Hahm Eun-jung

Hahm Eun-jung (Hangul: 함은정; born December 12, 1988), most often credited as Eunjung, also known as Elsie,^[3] is a South Korean idol singer and actress. She is best known for being a member of the Korean girl group T-ara. She made her solo debut as Elsie on May 1, 2015, with the single "I'm Good".

Biography

Eun-jung was born in Seoul, South Korea. Her mother, a graduate of Ewha Womans University, is a former piano teacher who works as Eun-jung's agent.^[4] While attending seventh grade, Eun-jung started taekwondo lessons and won three different competitions. Her mother made the decision to quit teaching and manage Eun-jung's career upon her high school graduation in 2007. Later that year, Eun-jung enrolled in Dongguk University, where she took performance courses.^[5] She is an only child and has been quoted as explaining, "My mother had me 10 years after she was married to my father, which seems more hurtful. Upon watching several famous performers in the past, she wanted to become an actress. Now that I have, she is very pleased I have acting as a priority. She believes her original prayers were answered."^[6]

Acting career

1995–2009: Career beginnings

In 1995, when Eun-jung was seven years old, she participated in the "Little Miss Korea" pageant and won.^[7] That same year, she appeared in the youth drama "신세대 보고서 어른들은 몰라요" ("Sinsedae Bogoseo Eoreundeureun Mollayo", "A New Generation of Adults"), which aired on Korean Broadcasting System.^[6] Afterwards, she had several minor roles in movies and Korean dramas, along with being cast in a handful of commercial films.

Eun-jung's acting debut was in Hello, My Teacher! where she appeared as a high school student who was unfairly cheated out of a grade which could have put her above the top 40 point. She also appeared in Death Bell alongside Nam Gyuri, Lee Beom-soo and Kim Bum. In the said film, she played the role of Kim Ji-won who was murdered by her own teacher.

She appeared in SG Wannabe's music video "Gasiri" ("가시리") from their 2007 album Story In New York. Later, she would also be seen in FT Island's music videos of "Thunder" ("천둥"), "Only One Person" ("한사람만"), and "A Man's First Love Follow Him To The Grave" ("남자의 첫사랑은 무덤까지 간다").

2010: Coffee House and White

She starred in Davichi's music video "Time, Please Stop" ("시간아 멈춰라"; "Sigana Meomchwora") which was released on May 6, 2010.^[8]

Her first major role after joining T-ara came in Coffee House, which aired on SBS from May 17, 2010, to July 17, 2010.^{[9][10][11][12][13]}

In July 2010, Eun-jung was cast in her first movie role for the thriller White: The Melody of the Curse (화이트: 저주의 멜로디 ).^[14][15] Directed by Kim Gok and Kim Sun, filming began in November 2010.^[16] The film was released to South Korean cinemas on June 9, 2011.

Eun-jung, along with 2AM's Jo Kwon and CN Blue's Jung Yong-hwa, had guest starred on Episode 7 of the popular SBS variety show Running Man which aired on August 22, 2010.^[17]

2011: Dream High, King Geunchogo, and Queen Insoo

She starred in the drama Dream High where she played the role of Baek-Hee. She later took part in historical dramas such as King Geunchogo and Queen Insoo.

2012: Five Fingers

T-ara’s agency Core Contents Media revealed that Eun-jung was confirmed for the drama Five Fingers.^[18] However, on August 22, it was revealed that Eun-jung had been dropped from the drama due to the bullying controversy surrounding T-ara.^[19] The Korean Actors Labor Union demanded that Eun-jung be issued an apology by the producer and other crew members, saying “We are demanding that SBS and Yein E&M issue a sincere apology to member Hahm Eun-jung. The only way to restore her tarnished reputation is to essentially reveal the truth, and receive a genuine apology from all of you." The union also accused the PD of lying about the reason Eun-jung was dismissed, giving the real reason for her dismissal as Eun-jung's refusal to do product placements.^[20] In February 2013, Yein E&M issued a formal apology for firing Hahm without notice.^[21]

2014: Endless Love

She was cast for Endless Love as Tae Cho Ae. This is her comeback for television drama after two years.

2015–present: I Love You from Today and Micro Love

In August, she was cast for the KBS drama I Love You from Today as Min Chae Won. It was reported that Eun-jung will play a key role at the end of the drama.

On October 8, A rumor had been spread that Eun-jung will be casted as the lead role with James Ma for Thai drama. On October 15, it was reported that Eun-jung will cast for the Thai movie Micro Love and start filming in November, she is the first idol to act in Thai movie.

Music career

2009–present: T-ara

From the group's debut in July 29, 2009, until September 2010, she was the first leader of T-ara. She, Hyomin and Jiyeon are the only three members of T-ara to be trained in acting. Instead, the three switched over to singing despite their original intentions.^{[22][22][23][23]}

2015: Solo music debut

It was revealed that Eun-jung would be the third T-ara member to musically debut solo following Hyomin and Jiyeon

On April 29, 1theK and MBK Entertainment posted a teaser video on YouTube with the title Elsie - I'm Good (ft. K. Will). Instiz confirmed that Elsie was indeed Eunjung, and that the single would be released on May 1.

On October 13, Eun-jung performed her new song Goodbye on the V-app live show. Goodbye is the OST of T-ara's Webdrama Sweet Temptation, Eun-jung will cast in the chapter Only for You .

On October 14, Korean and Chinese versions of Goodbye were released. Goodbye is also the title song of her second solo album, which is a repackage of her debut solo album Elsie - I'm Good.

Discography

Eunjung at GUESS Party in July 2012

Albums

Extended plays (EPs)

Reissues

Singles

Chinese Singles

Soundtracks

Other works

Filmography

Television drama

Film

TV Variety Shows

Music video appearances

Awards

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ham Eun-Jung.

• T-ARA Official Website