Kim Hyun Joong

AKA
김현중

Kim Hyun Joong is a South Korean male singer, actor and leader of boyband SS501. He is well known for his portrayal of Yoon Ji-Hoo in the hit drama Boys Before Flowers. After this success, Hyun Joong went on to do many advertisements and is currently going to expand his music career across the world.

History

Early Life
Kim Hyun Joong (김현중) was born on June 6 1986 in Seoul, South Korea. He has one older brother. As a young boy, he worked extremely hard and did various jobs such as delivering newspapers, pizzas and chickens as well as serving food in restaurants. He dropped out of Hanyang Industrial High School to pursue a career in music after hearing the song "Ultramania" from the US rock band, Seo Taiji. This was the start of his rebellion. He ran away from home to pursue his career but often faced difficulties soon afterwards as he had no money, food or shelter. A couple of months later, he returned home to concentrate on his studies but never lost sight of his dream.


Career
In June 2005, Kim Hyun Joong debuted as the leader of the band, SS501 with their first single "Warning". Following their successful debut, they released their second song "Snow Prince" later on in the year. They were inactive in the next couple of years in Korea due to one of the member's throat condition but became active again following their success of their comeback single "Deja Vu". The band also tapped into the Japanese market under the name of "Triple S Japan" in 2007. They officially debuted on March 25, 2007, when SS501 will had first official meeting with the group. In Korea, their fan club members number around 41,700. Their first Japanese single "Kokoro" had multiple versions with one version of the band and the five other versions of the members singing individually.

In May 2008, Kim Hyun Joong joined the MBC reality programme, "We got Married" which is a variety shows that pairs up Korean celebrities to indicate what life would be like if they were really married. Hyun Joong's wife, Hwang Bo was six years his senior and they achieved high popularity acting as a newly wed couple. They were known as the "Lettuce couple" and went to win MBC'S Best Couple Award in 2008. The couple made their official exit from We Got Married on December 14, 2008 due to scheduling conflicts presented by Boys Over Flowers.

In October 2008, Hyun Joong was cast in the Korean version of Hana Yori Dango as one of the famous members of F4. His portrayal of the calm and soft spoken F4 member, Yoon Ji-Hoo in Boys Before Flowers won him many fans across the world. The drama's popularity soared and had high audience ratings, peaking at 34.9 million in Korea alone.

Currently, he is about to release a new Korean album with his band, SS501 and will kick off their Asian tour in August 2009.

Discography

Singles (Korea Released)
2005 - Warning
2005 - Snow Prince
2008 - Deja vu


Digital Singles (Korea Released)
2008 - 널 부르는 노래 (remix)
2008 - You're My Heaven
2008 - Thank You (Kim Hyun Joong)
2008 - 그 남자의 책 198쪽 (Theme Single)
2009 - U R Man (Remix Edition)
2009 - Lonely Girl

Albums (Korea Released)
2006 - Volume 1 - S.T 01 Now
2007 - A Surgeon Bong Dal Hee O.S.T. (SBS TV Series)
2007 - 쿵야쿵야 (KBS Animation)
2008 - Find (Mini Album)
2008 - U R Man (Mini Album)
2009 - Boys Over Flowers O.S.T. (KBS TV Series)

Singles (Japan Released)
2007 - Kokoro
2007 - Distance ~君とのキョリ
2008 - Lucky Days

Albums (Japan Released)
2007 - SS501
2008 - Singles
2009 - All My Love

Filmography

2005 - Nonstop 5 (episode 208, MBC)
2005 - Can Love Be Refilled? (sitcom, KBS2)
2007 - Hotelier (episode 7, TV Asahi)
2008 - Spotlight (cameo, MBC)
2008 - We Got Married (MBC)
2009 - Boys Before Flowers (KBS2)

Awards

2009 - The 45th Baeksang Arts Awards: Popularity Award (Male) Boys Before Flowers
2008 - Best Couple Award on MBC's "We Got Married" with Hwang Bo

Trivia

Hobbies: Swimming, fitness, basketball, football
Talent: Guitar, piano, dance
Education: Hanyang Industrial High School and Kyonggi University