippon Budokan on the 20st and 21st.
In order to celebrate their first anniversary
in Japan, 2PM held a special event for the chosen 10,000 of the many fans that
purchased their first japanese album ‘Republic of 2PM‘ on December 10 at
Makuhari Messe. The night was filled with fun programs, such as special video
footage, a talk show, Q&A session, a quiz game, present give-away, and
more.
Oricon released their sales for 2011,
announcing that 2PM was the 2nd best selling new artist in Japan, only behind Johnny & Associates's group Kis-My-FT2, with 990
million yen (12.68 million USD) only in singles, albums and DVDs sales.
2PM concluded their “2PM Arena Tour 2011
‘Republic of 2PM’” at the Nippon Budokan on December 21st. During the final
encore, 10,000 fans sang “Hanarete itemo” surprising the boys. 2PM thanked the
audience with teary eyes by saying, “We were deeply moved by
everyone’s surprise event“. 2PM is already scheduled to have a 6 day
performance at Nippon Budokan. While reflecting on their tour 2PM remarked, “It’s hard to believe that
our first arena tour is over. Thank you so much. When you’re tired or when it’s
hard, we hope that you can look back at this moment and get energy and power
from it. We hope to continue making great music. Let’s see each other again at
our next live!”. In regards to the impact 2PM’s upcoming Budokan
performance, JYPE recently commented, “While other Korean artists
have performed at the Budokan, never before has a K-pop act held six
consecutive shows. 2PM will be the first ever Korean band to do that. Given
that they only made their official Japanese debut last year, this is a
phenomenal feat.”
Kim Junsu 김준수
Kim Junsu (Hangul: 김준수), generally known as Junsu, was born on January 15,
1988. He is the main vocalist of Korean boy group 2PM managed by JYP
Entertainment.
Prior to singing, Junsu had entered and won
various poem- and song-writing contests. He originally auditioned
for YG Entertainment, where he befriended G-Dragon and Tae
Yang of Big
Bang.
He was accepted into both YG & JYP
Entertainment,
but chose to take the path of JYP in his final decision. Up till now, he is
still close friends with both members of Big Bang.
On September 4, 2008, Junsu, along with 6
other members, debuted as 2PM with their first single "10점 만점에 10점" ("10 Points out of 10
Points") from their single album "Hottest Time of the Day."
So far, 2PM has released two studio albums and three EPs.
So far, 2PM has released two studio albums and three EPs.
On October 7, 2011, Junsu released his debut
solo single Alive on various digital music
sites by the name Jun. K. The official MV of Alive has been uploaded to 2PM's official Youtube account
on October 10, 2011. His solo single quickly rose up the charts to be no. 1 of
Cyworld.
Other works of his include “HOT“, “Sunshine” and “Don’t Go”.
Other works of his include “HOT“, “Sunshine” and “Don’t Go”.
Junsu stands 5 ft 11 in
(1.80 m) and weighs 68 kg (150 lb;
10.7 st). He speaks Korean and minimal English. His
hobbies include composing, fashion, collecting accessories and shoes. His specialties are singing
and writing themes. He is widely known by the nicknames Jun. K,
Daegu Grandpa and Panda and called the 'Jun Brothers' together with fellow
member Lee Junho. Junsu is a Buddhist. On
February 24, 2011, he was admitted into the bachelor program for Performing
Arts at the Dong-Ah Institute of Media and Arts, starting his new semester as a
fourth year student.
Nichkhun Horvejkul "Nichkhun" นิชคุณ หรเวชกุล
Lee Junho "Junho"
준호
Nichkhun Horvejkul "Nichkhun" นิชคุณ หรเวชกุล
Nichkhun Horvejkul (Thai: นิชคุณ หรเวชกุล); (born June 24, 1988) is a Thai Chinese American singer in 2PM, a 6-member boy band that is active in South Korea and managed by JYP Entertainment.
Nichkhun was born in Rancho Cucamonga, California to a Thai
Chinese family.Nichkhun has one older brother Nichan,
and two younger sisters, Nichthima (Yanin) and Nachjaree (Sherleen). At the age
of two, he moved to Thailand with his family and studied
at Dhepkanjana School and Tangpiroondham School. At the age of twelve, he
studied at Wanganui Collegiate School in New
Zealand for a year and a half and moved back to the
United States to finish his schooling at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, California. After high school, he was
a coach at Rosemead High School for their badminton team.
There, he was scouted by Park Jin-young, a K-pop singer and the
producer of JYP Entertainment, at the Los Angeles Korean Music Festival. He
speaks fluent English, Korean, and Thai.
After passing the audition hosted by JYP
Entertainment,
he signed a ten-year contract with the company but later resigned for an
eight-year contract, not including training, and was brought to South
Korea in 2006 as a trainee, being put into a class of
24 other students. Park Jin-young informed him that he was
required to learn Mandarin Chinese and Korean to also work out regularly
and learn how to dance and to sing. First appeared through MNET's Hot Blood, a program that showed the
intense physical training that 13 male trainees had to go through for the
opportunity to debut in either 4-member ballad group 2AM or 6-member dance
group(which had 7 members until one of them left the group) 2PM under JYP
Entertainment.
On 4 September 2008, Nichkhun debuted as a 2PM member
with their first single "10점 만점에 10점" ("10 Points out of 10
Points") from their single album "Hottest Time of the Day."
On December 16th, representatives of JYP Entertainment
revealed, “The wax figure of 2PM’s Nichkhun has been on
display at the Madame Tussauds in Bangkok since November 29th.” Madame Tussards is known as
a popular tourist attraction with bevy of star-studded wax figures, such as
Beyonce, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Obama, and George Clooney. The wax figures
are so detailed that each cost about $150,000 USD to produce. Nichkhun received
the honor of being the second Hallyu star to be included in the exhibit; the
first was actor Bae Yong Joon, whose wax figure is on display in Hong Kong.
Nichkhun visited Bangkok on December 7th to participate in his wax figure
production and was joined by hundreds of fans waiting to see the progress.
Because of 2PM’s Japanese schedules, he wasn’t able to participate in the
launch event. However, he sent a special video message to the museum to express
his gratitude. Representatives of JYP Entertainment stated, “With K-Pop being loved all
around the world, it’s an extremely meaningful event to have 2PM’s Nichkhun
stand alongside popular international figures at Madame Tussauds. He’ll be able
to indirectly meet with more fans through this wax figure, and we believe that
it was because of his fans’ love that such an event became possible.”
After 2PM's debut in 2008, Nichkhun began doing Thai
endorsements, and was selected by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for
their campaign, "Come to Thailand; Let's Take a Break!" Nichkhun has
also done a wide variety of runway modeling including for Pony, and Andre Kim's fashion
show in 2008 with 2AM member Seulong. On January 7, 2010,
photographs surfaced of Nichkhun and Taecyeon with actress Yoon
Eunhye for Cass Beer, in which 2PM were chosen to
endorse with special promotion single "Tik Tok". Nichkhun played a main
character in the 12-minute music video drama, released on February 8, 2010. Nichkhun also hosted JYP's
talent competition, Superstar Survival.
Nichkhun was originally planned to appear on We
Got Married as Brown
Eyed Girls member Ga-in's partner, but due to Jaebeom's MySpace controversy he
was replaced at last minute by 2AMmember Jo
Kwon. On March 4, 2010, new
rumors of his casting surfaced through several newsites, even naming T-ara member Eunjung as his
partner. However, JYPE stated that they were forced to decline the offer due to
schedule clashes. On June 1, 2010, Nichkhun was announced to be
an additional cast member to We Got Married, pairing up with Victoria
Song of f(x). On February 26, 2010, it
was announced that Nichkhun and 7 other male idols from 2PM, 2AM, MBLAQ and C.N.Blue would rotate as MCs for
Mnet M!Countdown after it went off-air for 3 months. In December 2009, he had
been confirmed to star in 2010 film "The Shining
Diploma", but due to scheduling
conflicts with the filming delays, he dropped out of the project in March.
Nichkhun also appeared on Dream High, playing one of the
commercial actors.
In May 2010, he featured in a commercial for Everland's Caribbean
Bay water theme park along with 2PM Taecyeon & Chansung and Girls' Generation members Yoona, Seohyun & Yuri.
Nichkhun appeared in the music video of the single
"Touch (觸動)" by Taiwanese Mandopop artist Wilber
Pan,
which premiered on January 31, 2011.
He was the MC for the 50th Anniversary Music Wave
Concert which was held on March 12, 2011 together
with Tiffany & Yuri.
In May 2011, 2PM Nichkhun and f(x) Victoria were selected as the new
2011 models for Everland's Caribbean
Bay Aqualoop CF. Already known as a couple
through MBC’s We Got Married, the two will be
continuing their sweet antics as models for the brand.
In June 2011, Nichkhun along with the other members of
2PM began filming SBS, 2PM Show.
In September 2011, it is confirmed that Nichkhun will be
leaving the highly popular Korean reality show " We Got
Married" with f(x)'s Victoria.The last episode will be
aired on the 17th of September 2011. Khuntoria was the couple's name in
"We Got Married."
Nichkhun is set to star in Japanese live-adaptation film
"Ouran High School Host Club" as Lawrence, the
president of a Singaporean corporation.
On March 21, 2010, Nichkhun and actress Song
Ji-hyo participated in MBC's "Sunday Sunday
Night" program "Danbi" where they went to the Philippines in order to help with
volunteer work. Being fluent in English, he was able to
directly interact with the children. In the midst of Jaebeom's
contract termination controversy that caused 2PM to be received very
negatively, Nichkhun gained much praise and support from
his fans and the general public.
Ok Taec-Yeon "Taecyeon" 옥택연
Ok Taec-Yeon (Hangul: 옥택연, born December 27, 1988), generally known as Taecyeon, is a member in the Korean boy band 2PM, where he is the main rapper. In 2010, Taecyeon
debuted as an actor in the Korean drama Cinderella's Sister and went on to became a main character in the
KBS dramaDream High.
Taecyeon was born in Seoul, South Korea, but emigrated with his
family to Bedford,
Massachusetts, where his parents and older
sister (Jihyen) still currently reside. Taecyeon himself lived there for seven
years, attending Bedford High School where he was an active
member of the Chess Club, Jazz Band and the National Honor Society before returning to pursue
his career in Korea. Taecyeon was educated at Gel In High School in Seoul and
studied Business Administration at Dankook
University. He speaks fluent English
and Korean.
It was his sister Jihyen, who persuaded him to
participate in a JYP Entertainment-audition, whose promotion
she had noticed when surfing on the internet. After his reluctant agreement to
participate, both headed for New York City on his 17th birthday. A week later, he was chosen
for the final 35 and finally got the call-back to go to Korea for the further
competition. At first, Taecyeon applied to become a model, but the judges suggested
him to try to do dancing and singing. He eventually was named one
of the dozen finalists (including his future bandmates Lee Junho and Chansung) to compete in the showSuperstar
Survival, but was the first contestant to leave the show.
In 2008, he took part in Mnet's Hot Blood Men which follows the extreme
training of 13 trainees in order to become a member of the boy band One Day.One Day spawned two boy bands, 2AM and 2PM, of which the latter one Taecyeon became a member of.
Six months after Hot Blood was aired on TV, 2PM debuted with their first single "10
Points out of 10 Points" ("10점 만점에 10점") from their first EP Hottest
Time of the Day,
but it wasn't until their second EP 2:00PM
Time For Change which skyrocketed their success in the Korean
music industry. So far, 2PM has released two studio albums and three EPs.
Taecyeon is featured in "Yes I'm In Love" by Bada on her fourth album and Baek Ji-Young's 2009 song "내 귀에 캔디"
(My Ear's Candy). He formerly hostedSBS's music show Inkigayo with Wooyoung, and was a permanent cast
member on Family Outing 2 before it got canceled.
In 2010, he saw his debut as an actor in the 2010 KBS drama series Cinderella's
Sister alongside Moon Geun Young and Chun Jung-myung. His second drama is Dream High, in which he played the role
of Jinguk. The drama premiered on January 3, 2011.
On September, 2011 FujiTV announced that Taecyeon was
going to become a regular on their Sunday drama “Boku to Star no 99 Nichi“,
along with Japanese actor Nishijima Hidetoshi and South Korean actress Kim Tae
Hee as the two main characters. This is his first regular role on a Japanese
drama. The producer of the drama commented, “We needed someone who can
by mysterious and make his presence felt by others at the same time. Outside of
his role, Taecyeon is a very polite and bright person, who always manages to
create a cheerful atmosphere at the set. He is going to bring a breath of fresh
air to the Japanese drama scene.” Taecyeon commented, “It’s my first role in a
Japanese drama and I’m really happy to be able to work together with such a
wonderful cast and such an amazing staff. I will exert myself to the best of my
abilities in order to polish my acting as much as I can.”
On December 9, 2010, a JYP Entertainment representative
revealed that “Taecyeon would like to give up his American permanent residence
visa, and recently on December 1st, he received his official confirmation for
his permanent residence cancellation.”
Taecyeon has gotten a physical examination for drafting
and received a physical body status sufficient enough to only enlist as public
service personnel due to his poor vision and dislocated shoulder back in 2008. However, he is currently
thinking of getting another physical examination in order to complete active
military duties.
The JYP representative stated, “Taecyeon has voiced out
thoughts of wanting to enter the military service. He submitted his documents
on the 1st and is clear on his actions.” He went on to explain, “Now that
Taecyeon wants to enter active duties, he recently received a re-examination. I
think he was affected by the recent Yeonpyeong
Island shelling, so we want to respect his
decision.” He concluded that, “Since Taecyeon is still at a young age, he won’t
be entering the military immediately. He is currently active as an actor as
well as continuing his studies, so we still need to watch over him.”
On the February 7th, 2011 broadcast of KBS2TV’s “Yeo Yu
Man Man,” Taecyeon shared his thoughts on his enlistment situation stating that
he plans to get corrective eye surgery so he can enlist.
Jang Wooyoung "Wooyoung" 우영
Jang Wooyoung, generally known as Wooyoung (Hangul: 우영), was born on April 30, 1989. He is a South
Korean idol singer in 2PM, a 6-member boy band that
is active in South Korea and managed by JYP
Entertainment.
Wooyoung was born in Busan and has an older sister. He
attended Seoul School for the Arts with a dance major.
He was selected to be a JYP trainee through MGoon's JYP
auditions. He won first place in this audition against 5000 other candidates.
He once filled in as a dancer partner with Wonder
Girls member Kim Yubin when T.O.P from Big Bang fainted the day before the
special performance with the Wonder
Girls during the 2007 MBC Music Awards.
On September 4, 2008, Wooyoung, along with 6 other
members, debuted as 2PM with their first single "10점 만점에 10점" ("10 Points out of 10
Points") from their single album "Hottest Time of the Day."
Wooyoung, along with Taecyeon formerly hosted SBS's music show Inkigayo, from July 26, 2009 till
July 11, 2010.
On February 2, 2010, he was officially the sub-MC in Kim
Seung Woo's
talk show KBS Win Win alongside Girls' Generation’s Taeyeon, Kim Shin Young, and Choi
Hwa Jung. He received high praise for his very natural MC-ing and exceptional
wit. He was always curious about everything, so he constantly began his
sentences with, "I’m curious about something…" thus, earning the nickname,
'Curious Wooyoung'. He left the show on August 3, 2010 along with Taeyeon to
focus on 2PM's first concert.
He first debuted as an actor in the 2011 KBS drama series Dream
High playing the role of Jason, a Korean-American.
The Drama premiered on January 3, 2011. The Drama made him famous for his
English line, "Is it my turn already?".
After concluding his drama debuts through KBS‘s “Dream
High“, Wooyoung expressed that he will continue to pursue their passion for
acting in conjunction with their singing careers. A representative of JYP
Entertainment spoke with OSEN and revealed, “We’re planning to continue
Wooyoung’s acting career when he receives another great project. He was worried
before ‘Dream High’ began filming, and often wondered whether he’d be able to
act, but we believe that he’s gained a lot of confidence since then. He’s
gotten very interested in the acting field, so we plan to continue his acting
career, along with fellow member Taecyeon‘s.”
On August, 2011 it was announced that Wooyoung and miss
A‘s Bae
Suzy were going to make a cameo appearances in the
new KBS Drama Special, ‘Human Casino‘. The pilot episode aired on September
18th, and the two idol stars were playing the role of a couple caught up in
gambling scandals. The two are good friends with the PD of ‘Human Casino’, who
also produced the KBS 2TV series ‘High Kick‘. Their scenes weren't a part of
the actual drama, but rather be featured towards the end with the rolling
credits. Kim PD stated, “I told these two that I was starting a new
project and they told me they wanted to visit, so I thought of giving them a
small cameo role.” ‘Human Casino’ is the story of an engaged
woman who is reportedly found missing, and her fiance believes she has been
kidnapped. He later finds out she is caught up in a risky situation with
gamblers that use human lives as their stakes.
Wooyoung trained Kim Gyuri for her performance on MBC's
"Dancing With the Stars" aired on July 8th, 2011. Netizens praised
his talents as a dancer for having the chance to teach others about it.
For 2PM's tours in 2011 (Hands Up Asia Tour and Republic
of 2PM), Junho and Wooyoung performed together a song that Junho wrote, while
Wooyoung choreographed and designed their outfits.
Taecyeon and Wooyoung modeled for the fall collection for
the clothing brand, Evisu. In this photo shoot,
Taecyeon and Wooyoung put aside their fun image and showed a chic side to
themselves. Despite the long hours of the photo shoot, they didn’t show signs
of tiredness and lightened up the atmosphere receiving much praise from the
staff. For Evisu’s fall collection, Taecyeon and Wooyoung modeled denim
jackets, jeans, and shirts, along with items that bring out the vintage style.
An Evisu official said, ”Evisu’s brand new models Wooyoung and
Taecyeon, were friendly and charismatic. Mixed with the fall collection, the
items will definitely become mega hits”.
Wooyoung stands 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and weighs 65 kg
(140 lb; 10.2 st). He speaks Korean, Japanese and has a
sufficient understanding of the English language. His hobbies include surfing
the web and listening to music. He once stated there are
"exactly 3 things that (he) likes: music, association football and interior
(design)." When asked why he didn't include dancing, he replied, "it
is also included in music .. and football." He enjoys dancing and singing.
His well known nicknames are 'AngAng', 'Mandu Cheeks' and 'Ssanti
Wooyoung.' Since 2009, he has attended Howon
University,
majoring in broadcasting.
On the special episode of KBS Win Win (Seung Seung Jang
Gu) with 2PM as guests, Wooyoung revealed that his father had been against his
dreams. As fans know, Wooyoung’s always had a dream of becoming a singer;
however, his father initially opposed it because he wanted his son to have an
easier, normal life. However, Wooyoung did not give up on his dream, like his
father had hoped, and persistantly attended dance practices. Even while taking
dance lessons and pursuing his dream, Wooyoung did not give up on studying and
studied as hard as he danced in order to receive his father’s acknowledgement.
In order to receive his father’s approval, Wooyoung wrote three letters a month
for two years, and his father eventually gave in. Now, ever since he became a
singer, his father has become the one sending him letters of encouragement.
Lee Junho (이준호) (born January 25,
1990), better known as Junho (준호), is the second youngest member of the Korean
boy band 2PM (투피엠). Junho is from Ilsan, South Korea.
Junho was first known by the public as the winner of
Superstar Survival in 2006. The show started with 12 teens and as the weeks
goes by, they were eliminated one by one until three are left. Somewhat
reminiscing of the famous reality show Survivor. Many fans were angered at
his winning due to his cocky attitude. Despite the initial reaction, Junho
signed a contract with JYP Entertainment after winning the
"JYP's Superstar Survival" talent search (whichTaecyeon and Chansung were also contestants in),
placing 1st out of 6,000 competitors.
In 2008, he took part in Mnet's Hot Blood Men which follows the extreme
training of 13 trainees in order to become a member of the boy band One Day. However One Day was split and spawned two
boy bands, 2AM and 2PM, of which the latter one Junho became a
member.
Six months after Hot Blood was aired on TV, 2PM debuted with their first
single "10점 만점에 10점"
("10 Points out of 10 Points") from their first EPHottest
Time of the Day, but it wasn't until their second EP 2:00PM
Time For Change which skyrocketed their success in the Korean
music industry. So far, 2PM has released two studio albums and three EPs. Junho wrote
and composed the song "Give It To Me" from their latest album Hands Up.
On September 4, 2009, articles surfaced on the internet
regarding Jaebeom's posts from 2005 on his
personal Myspace account, in which he
expressed his dislike for Korea while still a trainee for JYP Entertainment. The incident resulted in
all 2PM members withdrawn from their regular appearances on variety shows,
including Junho. Although he was to suppose be a regular member of the sports
variety show Dream Team 2, Junho was only a part of the pilot episode. However
in March 2010, Junho returned as a permanent cast member of the sports variety
show Dream Team 2.
On February 16, 2010, Junho was a guest Strong Heart. He talked about the time
before 2PM’s debut, when he was on the show Superstar Survival.
In August 2010, Mnet created a list of the top thirty
talented idols who all have beautiful voices. Two members of 2PM were on the
list. Junsu took 5th place, and Junho
took 19th place.
On the New Year’s special of MBC’s “Bouquet”, Junho made
a special appearance on the show and displayed a great first performance on his
guitar. The 2PM member performed “Ain’t No Sunshine” from the romance movie
"Notting Hill."
Recently, Junho has shown his composition skills with the
song "Give It To Me". On July 21, the 2PM released the "Give It
To Me" video on their official YouTube channel. The song was used on the
original sound track for the action thriller movie "Blind" starring by Kim Ha-Neul and Yoo Seung-Ho. The track is also
available on the Hands
Up album.
His specialties are singing, beatbox, and dancing. He
enjoys listening to music, watching dancing videos, learning composing,
reading, and reading fashion. His ideal woman is someone who plans for a child.
He graduated from Howon
University - Program Acting Major.
Due to his looks, he is often compared with Korean
entertainer Rain. However on KBS2's "Win
Win", Junho revealed that during his training years the way people looked
at him was not an admirable way. Junho, who was receiving much envy and
jealously at the time, had said that “people never knew what my name was and
always called me ‘that one kid’.”
Junho revealed on Strong Heart how there was a time when
Junho (without his knowledge) was about to be kicked out of JYP Entertainment
due to his bad attitude. His mother found about this and called JYP personally
saying that her son hasn’t even been there for a year, please give him time to
improve.
Lee Junho has several nicknames, but the most popular are
"Hwang-jae" (Emperor) and "Nuneo". The latter came from an
incident when Junho typed his name so quickly that it appeared wrongly as
Nuneo. He is also called the 'Jun Brothers' together with fellow member Junsu.
On the May 14th broadcast of MBC’s “We Got Married,” 2PM band mate Nichkhun revealed, “Junho’s cousin
is a professional baseball player.” Junho's cousin is a pitcher for the Doosan Bears named Sun-Woo Kim.
Junho is also an animal activist. Singer Lee Hyori has recently praised Junho
and his fans on their donation to the animal activist’s group. The singer wrote
via her Twitter on October 20, “It warmed my heart to hear that 2PM’s Junho and
his fans made a second donation to the animals activist’s group! ...I’m so
proud that he is using his fame and influence in a way that’s so heroic.”
Hwang Chansung "Chansung" 황찬성
Hwang Chansung (Hangul: 황찬성, born February 11, 1990), generally known as Chansung, is a member of the Korean boy band 2PM, where he is a South Korean idol singer and rapper.
Chansung was born in Seoul, South
Korea,
where he still resides. Chansung was educated at Korean Art High School and
Howon University.
Before becoming a singer in 2PM, Chansung was a television
actor having played roles in MBC's 2006 comedy "Unstoppable High
Kick" and then in KBS2's 2008 drama "Jungle Fish." It was also
during this time, in 2006, that he auditioned for, and was named, one of the
dozen finalists (including his future bandmates Lee
Junho and Taecyeon) to compete in the show
"Superstar Survival".
In 2008, he took part in Mnet's Hot Blood Men which follows the extreme
training of 13 trainees in order to become a member of the boy band One Day.One Day spawned two boy bands, 2AM and 2PM, of which the latter one
Chansung became a member of. Six months after Hot Blood was aired on TV, 2PM debuted with their first
single "10점 만점에 10점"
("10 Points out of 10 Points") from their first EP Hottest Time of the Day, but it wasn't until their
second EP 2:00PM Time For Change which skyrocketed their
success in the Korean music industry. So far, 2PM has released two studio
albums and three EPs.
Chansung stands 184 centimetres (6.04 ft) tall and
weighs 165 pounds (75 kg). He speaks fluent Korean, basic Japanese, and
basic English. Chansung is a trained martial artist, having achieved high
levels in Taekwondo and Kumdo. His hobbies are listening
to music, gaming and working out. Chansung is aBuddhist.
Jeonggam, or sometimes, Jeonggamie is Chansung's cat.
Jeonggam has become almost as popular as Chansung himself, having appeared on 2PM's
YouTube channel, and in numerous tweets and pictures.
