| Park Kahi | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Park Ji Young |
| Also known as | Kahi Gahee |
| Born | December 25, 1980 Gangwon, South Korea[1] |
| Origin | Daegu, South Korea |
| Genres | Pop, Dance |
| Occupations | Singer, Dancer, Rapper, Lyricist, Choreographer, Composer |
| Years active | 2000 - Present |
| Labels | Pledis Entertainment |
| Associated acts | After School |
| Website | After School Korea After School Japan |
| Kahi (entertainer) | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 박가희 |
| Hanja | 朴嘉熙 |
| Revised Romanization | Bak Ga-hui |
| McCune–Reischauer | Pak Ka-hŭi |
| Birth name | |
| Hangul | 박지영 |
| Hanja | 朴智英 |
| Revised Romanization | Bak Ji-yeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Pak Chi-yŏng |
Park Kahi (Korean: 박가희; born on December 25, 1980) is a South Korean singer and dancer. She is the leader of the girl group After School.
Contents |
Kahi was born in a small village in Gangwon on December 25, 1980. She did not find her passion for dancing until she was 16. She also became fascinated by the hip hop group Roo'ra at age 16, which motivated her to become a singer. However, due to her family's opposition and practical conditions, she could not get any professional training. In her high school years, she trained herself in singing and dancing. However, her father made her go to a university in a rural area. She obeyed at the beginning; however, eventually, she could no longer stand being a college student, and left her hometown to pursue her dream. She did not speak with her father for the next seven years. She went to Seoul alone and empty-handed. Then, one day a friend took her to an interview to be a backup dancer. She did well at the audition and got the job. She then started her dancing career at age 18.
In 2000, Kahi was chosen as the main dancer for DJ Doc's mega-hit, "Run to You", just three months after she entered. However, her instant success also brought her huge stress, and eventually forced her leave. To make a living, she worked many jobs such as working as a cleaner, waitress, and sales clerk for long period of time. Finally, a choreographer in SM Entertainment gave her a chance to become a temporary dancer for BoA. SM Entertainment liked her dancing, and she was kept as full-time dancer. Since then, she gradually gained fame in her field. She also met TVXQ's Park Yoochun,who she had a relationship with that last until her final days as a dancer for the company. Her cooperation with BoA lasted more than three years. Besides BoA, she was also a famous backup dancer for Country Kko Kko, JinuSean, 1TYM, Lexy, Chae Yeon, Eun Ji Won, and many others. She was also the dance teacher for Son Dam Bi and May Doni.
Around 2006, after more than five years career as a professional dancer, she set her mind to debut as a dance-pop singer. She joined the Korean American girl group "S. Blush", whose first digital single peaked at #2 at the Billboard Hot Dance Chart in May 2007.[2] However, due to various reasons, the band disbanded.
In late 2007, Kahi contacted some friends in the industry that she had known from her years as a dancer, who are now the staff of Pledis Entertainment. They planned for and produced the debut of the new group together. After years of work and selection of members, she debuted in January 2009 as the leader of After School.
Pledis Entertainment initially announced that the singer would release a solo album sometime in 2010, which started rumors of her leaving the group; however her management denied that she was leaving After School.[3] However, the debut was delayed to February 2011.[4] Meanwhile, Kahi joined the cast of reality-variety series Yeongunghogeol (영웅호걸, "Heroes").[5]
The promotional campaign for Kahi's solo debut started in mid-February, with the album jacket photos released on February 9[6] and a teaser video on February 12.[7] The album photos were noted for highlighting the singer's "S-line",[8] while netizens and news articles commented on the contrasting "black vs. white" images and "charisma" in the teaser.[7][9] The mini-album was then released on February 14, 2011.[10] The music video for "Come Back, You Bad Person" was released on February 14, 2011 and Kahi began promotional activities on the 18th.[11]
| Years | Awards | Notes | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | SBS Entertainment Awards | Best Newcomer - Variety New Star Award | Won |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||