Eun Ji Won
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Eun Ji Won 은지원 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Eun Ji Won |
| Also known as | G1, G (지), Eun Cho Ding (은초딩) |
| Born | June 8, 1978 |
| Origin |  South Korea |
| Genre(s) | K-pop, hip-hop, R&B, rap |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, singer, dancer, composer, producer |
| Years active | 1997 - 2000 (Group) 2000 - Current (Solo) |
| Label(s) | Daesung Entertainment SD Entertainment 13 Creative Unit[1] (Current) |
| Associated acts | Sechs Kies, Movement |
| Website | g-crew.co.kr |
| Eun Ji Won | ||||||||
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Eun Ji Won (Korean: 은지원) (born June 8, 1978) is a Korean hip-hop singer formerly of the group Sechs Kies (젝스키스). Sechs Kies was divided into The Black Kies which were the three rappers and The White Kies which were the vocalists. Eun Ji Won was the leader for The Black Kies and rapper and leader of the group Sechs Kies. He was the oldest member in the group. Eun Ji Won has pursued a solo career since 2001 with his first single track "A-Ha". He recently returned to the K-pop scene with the Latin-hip-hop single track titled "Adios".
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[edit] Background
Eun Ji Won's English name is Matthew Eun. He graduated from Seoul Yeudo Elementary School (서울여의도초등학교), Yoon Joong Junior High School (윤중중학교 졸업) and Korea Kent Foreign School in South Korea and attended Hawaii Pacific University in Hawaii, United States. Eun Ji Won is a Buddhist. He has a habit of rotating 360° while sleeping.[2]
Eun Ji Won is the nephew of Park Geun Hye, the former chairperson of the Grand National Party (한나라당 총재). Park Geun Hye is also the daughter of the former South Korean president Park Jung Hee. Eun Ji Won's grandmother was an older sister of the former president Park Jung Hee. Eun Ji Won's mother and aunt were also singers.
Eun Ji Won's nickname during Sechs Kies was "soy sauce" (깜시) because of his dark skin colour. "Eun Cho Ding" is his recent nickname and was given to him on KBS' reality-variety show Happy Sunday: 1 Night 2 Days because of his "kid (junior-high student)" like actions.
[edit] Sechs Kies history
[edit] Pre-debut
Eun Ji Won and Kang Sung Hoon were the first to be discovered by Daesung Entertainment's co-president who was on vacation in Hawaii, United States. Oddly, the two were discovered and casted at a nightclub. Kim Jae Duc and Lee Jae Jin were in a dance group called 'Quicksilvers' in their home town of Pusan, South Korea where one of the members sent in a tape to Daesung Entertainment. During an open audition, Jang Su Won was cast and accepted. Finally, Ko Ji Yong was introduced to Daesung Entertainment by Kang Sung Hoon because they were friends since elementary school.
[edit] Debut
Sechs Kies, which means "six modifications" in German, debuted on KMTV Show! Music Tank on April 15, 1997 with "Haak Won Byul Gohk" (학원별곡). Sechs Kies was also a onetime rival of H.O.T from SM Entertainment. Their talent and skills brought them much attention as they performed five tracks from their first album which was released on May 15, 1997. Their first fan meeting took place on July 21, 1997. Many were impressed with Sechs Kies work and they were invited to perform at the SBS Super Concert in Los Angeles, California in September of 1997. Sechs Kies held their first concert on December 21, 1997.
Sechs Kies performed different genres of music and were asked to perform the musical Alibaba and the 40 Thieves with fellow artist, Jin Joo. Eun Ji Won, the leader of Sechs Kies, started showing off more of his personal talent as he took part in the production of their third album. During this time, all six members of Sechs Kies also released their first movie, Seventeen: The Movie which was in theatres on July 17, 1998. Despite everything they found themselves involved in, Sechs Kies never ceased to impress and amaze their fans with their acting.
Many music award shows were held between December 18 and December 31, 1998, Sechs Kies went home with several Daesang awards proving that all their hard work was well worth the sacrifices Sechs Kies have made for their fans. Sechs Kies spent much of January of 1999 holding concerts throughout Korea. Sechs Kies had a comeback in September of 1999, and performed a song appropriately titled, "Comeback" as well as "Yeh Gam" and "Geu Dae Rul Mum Chu". This album had a lot more input from the members of the group, several of them writing and producing tracks for it. For some reason, Sechs Kies did not stay in the limelight for too long promoting this album.
[edit] After disbanding
After many rumors began surfacing about whether or not Sechs Kies would return to the studio to create their fifth album, and after several incidents of supposed misconduct from their managing label Daesung Entertainment, Sechs Kies finally did return to the spotlight. But this time, it was something none of their fans would have ever expected.
At 2:00 p.m. on May 18, 2000, Sechs Kies held a press conference to announce their inevitable departure from the k-pop scene as the group 'Sechs Kies'. As a few members shed tears, they explained their situation in little detail. It was rumored that Eun Ji Won and Kang Sung Hoon might form a duet under Daesung Entertainment, or at least stay within the entertainment world. Kim Jae Duc will stay with the company as a choreographer. Lee Jae Jin might join Kim Jae Duc as a choreographer, or he might just return to school out of the limelight along with Jang Su Won. Ko Ji Yong has expressed an interest in becoming an actor now that Sechs Kies has ended its era. As the news about their break-up spread across the country and the world, the hearts of many fans broke, their dreams crushed, and tears shed. But despite the anguish, the fans of Sechs Kies will now and forever remain fans of Sechs Kies. To this date, no other group in k-pop history has crossed so many musical boundaries and completed so much in such a short time.
After the press conference, one last music video, entitled "Thanks" was released, which is a rare music video made after their final concert.
In November of 2006, it was revealed that the six former members of the boy band may re-group and release an album together.[3] The plan was met with mixed reactions as some were skeptical that they would regain their original popularity they had had seven years ago.[4] The probability of reunification coming to reality was blurred as it was revealed on November 4, 2006 that Lee Jae Jin has secretly gone to the military. His representative had said that he will not be seen on television until he finishes his military duty.[5]
[edit] Performing with former members
Though Sechs Kies disbanded in 2000, in 2002 Eun Ji Won performed alongside former Sechs Kies members, Kang Sung Hoon, and J-Walk's (Kim Jae Duc and Jang Su Won). Most recently in 2007, Eun Ji Won performed with J-Walk on various music shows as both returned to stage around the same time. They performed on KBS' Yoon Do Hyun's Love Letter where they performed there own Sechs Kies track, "Couple" and on KBS' Music Bank 'Special Stage' where all three performed Eun Ji Won's "Adios" and J-Walk's "Light Storm". Just recently, Eun Ji Won and J-Walk performed "Couple" at Lee Soo Geun's wedding on March 2, 2008. Eun Ji Won was featured on J-Walk's third album's title track, "My Love", where he was also featured in the music video.
[edit] Solo career
[edit] 2000–2002: Beginning of a solo career
After Sechs Kies ended, Eun Ji Won started his solo career in 2000 under the name G1. He first debuted with the single track "A-Ha" on October 27, 2000. He composed and penned all songs from his first single album. Eun Ji Won released his first regular album on March 29, 2001 with the title track "Murmur". With the success of his first album, Eun Ji Won refined his style and attempted new experiments with his music in his second album.
[edit] 2003–2005: Third album breakthrough
Eun Ji Won then hit it big with his third album with the title song "Drunken in Melody" which was released on September 5, 2005.[6] He later released a repackage album of his third album which included a 'Winter Version' of "Mikasaro" and "Never Ever" from his first single album. "Drunken In Melody" earned him the Hip Hop Award from the 2003 SBS Gayo Awards and KMTV Korean Music Awards. He has also performed this song twice on stage with Tiger JK of Drunken Tiger on KBS' Yoon Do Hyun's Love Letter.
[edit] 2004: First leading-male screen debut
Eun Ji Won has starred as the leading-male role in the romantic-comedy movie Marrying High School Girl (여고생 시집가기) with Lim Eun Kyung which was directed by first-time director Oh Duk Hwan. It was in theatres on December 23, 2004. Eun played as Park Ondal, a transfer student to the same school as Pyung-Gang (played by Lim Eun Kyung). The two star in an "inspired by Korean legend" tale about a high school bad girl who must get married to someone named "Ondal" before her sixteenth birthday and have a baby within one year after marriage, otherwise she will die.
[edit] 2006: Joined hip-hop crew, Movement
Although he disappeared from the mainstream k-pop, in mid-2006, he joined Movement (무브먼트), a group of rappers and hip-hop artists from all over Korea. Many of these singers are also well-known among the k-pop industry while some are well-known as underground artists. Members of Movement include Drunken Tiger, Tasha (Yoon Mi Rae), Dynamic Duo, Epik High, TBNY, Leessang, Yang Dong Gun (YDG), Bobby Kim, Buga Kingz, Ann, Double K, and many more. Movement held a concert on May 13, 2006 at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Many artists of the Movement have also been featured in Eun Ji Won's albums.
[edit] 2007–present: Return after two year hiatus
Eun Ji Won returned with a new single titled "Adios" after a two years and six month hiatus from the music industry. His new single Love, Death, Introspection (사랑死랑思랑) was released on October 30, 2007. It has four new tracks and an instrumental version of his title song "Adios". Mr. Tyfoon, Baek Ji Young and Sat Byul (샛별) were featured in this single album. "Adios", which is a Latin hip-hop track, was composed by Keeproots and the lyrics were written by Mr. Tyfoon. Tiger JK from Drunken Tiger, Mr. Tyfoon and Eun Ji Won himself helped in producing this single album.[7][8] He now works under 13 Creative Unit, which is part of Eyagi Entertainment, who also produces the female singer Hwang Bo, and actress Park Si Yeon.
In mid-2007, he has appeared on a new reality-variety show Happy Sunday: 1 Night 2 Days produced by KBS. Recently, he has replaced Kim Jong Min on MBC's Come To Play (놀러와) who left to serve his military duties. Kim Jong Min was also part of the 1 Night 2 Days cast and was replaced by MC Mong. He was also part of the cast on SBS' Burst! Mental Concentration (작렬! 정신통일) before the show ended in September of 2007 due to low ratings.
Eun Ji Won is currently preparing for his fifth album which will consist of 20 songs chosen from over a hundred songs. In 2007, Eun Ji Won had performed at the DKNY Party. He has stated that starring on TV shows and his fifth album do not have anything to do with each other.
Recently, Eun Ji Won participated in Moon Ji Eun's debut mini album. Moon Ji Eun and Eun Ji Won are under the same label, Starship Entertainment. Not only did Eun Ji Won rap for Moon's title song "Fox", he was also featured in the music video. Moon Ji Eun first appeared in Eun Ji Won's 2003 music video "문득". Moon Ji Eun's mini-album will be released on April 10, 2008.[9]
[edit] Criticism
Eun Ji Won is the only member from Sechs Kies to ever face criticism since the group disbanded. Ji Won changed genres from pop music to hip hop and rap. An example would be former boy band member Moon Hee Jun of H.O.T who also changed genres of music. Moon Hee Jun became a rock artist instead of a pop artist after becoming a solo singer. Sechs Kies was also the rival of H.O.T. Many have criticized Ji Won now that he has claimed to be hip hop and rap, despite being a lead rapper in Sechs Kies. However, most fans are now enjoying his music and are supporting him.[10][11]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Sechs Kies discography
[edit] Singles
| Album # | Album Information | Track listing |
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| 1st | Never, Ever.../A.D. 2050
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| 2nd | 사랑死랑思랑 (Love, Death, Introspection)
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[edit] Albums
| Album # | Album Information | Track listing |
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| 1st | Volume 1 - G Pop |
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| 2nd | Volume 2 - Heavy G
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| - | Best - Eun Ji Won Best
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| 3rd | Volume 3 - Drunken in Hip Hop
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| - | Repackage - Repackage L.E
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| 4th | Volume 4 - The Second Round
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[edit] Other Works
| Artist | Album Information | Track |
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| Mina | Volume 2 - RE:TURN 2 MINA |
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| Epik High | Volume 2 - High Society |
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| Bobby Kim | Volume 2 - Beats Within My Soul |
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| Kim Woo Joo | Volume 1 - Before You Sleep |
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| Ash | Volume 2 - I'm Ur Woman
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| Mr. Tyfoon | Volume 1 - Mi vida Payaso | |
| J | Volume 6 - Inlove Again
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| Lisa | Single - Again |
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| J | Digital Single - Alcohol Innocence
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| Moon Ji Eun | Mini-Album - Vivid |
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| Lisa | Digital Single - The Person Who I Will Meet |
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| Moon Ji Eun | Repackage - Vivid |
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| J-Walk | Repackage - Vivid |
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[edit] Film and television career
[edit] Film
- Seventeen: The Movie (July 17, 1998)
- Marrying High School Girl (여고생 시집가기) (December 23, 2004)
- MBC New Nonstop 2 Episode 231 (Special Guest)
- MBC New Nonstop 3 Episode 480 (Cameo)
- MBC New Heart Episode 23 (Cameo)
[edit] Variety Shows
[edit] Current
- KBS2 Happy Sunday: 1 Night 2 Days (1박 2일)
1 Night 2 Days is one of the three segments of KBS' reality-variety show hosted by Kang Ho Dong. The cast includes Eun Ji Won and Lee Su Geun and new members, Kim C, Lee Seung Gi and MC Mong. Its former members include Ji Sang Ryul who left to film a drama, No Hong Chul of Infinite Challenge (무한도전) and Kim Jong Min who left to serve his military duties in November of 2007. 1 Night 2 Days is a segment where the cast goes out on a road trip to one of the Korean cities for two days and one night. The show was formerly known as Are You Ready? (준비됐어요), which had the same original cast but a total different segment before its segment was changed to 1 Night 2 Days. Eun Ji Won was nominated for 'Best Male Entertainer' at the 2007 KBS Entertainment Awards on December 22, 2007, however the award was presented to Kim Gu Ra and fellow cast member Lee Su Geun. Eun Ji Won has also gained the nickname of Eun Cho Ding (은초딩) from this variety show because of his "kid-like" characterisitcs.
- MBC Come To Play (놀러와)
Come To Play is a reality-variety show co-hosted by Yoo Jae Suk and Kim Won Hee along with No Hong Chul. Kim Jong Min was also part of the cast but left to serve his military duties, so Eun Ji Won is the replacement for Kim Jong Min. Guests on the show will answer questions through different game corners.
- SBS Hexagon (Quiz! Sixth Sense) (퀴즈! 육감대결)
A show hosted by Lee Kyung Kyu along with Shin Jung Hwan and another female entertainer. Eun Ji Won recently joined the cast.
- SBS Popular Songs (인기가요)
Starting May 11, 2008, Eun Ji Won and Heo Yi Jae will replace Super Junior's Kim Hee Chul and Song Ji Hyo as MCs due to Kim Hee Chul's prolonged injuries on Popular Songs.[12]
[edit] Past
- MBC 패러디극장 옥탑방 구렁이
- SBS Burst! Mental Concentration (작렬! 정신통일)
Burst! Mental Concentration is another reality-variety show that was co-hosted by Kim Yong Man and Hyun Young. In this variety show, the cast and its guests play physical and mind games. Its original broadcast started in April and ended September of 2007 due to low ratings.
[edit] Awards
[edit] Group
| Year | Awards |
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| 1997 |
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| 1998 |
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| 1999 |
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[edit] Solo
| Year | Awards |
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| 2001 |
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| 2003 |
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[edit] Quick facts
- The hanja in his first name mean: 志 (지) "aspiration" or "will" and 源 (원) "root".
- Eun Ji Won has a tattoo on his right arm.
- His fan balloon colour is silver (Sechs Kies balloon colour was yellow) with the fan club name, G-Crew.
[edit] References
- ^ 13 Creative Unit is a subsidary company of Eyagi Entertainment.
- ^ (Korean) epg - Star Information epg. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ (Korean) 젝스키스, 재결합 추진! 내년초 앨범발표 MyDaily. Retrieved November 3, 2006]].
- ^ (Korean) 젝스키스 재결합 소식에 팬들도 '술렁' 조이뉴스24. Retrieved November 3, 2006.
- ^ (Korean) 젝스키스 이재진, 논산훈련소 입소..남몰래 군복무중 머니투데이 스타뉴스 . Retrieved November 4, 2006.
- ^ (English) KBS World - Artist Search KBS World. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ (English) Rapper Eun Returns with Latin Hiphop KBS Global. Retrieved October 30, 2007.
- ^ (Korean) 은지원, 2년 6개월 만에 컴백… 라틴 힙합 'ADIOS' 발표 조이뉴스24. Retrieved October 30, 2007.
- ^ (Korean) 은지원, 문지은 데뷔곡 '여우가' 피처링 참여...6년 우정 과시 Chosun. April 8, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
- ^ (Korean) 하드보일드 매치, 맞짱 문희준 VS 은지원 1부 YTN Star. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ (Korean) 하드보일드 매치, 맞짱 문희준 VS 은지원 2부 YTN Star. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ (Korean) 은지원·허이재, SBS '인기가요' 새 MC Star News. April 28, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
[edit] External links
- (Korean) g-crew.co.kr
- (Korean) Eyagi Entertainment Official Site
- (Korean) DSP Entertainment Official Site
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