Jung Eun-ji

Jung Eun-ji
Eunji at Vizit Korea concert in Singapore in October 2013
Background information
Birth name	Jung Hye-rim
Also known as	Hyerim, Happy Virus, Busan Ajhumma, Satoori Idol
Born	(1993-08-18) August 18, 1993 Haeundae, Busan, South Korea
Genres	Pop, Dance-pop
Occupations	Singer, Actress, Dancer, Model, Spokesperson
Instruments	Vocals, Piano, Guitar
Years active	2011 – present
Labels	A Cube Entertainment
Associated acts	A Pink, Park Cho-rong, Yoon Bomi, Son Na-eun, Kim Nam-joo, Oh Ha-young, Huh Gak, Seo In-guk, Yang Yo-seob, Beast, United Cube
Website	https://twitter.com/Apinkjej https://wagle.me/apinkjej

Jung Eun-ji (Korean: 정은지; born Jung Hye-rim on August 18, 1993), is a South Korean idol singer/dancer and actress. She is the main vocalist and dancer of girl group A Pink under A Cube Entertainment. She also gained popularity for her acting in the hit TV series Reply 1997.^[1]

Biography

Jung Eun-ji was born as Jung Hyerim^[2] in Haeundae, Busan,^[3] on August 18, 1993.^[4] She attended Hapdo Kindergarten, Shinjae Elementary School, Jaesong Girls’ Middle School and later Hyehwa Girls’ High School.^[5] In 2004, Eunji won the first place prize in the program 'Excited Day Enjoyable Day (Korean:신나는 날 즐거운 날)' hosted by the Korean Broadcasting System. She appeared as Jung Hye-rim.^[6]

Eunji had originally aimed to become a detective although she wanted to be a singer.^[7] However, her goal is best known as a vocal trainer.^[8] After she passed the audition to be A Pink's main vocalist, she instead decided to pursue a career as an idol. She has a younger brother named Jung Min-ki.^[9]

Because she grew up in Busan, she has a Busan dialect.^[10] She had stated her dialect had helped her with her acting.^[11]

Career

Eunji performing with A Pink at Korea Night in Toronto, Ontario in 2012

Pre-debut

Eunji was selected as the last member of A Pink through an audition on November 2010. She was specifically chosen as the main vocalist.^[12] She was revealed to the public as A Pink's 4th member on March 10, 2011, through the medium Twitter. The introduction was a video of Eunji singing her rendition of Jennifer Hudson's "Love You I Do".^[13] She had not received professional training prior to the debut and had trained for only 6 months with the group.^[12]

A Pink

A Pink debuted on April 21, 2011, with "Mollayo" (몰라요; "I Don't Know") from their debut EP Seven Springs of A Pink and has so far released three Korean EPs and one studio album.

Acting

Eunji made her acting debut in Reply 1997, a 1990s nostalgia drama. She played the role of Sung Shi-won, the lead.^[14] Eunji was complimented for her comedic and emotional acting.^[15] She had also been complemented from her Busan dialect.^[16] Eunji said her perky character was similar to her own personality and Busan background, which helped her act naturally.^[17] However, her real personality has been stated as contradictory to the character's.^[18] The role won several awards, including the 2013 Baeksang Art Award for Best New TV Actress.^[19]

Eunji then made her stage debut in the 2012 run of the Hollywood film-turned-musical Legally Blonde, playing the role of the lead Elle Woods.^[20] The show started on November 16, 2012 ^[21] and ended on March 17, 2013.^[22] She was then cast in a supporting role in the 2013 melodrama That Winter, The Wind Blows. She plays the role Moon, Hee-Sun.^[23] It was her first role on a drama broadcast on one of South Korea's 3 major networks, for which she won the 2013 APAN Star Award for Best Performance and the SBS Drama Award for Best New Actress.^[24][25] She has been complemented for the original fashion style of the character.^[23]

Eunji made a cameo on the December 13 episode (Episode 16) of drama Reply 1994. The drama, which is written and directed by the same people as its predecessor Reply 1997, is also a 1990s nostalgia drama. For the cameo she reprised her role as Sung Shi-won, the previous drama's lead.^[26]

Musical collaborations

For the project A Cube for Season #Green, Eunji and fellow Cube artist Yang Yo-seob of Beast sang the duet track "Love Day."^[27] The music video was released on March 12, 2012 to meet white day.^[28]

In August 2012, Eunji recorded two promotional singles, 'All For You' and 'Our Love Like This' with the Reply 1997 co-star Seo In-guk for the drama's OST.^[29][30] followed by a live performance on M! Countdown and a win on Music Triangle. The song also won numerous awards including the Mnet Asian Music Award and the Melon Music Award for 'Best OST'.

Eunji, along with another A Pink member Namjoo, and Hyunseung of Beast released the single "One Year Ago" from the project "A Cube For Season #White" on January 3 ^[31] to commemorate A Pink's first music show win the year before and Eunji, Hyunseung and B2STs successes that year.

On May 31, 2013, Eunji and fellow Cube artist Huh Gak released a song for "A Cube For Season #Blue" project titled 'Short Hair.'^[32]

Discography

Solo artist

Filmography

TV drama

Musical theatre

Television show appearances

MC Host

Endorsements

Aside from her endorsements alongside A Pink, Eunji has also endorsed the following brands:

Awards and nominations

Music programs

Jung Eun-ji's wins on Korea's televised music shows. Music Triangle is aired on Korea cable channel KM.

Music Triangle

References

External links

• Jung Eun-ji at Wagle (Korean)
• Jung Eun-ji on Twitter (Korean)
• Jung Eun-ji at HanCinema