Joon Park (Korean name: Park Joon-hyung, Korean: 박준형; born July 20, 1969) is a South Korean-born American singer, actor and entertainer. As a singer, he is best known as the leader and rapper of the Korean pop group g.o.d.
Joon Park | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 박준형 | ||||||||||
 JTBC 'Stage K' in 2019 | ||||||||||
| Born | Park Joon-hyung July 20, 1969 Seoul, South Korea | |||||||||
| Education | California State University, Long Beach | |||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Actor, singer | |||||||||
| Spouse |
Kim Yoo-Jin (m. 2015) | |||||||||
| Children | 1 | |||||||||
| Relatives | Danny Ahn (cousin) | |||||||||
| Musical career | ||||||||||
| Genres | K-pop, R&B | |||||||||
| Years active | 1999–present | |||||||||
| Labels | JYP SidusHQ | |||||||||
| Member of | g.o.d | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Also known as | Wassup Man (와썹맨) | |||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2018–2022 | |||||||||
| Genre | Variety | |||||||||
| Subscribers | 2.2+ million[1] (May 2020) | |||||||||
| Total views | 222+ million[1] (May 2020) | |||||||||
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Last updated: May 16, 2020 | ||||||||||
| Signature | ||||||||||
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| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 박준형 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Bak Jun-hyeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Pak Chunhyŏng |
Early life
editPark was born in Seongbuk-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, South Korea,[2][3] the youngest of three siblings, and raised in the United States, later becoming an American citizen.[3] His father died when he was young, leaving him and his older siblings to be raised by their single mother. He graduated from La Quinta High School in Westminster, California, in 1987 and attended California State University, Long Beach. Prior to entering the entertainment industry, he worked at an advertising firm as a graphic designer.[4]
Career
editEarly years and forming g.o.d
editIn 1997 Park moved to Seoul, South Korea, where his older sister had been working, with the dream of creating a pop music group. He wanted to mix Korean music with a twist of western culture. The first member he recruited was his cousin Danny Ahn,[3] followed by Danny's friend Son Ho-young, aspiring singer Yoon Kye-sang and rookie actress Kim Sun-a.[5] However, their agency was forced to cut funding for trainees due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis and only relented due to Park and the other members' persistence. Singer-songwriter Park Jin-young was introduced to be their producer and the group was initially a six-piece mixed-gender group tentatively named "GOT6".[6][7][8]
In the midst of preparations for the group's debut and album, Park was cast in a beer commercial for Oriental Brewery and also landed a small recurring role in the SBS sitcom Soonpoong Clinic (ko) as the boyfriend of Song Hye-kyo's character. Park later stated that all his earnings from the commercial and sitcom was spent on daily living expenses during the period he and the other members did not receive financial funding from their agency for over a year.[9]
Kim Sun-a left to pursue acting.[5] The final member, high school student Kim Tae-woo, joined the group in July 1998 after sending in an audition tape and impressing Park Jin-young during their meeting.[8][5] The now five-member band then became g.o.d, short for Groove Over Dose.
1999–2005: g.o.d
editg.o.d debuted on television in January 1999 but their performance of "To Mother" (어머님께) was met with a lukewarm response from critics as the song's subject matter was highly unusual for that of an idol group, whom were usually pitched as teen idols.[8][10][11] Nevertheless, the song would go on to be one of g.o.d's most famous hits. It was partly based on Joon's childhood being raised by a widowed single mother. The group also gained attention due to the large age gap between Park and Kim (12 years) and Park being much older than most of their contemporaries, who were either in their late teens or early twenties.
The group nearly broke up in 2001 after Park was discovered to be dating, which was considered to be taboo for most pop stars in South Korea at that time.[12] Their management announced, without informing Park or the other group members, that Park was to leave the group and g.o.d would continue as a quartet. It was met with strong objection from fans, who signed petitions against the decision and threatened to boycott concerts. Ahn, Yoon, Son and Kim held their own press conference to show their support for Park and their management eventually backed down.[13][14][15][16]
2006–2014: Hiatus and acting
edit
With Yoon having left the group in 2004, they decided to take a break in 2006 as the lead vocalist of the group Kim Tae-woo was required to perform his compulsory military duty. The other four members began their solo careers in the entertainment industry while Park returned to the United States. He moved back to the Los Angeles area to pursue acting, having a cameo on Speed Racer as the Platinum blond-haired Yakuza Driver and the role of Yamcha in the live-action film version of Dragonball Evolution in which he starred with Chow Yun Fat, Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum and Jamie Chung.[17] He injured his back while filming Dragonball Evolution and was forced to rehabilitate for over two years.[9][18]
2014–present: Return to Korea
editPark returned to Korea as the members of g.o.d had agreed to reunite for their 15th anniversary in 2014. He re-signed with SidusHQ, which also manages g.o.d.[19] Since g.o.d's reunion, he has been utilizing his graphic design background in contributing to the production of their concerts, providing artwork for background visual effects and designing concert posters.[20]
Park made a cameo as himself on MBC drama You Are My Destiny, which starred his long-time friend Jang Hyuk. In their scene, Jang's character enters rapping the opening verse of g.o.d's debut song "To Mother" in an exaggerated manner, a tongue-in-cheek reference to him starring in the song's music video.[21] He and fellow K-pop stars Sunny from Girls' Generation and Jackson Wang from Got7 joined the cast for the second season of Roommate, a reality television series in which various celebrities share a house and are responsible for all household chores and meals.[22] The show was not renewed for a third season due to low ratings despite the new additions being well-received.
Since returning to Korea, Park has largely been cast in various variety and reality shows such as Infinite Challenge, Saturday Night Live Korea, Radio Star, Life Bar and others, having gained popularity with audiences due to his cheerful persona and candidness. He also appeared in the music videos for "Shake That Brass", the title track of singer-rapper Amber Liu's debut EP Beautiful,[23] and "Hot Sugar" (뜨거운 설탕), the comeback single of Kim Jong-kook's group Turbo.[24]
In July 2018, Park opened a YouTube channel called Wassup Man featuring himself video blogging his travels in Korea. The videos began going viral on social media in South Korea and the channel had nearly 900,000 subscribers within two months.[25] Based on data compiled by YouTube of the most viewed and popular videos in South Korea, Wassup Man drew the most South Korea-based subscribers within the shortest period of time during 2018.[26]
In 2020, Wassup Man was adapted as a Netflix series titled Wassup Man GO featuring Park in Los Angeles.[27]
Personal life
editOn May 4, 2015, Park's agency announced that he was engaged to Kim Yoo-Jin, a flight attendant whom he had been dating for about a year. They married on June 26, 2015.[28][29] Their daughter was born on May 10, 2017.[30]
Filmography
editFilms
edit| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Speed Racer | Yakuza Driver (Kakkoi Teppodama) |
| 2009 | Dragonball Evolution | Yamcha |
Drama
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Soonpoong Clinic | Joon | |
| 2009 | Dark Blue | Shin | Uncredited |
| 2014 | You Are My Destiny | Himself | Cameo |
| Love Cells | Doraejoon (One man salesman) | Cameo |
Television shows
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Roommate | Regular cast; season 2 |
| 2015 | Animals | |
| 2016 | The Friends in Chiang Mai | With Danny Ahn and Ryohei Otani |
| 2016 | Take a Look At Myself | With Jackson Wang |
| 2016 | I Can See Your Voice | Seasons 3-5 |
| 2018 | Let's Walk Together | g.o.d. members trek the Camino de Santiago |
| 2019 | TMI News | Cast member |
| 2019 | Stage K | Cast member |
| 2019 | Five Cranky Brothers | Cast member |
| 2019–present | Super Hearer | Villain[31] |
| 2021 | Are You Hungry for Delivery? Just Order It! | Cast member[32][33] |
| 2021 | Falling for Korea - Transnational Couples | Judge [34] |
| 2021 | Who Am I | Channel S / Host [35] |
| 2022 | Rossily in Secret | Cast Member[36] |
| 2022 | Anti-Ageym | Cast Member[37] |
| 2022 | Other World Used Cars-Gear GODs | Host[38] |
| 2023 | Live Well, Fun Equipment | Host[39] |
Discography
edit- As a featured artist
| Title | Year | Album | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Gotta Clue" (Coco Lee feat. Joon Park) |
2005 | Exposed | [40] |
| "Memory and Remembrance" (기억과 추억) (Kim Tae-woo feat. Joon-hyung, Ho-young and Danny) |
2009 | T-Virus | [41] |
| "1990s" (Park Joon-hyung, Lee Ji-hye, Jang Su-won and Hyerin) |
2016 | digital release for Event King (이달의 행사왕) | [42][43] |
| 터널 (Paul Kim feat. Park Joon-hyung) |
2018 | 정규 1집 Part 2 | [44] |
References
edit- ^ a b "About wassupman". YouTube.
- ^ "박준형". Cinefox (씨네폭스) (in Korean). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- ^ a b c "The Bromance Special". Happy Together. Season 3. Episode 389. March 12, 2015. KBS2. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
- ^ "'오빠생각' 박준형 "데뷔 전, 광고대행사에서 일했다"". 10Asia (Korea Economic Daily) (in Korean). July 22, 2017.
- ^ a b c "We Can See Korea Trip (part 2)". 2 Days & 1 Night. Season 3. Episode 414. October 18, 2015. KBS2.
- ^ "Episode 9". Handsome Boys of the 20th Century. June 11, 2013. QTV.
- ^ "Park Jin Young Reveals That g.o.d's Original Name Was GOT6". Soompi. December 23, 2014.
- ^ a b c "다섯 남자 god의 귀환…가슴에 담아뒀던 이야기 첫 공개" (in Korean). MBC. November 29, 2014.
- ^ a b "Episode 212: g.o.d". Healing Camp, Aren't You Happy. December 7, 2015. SBS.
- ^ "Episode 1". Handsome Boys of the 20th Century. April 16, 2013. QTV.
- ^ "신인상 놓치고도 최고인 톱가수들 ⑴". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). January 16, 2010.
- ^ "사랑한 죄로 퇴출될 뻔했던 GOD 박준형, 한고은". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). January 31, 2002.
- ^ "Park Joon Hyung Almost Got Kicked Out of g.o.d Because of His Girlfriend". Mnet. October 23, 2014. Archived from the original on October 2, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- ^ "god 멤버퇴출에 성난 팬들". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). September 12, 2001.
- ^ "[연예가 소식]god 멤버 4명 ＂박준형 퇴출 철회하라＂". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). September 13, 2001.
- ^ "Well, g.o.d Bless Us All: A Boy Band Returns". Korea JoongAng Daily. November 25, 2001.
- ^ Rossum roars onto 'Dragonball' cast
- ^ "'god' 세상에 이런 그룹이…아빠 준형, 엄마 계상·데니, 장남 호영, 막내 태우". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). July 12, 2014.
- ^ "god 박준형, 싸이더스HQ와 전속계약..13년만에 친정행". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). January 23, 2015.
- ^ "[HI★리뷰] "앞으로 20년 더" god, 이래서 국민그룹". Kukmin Ilbo (in Korean). November 30, 2018.
- ^ "g.o.d's Park Joon Hyung Reunites with Jang Hyuk in 'Fated to Love You' Cameo". Mnet. August 12, 2014. Archived from the original on September 28, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
- ^ "SNSD′s Sunny, g.o.d′s Park Joon Hyung, and GOT7′s Jackson to Move In as New ′Roommates′". Mnet. September 11, 2014. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
- ^ "Amber's 'Shake That Brass' Video Basically Features Every K-Pop Star Ever". Billboard.com. February 13, 2015.
- ^ "Watch: Turbo Has Some Summer Fun In Cameo-Filled MV For "Hot Sugar"". Soompi. July 25, 2017.
- ^ Park Ju-young (August 28, 2018). "[Trending] Why do young Koreans go crazy for 'Wassup Man'?". The Korea Herald. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
- ^ "[ONE SHOT] 지난해 유튜브 인기 영상 톱 10…뉴라이징 유튜버는 '와썹맨'". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). January 7, 2019.
- ^ "Wassup Man GO! | Netflix". www.netflix.com. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ "god 박준형, 26일(오늘) 13살 연하 승무원과 비공개 결혼… 품절남 합류".
- ^ "Idol group leader ties knot". The Korea Times. June 28, 2015.
- ^ "god 박준형, 자신과 똑닮은 딸 출산 전해 "이제 파파쭌"".
- ^ "'슈퍼히어러' 빌런으로는 김구라 박준형 붐 엄현경..." Incheon Ilbo (in Korean). June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
- ^ "Shin Dong Yup, Park Joon Hyung, MONSTA X's Shownu, And More Confirmed For Pilot Variety Show". Soompi. December 29, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ "'배달고파? 일단 시켜!' 이규한, 현주엽 귀 잡는 하극상 "이 쪼끄만 게~"". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
- ^ Ham Na-yan (May 10, 2021). "김예령→박준형, '국제부부' 합류 [공식]". V.daum (in Korean). Dong-A. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
- ^ Park Eun-hae (November 25, 2021). "후엠아이' 붐X이미주X박준형X넉살 MC 확정, 스타의 새로운 이면 찾는다(공식)" [Whoi I’ Boom X Lee Mi-joo X Park Jun-hyung X Nucksal MC confirmed, looking for a new side of the star (official)] (in Korean). Newsen. Retrieved November 25, 2021 – via Naver.
- ^ Jeong Seo-hee (December 23, 2021). "박준형·김영철·뱀뱀·유정, 시골 체험…신년특집 '촌스럽게' 1월 2일 첫방" [Park Jun-hyung, Kim Young-cheol, Bambam, Yoo-jeong, Country Experience... New Year's Special 'Rossy' first aired on January 2nd] (in Korean). Sports TV News. Retrieved December 23, 2021 – via Naver.
- ^ Choi Hee-jae (March 15, 2022). "지석진→이호철, 중년 고민 폭발…4월 6일 첫 방송 (안티에이짐)" [Ji Suk-jin → Lee Ho-cheol, middle-aged worries explode... First broadcast on April 6 (Anti-Agym)] (in Korean). Xports News. Retrieved March 15, 2022 – via Naver.
- ^ Kim Hyun-rok (May 10, 2022). "박준형·노홍철→이특·신동…중고차 복원 버라이어티 '저세상 중고차-기어갓' 호흡[공식]" [Park Jun-hyung, Noh Hong-cheol → Leeteuk, Shin-dong… Used car restoration variety 'Low World Used Car-Gear God' breath [Official]] (in Korean). spoTV News. Retrieved May 10, 2022 – via Naver.
- ^ Lee Seul-bi (April 4, 2023). "잘 사는 재미 장비빨' 박준형X황광희X해인, MC 확정" [Live Well, Have Fun’ Joonhyung Park X Kwanghee Hwang X Haein Confirmed MCs] (in Korean). Sports DongA. Retrieved April 10, 2023 – via Naver.
- ^ "Exposed". iTunes. March 17, 2005.
- ^ "기억과 추억". Naver Music. Naver. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
- ^ "이달의 행사왕". Naver Music. Naver. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
- ^ "이달의 행사왕". jTBC. October 17, 2016.
- ^ "정규 1집 Part 2 '터널'". Naver Music. Naver. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
External links
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