Jun Jin

Other activities

Jun Jin appeared the top-rating comic-variety programme Infinite Challenge firstly in April 2008 as a replacement of Haha , with receiving its host of the programme as 'the 7th member' officially in June 2008, and later he joined We Got Married in early 2009 with actress Lee Shi Young as his "wife", whom he had a relationship with outside the show, though his act officially finished on May 3, 2009 due to its restructuring of the show's format.

Acting career

Jun Jin starred in the hit 2004 KBS drama " Forbidden Love " in 2004, alongside popular actress Kim Tae Hee . He also starred in various other banjun dramas as well. In 2009, he and the other members of Infinite Challenge appeared in an episode of MBC drama Queen of Housewives .

Biography

Jun Jin was born as the first child to singer Charlie Park (찰리박), also called Park Young Chul (박영철), who debuted with a solo album 'Casanova Sarang' in 2004. Jun Jin's birth mom left Jun Jin and his two younger siblings when young, due to his father's wandering lifestyle. His father remarried a second wife, but the two divorced during Jun Jin's teenage years. His father soon remarried again. This third wife proved to be a loving mother as she took care of Jun Jin like he was her own son. She also located Jun Jin's real mom and Jun Jin was reconnected with his birth mother. Although he wasn't able to see her frequently, the two did promise to keep in touch.

Music career

Beginnings with Shinhwa

Backed by his high school friend, An Chil Hyun , Jun Jin was able to make it through the audition as a member for Shinhwa. He debuted with them as a rapper , alongside Eric Mun and Andy Lee . However, in the release of Shinhwa's fifth album "Perfect Man," he began singing small parts. He would still continue to sing small parts with the release of Shinhwa's later albums until the band switched to a different label, Good Entertainment . Under Good Enter, Jun Jin advanced further, singing a solo song entitled "Painfully Loving You." Jun Jin soon released a single, "Sarangee Ohji Anahyo" (Love Doesn't Come), thus starting his solo career.

Establishing a Solo Career

Jun Jin released his first single in November 2006 titled "사랑이 오지 않아요" (translated to "Love Doesn't Come"), with a total of five songs, including the title song and its instrumental. Surprisingly, he decided to go into ballad even though he is known for his strong dance skills. However, this is because ballads are popular in Korea right now; dance artists such as Baek Ji Young and even Jun Jin's own group Shinhwa have released ballads for their lead singles as well. The single did fairly well on the chart, though not a major hit. In December 2006, Jun Jin was hospitalised; although recommended to stay in the hospital, he quickly left and returned to his promotional schedule.

In early January 2007, Jun Jin filmed a music video with Taiwanese singer Linda Liao . The music video was by the Korean group, The Name, titled "It Could Be Love." He later recorded a duet with Lao, entitled "Forever" and also has a version in Mandarin . He later released a repackage version of "Love Doesn't Come," which included the duet with Lao. The repackage version fared better in sales, selling 44,724 at the end of 2007.In mid-2007, Jun Jin left his group's management company and set up his own call JF Story Entertainmentto concentrate on his solo career more.

His first full solo album was released on April 25, 2008. TitledNew Decade, the first single from the album was "Wa". The single encountered controversy when the music video was given a 19+ rating due to sexual content, in effect banning the video from major networks.

After going on a hitatus, he joined the cast of popular reality TV show We Got Married and was paired up with actress, Lee Shi Young . The couple was dubbed "Gundam Couple" due to Lee Shi Young's obsession with Gundam .

He later released a mini album before starting madatory military service titled "Fascination". The title-track "Hey Ya" featuring Son Dam Bi and Big Tone did fairy well on the charts but a track on the mini album titled "Like A Fool" featuring his "wife" Lee Shi Young managed to fair better on the charts. The album was a mild succes.

TV Shows

• April 2008 Infinite Challenge - replaced Haha as 'the 7th member' host - MBC
• 2009 We Got Married - partnered with Lee Shi Young - MBC

Game shows

• 2005 Love Letter
• 2005 X-Man - SBS
• 2006 Heroine 6
• 2006 New X-Man - SBS
• July 2006 Infinity Challenge - Quiz Challenge with Shinhwa - MBC

Albums

Singles

TV series

• Nonstop 4(2003)
• Forbidden Love/ Nine-Tailed Fox(2004)
• Let's Go To The Beach(2005)

Beginnings with Shinhwa

Backed by his high school friend, An Chil Hyun , Jun Jin was able to make it through the audition as a member for Shinhwa. He debuted with them as a rapper , alongside Eric Mun and Andy Lee . However, in the release of Shinhwa's fifth album "Perfect Man," he began singing small parts. He would still continue to sing small parts with the release of Shinhwa's later albums until the band switched to a different label, Good Entertainment . Under Good Enter, Jun Jin advanced further, singing a solo song entitled "Painfully Loving You." Jun Jin soon released a single, "Sarangee Ohji Anahyo" (Love Doesn't Come), thus starting his solo career.

Establishing a Solo Career

Jun Jin released his first single in November 2006 titled "사랑이 오지 않아요" (translated to "Love Doesn't Come"), with a total of five songs, including the title song and its instrumental. Surprisingly, he decided to go into ballad even though he is known for his strong dance skills. However, this is because ballads are popular in Korea right now; dance artists such as Baek Ji Young and even Jun Jin's own group Shinhwa have released ballads for their lead singles as well. The single did fairly well on the chart, though not a major hit. In December 2006, Jun Jin was hospitalised; although recommended to stay in the hospital, he quickly left and returned to his promotional schedule.

In early January 2007, Jun Jin filmed a music video with Taiwanese singer Linda Liao . The music video was by the Korean group, The Name, titled "It Could Be Love." He later recorded a duet with Lao, entitled "Forever" and also has a version in Mandarin . He later released a repackage version of "Love Doesn't Come," which included the duet with Lao. The repackage version fared better in sales, selling 44,724 at the end of 2007.In mid-2007, Jun Jin left his group's management company and set up his own call JF Story Entertainmentto concentrate on his solo career more.

His first full solo album was released on April 25, 2008. TitledNew Decade, the first single from the album was "Wa". The single encountered controversy when the music video was given a 19+ rating due to sexual content, in effect banning the video from major networks.

After going on a hitatus, he joined the cast of popular reality TV show We Got Married and was paired up with actress, Lee Shi Young . The couple was dubbed "Gundam Couple" due to Lee Shi Young's obsession with Gundam .

He later released a mini album before starting madatory military service titled "Fascination". The title-track "Hey Ya" featuring Son Dam Bi and Big Tone did fairy well on the charts but a track on the mini album titled "Like A Fool" featuring his "wife" Lee Shi Young managed to fair better on the charts. The album was a mild succes.

• April 2008 Infinite Challenge - replaced Haha as 'the 7th member' host - MBC
• 2009 We Got Married - partnered with Lee Shi Young - MBC

Game shows

• 2005 Love Letter
• 2005 X-Man - SBS
• 2006 Heroine 6
• 2006 New X-Man - SBS
• July 2006 Infinity Challenge - Quiz Challenge with Shinhwa - MBC

1. "2007 Year-end Chart" (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on 2008-05-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20080508152311/http://www.miak.or.kr/stat/kpop_2007_2.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-24. 
2. "20070819" (in Korean). JF Story Entertainment. http://www.jfstoryent.com/. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 
3. 전진 뮤비, 선정적 이유로 ‘19금’ 판정. DongA.com. Retrieved June 8, 2008.