Jung Yong-hwa

This is a Korean name; the family name is Jung.
Jung Yong-hwa

Jung Yong-hwa in 2012
Background information
Born June 22, 1989
Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Origin Busan, South Korea
Genres Rock, R&B, pop
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, guitarist, rapper, producer, actor
Instruments Vocals, guitar, clarinet, piano, drums, recorder, synthesizer, beatbox
Years active 2009–present
Labels FNC Entertainment
Associated acts CNBLUE
Website fncent.com
Korean name
Hangul 정용화
Hanja
Revised Romanization Jeong Yong-hwa
McCune–Reischauer Chŏng Yonghwa

Jung Yong-hwa (정용화; pronounced [tɕəːŋ joŋ hwa]; born on June 22, 1989) is a South Korean musician, singer, songwriter, producer and actor. His name is also written as Jung Yonghwa, Yong-Hwa, or Yong Hwa. Jung made his show business debut as "Kang Shin-woo" in the Korean drama You're Beautiful on October 7, 2009 and played the male lead as "Lee Shin" in the 2011 drama Heartstrings. Jung is the leader, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band CNBLUE.

Life and career

Early life and pre-debut

Jung Yong-hwa was born June 22, 1989, in Seoul, South Korea.[1] His family consists of his parents and a brother, who is four years older. He moved to Busan in 1991 and lived there through high school, where he first began composing music.[2] After taking his college entrance,he moved back to Seoul, where he joined FNC Music. In 2009, Jung left for Japan to study music with his bandmates.[3] While there, they did street performances and released independent albums.[3]

Before joining the company and his subsequent debut in the entertainment industry, he was already known in Busan for his good looks and singing. He was also well-known on the Internet as an "Ulzzang."[4] In 2010, he was the first generation member in the BEST NINE SCHOOL ULZZANG (meaning #1 ulzzang), followed by another CNBLUE member Lee Jong-hyun, Block B's Jaehyo, MBLAQ's Lee Joon, and B.A.P's Himchan, who were the second, third, fourth and fifth generation members respectively.[5][6][7] He was scouted by a FNC casting agent, who happened to see the photos of Yong-hwa at the ski resort on the internet which were re-uploaded from his personal blog by an unknown netizen on an ulzzang cafe site and him being the first generation member of the Best Nine. The casting agent then contacted him, first before his college entrance exam. However, he didn't accept the company's casting offer as he didn't want to be an artist. Later, 50 days before his exam, the casting agent went directly to Yong-hwa's hometown to convince him. He then told his parents, who didn't know that Yong-hwa was approached by the company, regarding the company's request to audition to be an artist. His parents encouraged him to give it a try and return to his hometown to continue his studies, doubting that he would pass the auditions since they had not heard him sing before. He passed the auditions and decided to join the company to be the lead singer of a band after considering his lack of self-confidence in the business field, which he wanted to pursue, giving up his college entrance exam temporarily. He went to retake the exam at a later date.[8]

Music career

Jung Yong-hwa in 2011

Jung Yong-hwa's first album as a CNBLUE member is Now or Never, a mini album that was released in Japan on August 19, 2009 with an indie label AI Entertainment. Jung composed the third track "Love Revolution" and the fourth track "Just Please".

Jung Yong-hwa debuted as a singer with the rock band CNBLUE in Korea on January 14, 2010. Bluetory is CNBLUE's first mini album, and the title track "I'm a Loner" (외톨이야) became an instant hit in Korea. "I'm a Loner" reached the top in all major online music stores,[9] and topped the KBS Music Bank chart on January 29, 2012.[10][11] "I'm a Loner" still holds the record in South Korea for reaching number 1 in the major TV network music charts in the shortest time.

On January 14, 2011, Jung released his first solo digital single, "For First Time Lovers." The song topped the charts for two consecutive weeks.

On October 19, 2011, CNBLUE made their Japanese debut with Jung's self-composed title song "In My Head" under the major label Warner Music Japan.[12][13] The song "In My Head" was also chosen as the ending song for Supernatural: The Animation.[14]

He also composed and wrote CNBLUE's second major single "Where You Are", which was released in Japan on February 1, 2012. The physical single debuted at number one on Oricon's daily chart with 32,943 copies sold on the first day[15] and on the weekly chart with 60,398 copies sold in the first week. This made CNBLUE the first foreign band to top the Oricon Singles Chart since January 18, 1971 (when the Canadian band Mashmakhan released the single "Two in the Fog"), and made CNBLUE the fourth South Korean male artist/group to rank number 1 on Oricon's weekly singles chart, following Tohoshinki (TVXQ), JYJ members (Jaejoong and Yoochun) and Jang Geun Suk.[16]

On January 14, 2013, CNBLUE made a comeback with title track "I'm Sorry" which was co-composed and co-written by Yong-hwa. "I'm Sorry" depicts the feelings experienced after a breakup. The song immediately took the number 1 spots on various music charts upon release, pushing Girls' Generation, Baek Ji-young, and Jung Hyung-don down[17] and achieving an all-kill.[18] Talking about the title track, Yong-hwa commented, "The title track 'I’m Sorry' is a song with burden. The style is different than what we've done before so we were worried whether the fans will like it while we were working on it. I tried to put in a lot of pop in the song."[19] The other four tracks on the album Re:Blue, composed by Yong-hwa, have also received good responses from the general public, as seen from the comments given by Super Junior's Ryeowook and Sungmin,[20] and the reviews given from all around the world. These songs were also performed live on music shows on their comeback stages.[21]

In January 2015, Yong-hwa debuted as a solo artist with the album "One Fine Day" and clinched the No. 1 spot on Billboard's World Albums chart. [22]

Songwriting

Besides producing music for CNBLUE, Jung has also written several tracks for other artists or other purposes such as commercial filming or OSTs. The following are his most notable works:

He composed and produced "Fool" ["Babo" (Japanese version of "Fool")] as a gift for the debut album of Juniel, who is also under the same agency as Jung.[23] He also composed and produced "Love is Only You" for another FNC artist, girl group AOA.[24] Jung released 17 compositions for the first half of the year in 2012.[25]

For his drama Heartstrings, he composed "Because I Miss You" as one of the original soundtracks. This song peaked at #14 in Korean Gaon chart. He has also produced "Casting Love" by Jeon Gunhwa of FNC duo M Signal for the OST of his own drama Marry Him If You Dare.

He has also produced the "School Song" as a gift for the CNBLUE School in Burkina Faso, Africa.[26]

The Samsung Galaxy's brand song "Feel Good", which was released officially on YouTube on August 23, 2013, was also penned by Yong-hwa.[27]

His songwriting skills are widely acknowledged by the public. He has been continuously ranked top 10 by fellow idols in the Weekly Idol (variety show) rankings, which are determined from idols' votes. He is ranked #1 in the "Top 15 Multi-talented Idols" for his singing-songwriting ability, rapping ability, as well as his capability in the entertainment field apart from the music industry.[28] He has also been ranked #3 in "Top 7 Next Psy World Star",[29] and #3 in "Top 10 Idols Who Would Be Successful as a Producer".[30]

Acting career

Jung Yong-hwa had debuted before his group did, becoming the first member of CNBLUE to appear on the television screen. In 2009, he landed his first acting role as Kang Shin-woo in the SBS drama You're Beautiful, which aired from October 7 to November 26, 2009. As the series revolves around the life of a musical group, he played the role of the lead guitarist in the faux idol band A.N.Jell.

Nearly two years after his acting debut, Jung was chosen as the male lead of the MBC drama Heartstrings, along with fellow band member Kang Min-hyuk. The drama is a South Korean youthful melodrama about the main characters' love and dreams, which was first aired on June 29, 2011.

He also sang three songs on the soundtrack of Heartstrings, "You've Fallen For Me", "Because I Miss You" (composed by himself), and "Comfort Song." "You've Fallen For Me" topped the yearly ringtone chart of 2012 in Japan.[31]

In 2013, Jung joined Marry Him If You Dare as the second lead with Han Chae-ah.

He joined the cast of The Three Musketeers drama as part of the main cast in 2014.

Variety shows

After his successful acting debut, his next TV contract was for MBC's Sunday Sunday Night program Korea Ecosystem Rescue Centre: Hunters, which featured seven celebrity MCs, including Kim Hyun Joong, going out to capture wild boars. The show premiered on December 6, 2009 but was forced to prematurely cease its run in mid-January 2010 due to protests by animal-rights groups.[32] He subsequently continued as one of the MCs on the replacement program Eco House, which deals with global climate change. In February 2010, he was paired with Seohyun of Girls' Generation as part of a virtually wedded couple, YongSeo Couple (Hangul: 용서커플), for MBC's popular TV show We Got Married. They filmed their final episode of We Got Married on March 15, 2011. He has also made several guest appearances on SBS's Running Man, becoming the most appeared guest.

Emcee participation

Jung Yong-hwa was an MC at the first Melon Music Awards held on December 16, 2009 together with actress Lee In-hye. Alongside Kim Heechul and Park Shin-hye, Jung was an MC for the 2009 SBS Gayo Daejeon award ceremony which was held on December 29, 2009.[33] He temporarily replaced Tiffany & Yuri of Girls' Generation as co-host MC's for MBC's Show! Music Core episode to be aired on May 29, 2010 together with Min Sun-ye and Kim Yoo-bin of the Wonder Girls. In June 2010, he was also a co-host MC for Music Core alongside Yuri and Seohyun of Girls' Generation. Finally on July 18, 2010, he officially started as one of the new hosts of SBS's Inkigayo together with f(x)'s Sulli and 2AM's Jo Kwon. He ended being a host of Inkigayo March 13, 2011 due to his tight schedule. He also appeared as an MC for 2010 SBS Gayo Daejun which was held on December 29 along with Jo Kwon, Kim Heechul and Hwang Jung-eum . On April 7, 2012, he and Hyoyeon was filled in as one-day MCs in MBC's Music Core and hosted the programme with Girls' Generation's Seohyun, replacing Tiffany and Taeyeon. He also hosted KBS' Music Bank on November 2, 2012, which was held in Chile, with Super Junior's Kyuhyun and After School's Uee. The program was broadcast later on the 17th. On November 10, he hosted the SBS' K-Pop Super Concert in America with Girls' Generation's Tiffany and Beast's Lee Gi-kwang. He and Beast's Gi-kwang hosted as special MCs in SBS' Inkigayo, alongside regular host IU, which aired on December 9.

Filmography

TV series

Year Network Title Role Notes
2009 SBS You're Beautiful Kang Shin-woo Acting debut
2011 MBC Heartstrings Lee Shin[34] First lead role
2012 SBS A Gentleman's Dignity Himself Cameo (Episode 13)[35]
2013 KBS2 Marry Him If You Dare Park Se-joo Main cast[36]
tvN Cheongdam-dong 111 himself reality show
2014 tvN The Three Musketeers Park Dal-hyang Main cast

Variety shows

Year Title Network Notes
2009–2010 Sunday Sunday Night – Hunters: Echo House MBC Co-host
2010-2011 Strong Heart (*Season 1- ep 17–18, 39–40, 73–74;[37] SBS Guest
2010 Let's Go Dream Team! Season 2 (ep 17) KBS2 Guest
2010 Win Win (ep 5, 19 and 20) KBS2 Special guest (on ep 5), Co-host (on ep 19), Guest (on ep 20)
2010 Star Golden Bell (ep 274) KBS2 Guest
2010 Happy Birthday (broadcast on 27/07) SBS Guest (with Lee Jung-shin)
2010 Haha Mong Show (ep 11) SBS Guest
2010–2011 We Got Married with Seohyun MBC YongSeo Couple
2011 Happy Together (eps 156 and 193) KBS2 Guest
2010–2011 Night After Night SBS Co-host (with Daesung, Uee)
2010–2015 Running Man (eps 7, 11, 17, 35–36, 72–73, 104, 127, 129, 186 & 242) SBS Guest (nicknamed Idol Ace and Super Guest because appeared most as guest)
2012 Sponge (broadcast on 06/04) KBS2 Guest (with Lee Jung-shin)
2012 Hello KBS2 Guest (with Lee Jung-shin)
2012 Invincible Youth (episode 21–22) KBS2 Guest (with Lee Jung-shin)
2012 Strong Heart (episode 125-126) [38]) SBS Guest
2013 Moonlight Prince (episode 04) KBS Guest
2014 Golden Fishery Radio Star (episode 367) MBC Guest (with member CNBLUE)
2014 Hello Counselor (episode 107 & 167) KBS Guest (with member CNBLUE)
2014 Weekly Idol (episode 139–140) MBC Every 1 Guest (with member CNBLUE)
2014 Cheongdam-dong 111 (episode 1–8) tvN Guest (with member CNBLUE)
2015 Yonghwa's Hologram MNET Host
2015 Yu Huiyeol's Sketchbook (episode 259) KBS2 Guest (with Yang Dong Geun)
2015 Hello Counselor (episode 210) KBS2 Guest
2015 Golden Fishery Radio Star (episode 411) MBC Guest (with Park Kwang Hyun, Sung Hyuk, Han Sung Ho)
2015 Infinite Challenge (episode 416-417) MBC Guest
2015 Weekly Idol (episode 186) MBC Every 1 Guest
2015 Idol True Colors (episode 44) MBC Music Guest

MC

Year Title Network
2009, 2010, 2014 SBS Gayo Daejeon SBS
2010–2011 Inkigayo SBS
2012 SBS Kpop Concert in America SBS
2012 KBS Music Bank in Chile KBS
2012 KBS Gayo Daechukje KBS
2013 Golden Disk Awards in Malaysia JTBC
2014 Golden Disk Awards in Seoul JTBC
2014 LA KPOP FESTIVAL in LA KBS
2014 KBS Music Bank in Brazil KBS
2014 SBS Gayo Daejeon SBS

Music video

Year Music video Length Album Note
2012 "Fool" (Korean: 바보) 3:57 My First June (1st mini album) by Juniel The song "Fool" was produced by and feat himself
2014 "Can't Stop" 3:59 Can't Stop (5th Korea mini album) The song "Can't Stop" was composed and produced by himself
2015 "Mileage" 4:38 One Fine Day (Jung Yong-Hwa album) The song "Mileage" was composed by Yonghwa and lyrics by Yonghwa, YDG
2015 "One Fine Day" 4:35 One Fine Day (Jung Yong-Hwa album) The song "One Fine Day" lyrics by Yonghwa and arrangement by TWO FACE
2015 "Checkmate" 4:00 One Fine Day (Jung Yong-Hwa album) The song "Checkmate" lyrics and arrangement by Yonghwa, JJ Lin

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
[39]
US World
[40]
One Fine Day
  • Released: January 15, 2015
  • Label: FNC Entertainment, CJ E&M Music and Live
  • Format: CD, digital download
1 1
  • KOR: 104,998+

Singles

Year Title Peak
positions
Album
KOR
Gaon

[41]
KOR
Billboard

[42]
2011 "For First Time Lovers" (Banmal Song) 1 Digital Single
"You've Fallen for Me" 5 Heartstrings OST
"Because I Miss You..." 14
"Comfort Song" Heartstrings OST Japanese Edition
2014 "Star, You" 22 Digital Single
2015 "Mileage" 57 One Fine Day
"One Fine Day" 3 -
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
Note – Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 Chart was established in August 2011 and Gaon Chart was established in 2010. Releases before this, have no chart data.[41][43]

Featured singles

Year Title Peak
positions
Album
KOR
Gaon

[41]
KOR
Billboard

[42]
JPN
2009 "Promise" (Lee Hongki feat Jung Yong-hwa) You're Beautiful OST
2012 "Fool" (Juniel with Jung Yong-hwa) 46 38 My First June
2013 "Fool"/"Babo" (Japanese Version) (Juniel with Jung Yong-hwa) JUNI
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
Note – Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 Chart was established in August 2011 and Gaon Chart was established in 2010. Releases before this, have no chart data.[41][43]

Concert and tour

Tours

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref
2009 SBS Drama Awards New Star Award You're Beautiful Won [45]
2010 MBC Entertainment Awards Popularity Award We Got Married (with Seohyun of SNSD) Won [46]
SBS Entertainment Awards Best Newcomer in a Variety Show Inkigayo Won [47]
3rd Korea Drama Awards Popularity Award You're Beautiful Won [48]
2011 3rd Melon Music Awards Music Style Best OST Song "You've Fallen For Me" (Heartstrings OST) Nominated [49]
MBC Drama Awards Best New Actor Heartstrings Nominated
2012 48th Baeksang Arts Awards Most Popular Actor (TV) Nominated
1st K-Drama Star Awards Hallyu Star Award Won
2013 KBS Drama Awards Best Couple Award with Han Chae-ah Marry Him If You Dare Nominated [50]
2014 50th Baeksang Arts Awards Most Popular Actor (TV) Nominated
2015 Hong Kong Weibo Star awards Hottest Korean Artist Award N/A Won [51]
Most Influential Korean Star N/A Won
Top Chinese Music Awards Solo Artist Award N/A Won

Music programs

Jung Yong-hwa's wins on Korea's televised weekly music shows. Inkigayo is aired on SBS, Music Bank[52] on KBS and Show Champion on Korea cable channel MBC Music.

KBS Music Bank

Year Date Song
2015 January 30 "One Fine Day"
February 13

SBS Inkigayo

Year Date Song
2015 February 1 "One Fine Day"

MBC Music Show Champion

Year Date Song
2015 February 4 "One Fine Day"

Endorsements

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External links

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