KHJ's BIO


Kim Hyun Joong (born June 6, 1986) is a South Korean actor and singer. He is the leader, main dancer and face of popular boyband SS501 and a prominent style icon in Korea, winning multiple icon awards. He gained widespread popularity beyond Asia for his role as Yoon Ji Hoo in the 2009 hit drama series Boys Over Flowers and is now known worldwide as the perfect Baek Seung Jo in the hit series drama Mischievous/Playful Kiss.

Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo with the rest of the BOF Cast
Debuting as the leader of SS501 in 2005, they also appeared in "Thank You For Waking Me Up" where he was proven to be a heavy sleeper, "Thank You For Raising Me Up" in 2006 and MNet's "Idol World" in 2007, which showed SS501 doing various missions in Japan.

He joined the cast of We Got Married a famous reality show in 2008. Known as the "Lettuce Couple", Hyun Joong and Hwang Bo went on to win MBC's Best Couple Award. The couple made their official exit from We Got Married on December 14, 2008 due to scheduling conflicts presented by Boys Over Flowers. His latest TV drama is Playful/Naughty Kiss with Jung So Min.
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Early life

His family consists of his parents and one older brother. Kim Hyun-Joong was a diligent student in elementary school & received high scores. Things changed for Kim Hyun-Joong by his middle school days. He started working part-time since the 2nd year of middle school and, because of this, his school grades suffered. Remarkably, Kim Hyun-Joong was able to save nearly 100,000,000 won (roughly $87,000 USD) from his part-time jobs by his year school years.


During Kim Hyun-Joong's late teen years, he felt the subjects he was learning in high school were useless for his life and, consequently, decided to drop out of high school. Often, during this time, he wound up at the police station for fighting.

By the age of 18, Kim Hyun-Joong performed in a youth band named "Aksuseu" ("악서스"), which was formed with Kim Hyun-Joong's Catholic Church friends. They were quite popular in his local neighborhood of Songpa-gu in Seoul.

Kim dropped out of school when he decided to become a singer. During his school days, he played bass guitar in a band. During the years 2001 and 2002 when he was 14–15, while working as a waiter in a family restaurant, located at Jamsil-dong, he was introduced to a new set up management company CEO. Initially he was to debut in a 5 member group. Han Yeon of B2Y (now disbanded) was to be the Leader and Kim the maknae (youngest member). While the group underwent training together, they were asked by their company to debut in China as a Hallyu project group, but the group rejected the offer and disbanded. Kim proceeded to audition for DSP Media (formerly DSP Entertainment) and became a member and leader of SS501. Kim returned to school and graduated in 2006 after debuting as a member of SS501. SS501 released their self-titled debut album "SS501" on June 23, 2005. Since then 

In 2011, he enrolled in Chungwoon University to study stage production management. In February 2012, He enrolled into 공주영상대학교 Kongju Communication Arts (KCAU) to study applied music.


2005: Debut


On 8 June 2005, Kim made his entertainment debut as the leader of SS501. The group earned popularity as they won many rookie awards. The group appeared on the 2006 show, Thank You For Waking Me Up where he was proven to be a heavy sleeper, and the MNet show Idol World in 2007, in which SS501 did various activities in Japan.



In May 2008, Kim joined the cast of We Got Married in episode nine. Known as the "Lettuce Couple", he and Hwang Bo went on to win MBC's Best Couple Award. The couple made their official exit from the show in episode 38, on 14 December 2008, due to scheduling conflicts with Boys Over Flowers.



2009: Acting and H1N1

Kim Hyun-Joong has performed as a singer until being cast in the KBS2 drama "Boys Over Flowers" while he was in Japan in 2008 and was cast as Yoon Ji-hoo. A role for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Seoul International Drama Awards 2009 and the Popularity Award at the 45th PaekSang Arts Awards.


 Kim Hyun-Joong was the first member of the F4 group in "Boys Over Flowers" to have been cast. The other three members of the F4 were then cast with Lee Min-Ho, Kim Beom, Kim Jun playing their respective characters. Kim Hyun-Joong was at first reluctant to take on the role of Yoon Ji-Hoo due to fear of ruining his musical career. Nevertheless, Kim Hyun-Joong agreed to play the role and then performed due diligence on his character. Kim Hyun-Joong went out and bought all 37 episodes of the original manga "Hana yori Dango".

During filming of "Boys Over Flowers" Kim Hyun-Joong became close to actress Lim Ye-Jin & Lim Ye-Jin often advised Kim Hyun-Joong on his acting. Kim Hyun-Joong stated in press conference for "Boys Over Flowers" that he learned to be more patient and calm through his acting experience. 

The series was a huge media and ratings sensation in Korea during its run from January to March 2009, garnering a huge amount of popularity for the entertainer. The series also became famous all around Asia, in countries sunch as India, Taiwan, Nepal and the Southeast Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, amongst others as well as in Japan and in North America where it was released on DVD with English subtitles.

Leader Kim Hyun Joong with other SS501 members
In 2009, SS501 released the album SS501 Collection, in which they each sang a solo song, along with being featured in a mini drama music video. Their Asia Concert Tour began in mid-August 2009 in Seoul at the Olympic Park. They continued their tour in Shanghai, Taipei, Bangkok before returning to Seoul for a closing encore concert. They staged two concerts for the encore closure on the 27th Feb and 28th Feb 2010 respectively.

In 2011, he admitted on a talk show that he had some plastic surgery work done. He explained that his nose was hit by a stone as a kid. He got treatment and had his nose done at the same time.

On September 2009, during promotions in Japan for Boys Over Flowers, Kim Hyun Joong was diagnosed with H1N1. While recovering from H1N1, he could not attend Seoul's International Drama Awards. To accept the award on his behalf, his members of SS501, Heo Young Saeng, Kim Kyu Jong, and Kim Hyung Jun were present for the award show. He recovered from H1N1 and was discharged on September 15, 2009.

On October 23, 2009 Kim Hyun Joong and SS501 released their album "Rebirth," and performed "Love Like This."

Screencap from KHJ CF for Tony Moly
He has also been the spokesperson for cosmetics brand, Tony Moly, an established company with numerous branches across Korea and Asia, including Taiwan and Hong Kong. He had since ended his contract with Tony Moly in End September 2010, and he had been chosen to be the Spokesperson for The Face Shop.

KHJ ad for The Face Shop

2010: SS501 comeback, leaving DSP Media and 2010 Asian Games

In April 2010, he appeared opposite Jung Ryeo Won in the music video for Korean Singer Gummy's new song "As A Man" (남자라서).


In June 2010, him and his band mates of SS501 released an album titled Destination (produced by Steven Lee). Their title song 'Love Ya' was received well, rating high in record sales and online music stores. 'Love Ya' went on to top Music Bank (TV series)'s K-Chart for two weeks. Doing great for two weeks was all they could have though, they soon ended promotions, because of SS501's contract was ending.

On June 19, 2010, he then appeared at a concert in the Philippines along side BEAST.

On June 28, 2010, it was officially announced that Kim Hyun Joong officially left DSP Entertainment and signed a contract with Bae Yong Joon's KeyEast Entertainment company.

Kim Hyun Joong is now the leading role of the drama Playful Kiss (Korean adaptation of the Taiwanese drama It Started With a Kiss and Japanese drama Itazura na Kiss) as Baek Seung Jo, who has a stand-offish personality.

Kim Hyun Joong as Baek Sung Jo in Playful Kiss/Mischievous Kiss
He had said at the Playful Kiss press conference, that SS501 will never disband unless you stop buying their album, and that they will make new albums in the future.

Kim Hyun Joong was then invited to the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou as the representative of South Korea to sing "Sunshine Again" with other 3 singers. 

On the 7th November, Kim Hyun Joong was interviewed by CNN's Anna Coren due to his success in Playful Kiss. Playful Kiss Special Edition is a big hit on Youtube as it is the first Korean drama to air on YouTube. Its first episode garners 1 million views just in 5 days and it proves so popular that there is a record channel view of 6.3 million and 17.5 million total upload views, still fans from all over the world have not stop asking for more or a part 2 of Naughty Kiss. This has once again showed that Kim Hyun Joong is a global star.

In the early of December 2010, Kim Hyun Joong went to Singapore and Malaysia to promote The Face Shop which he endorses. He received massive success in both countries, over 5000 people went to his fanmeetings. He also became the 2nd most expensive cosmetic endorser in Korea after actress Go Hyun Jung with his contract with Face Shop. His contract was worth 1.8 Billion won.

Kim Hyun Joong Breakdown Album pic
Kim Hyun Joong's Breakdown performance at Mnet 20's Choice

2011: Solo artist, Style Icon Award and Japan debut

In May, Kim named his official solo fanclub 'Henecia', which is a combination of 'H' and the Latin term 'benecia', which means 'blessed'.

Kim Hyun Joong released his very first solo debut mini album on the 8th of June, titled Break Down, which is the name of his title track, featuring Double K. Besides, Hyun Joong will have another music video for 'Please' which is one of the tracks in his album. The music video teaser for 'Please' has been released on Hyun Joong's official Youtube account on the 26th of May and it's set to be released through music sites on the 31st of May, while the music video on the 2nd of June. "Break Down" Album is produced by famous music producer Steven Lee (music producer), which is the composer for SS501 previous hits like Love Like This and Love Ya.

Kim Hyun Joong's album has achieved more than 100,000 copies sold on Hanteo Chart in 2 weeks. His album exceeded 70,000 pre-ordered copies in just 10 days. It peaked at number one on Gaon Weekly Album Chart for the week starting 5 June 2011 and was the best-selling album for June on Gaon Monthly Album Chart with 100,433 copies sold.It also toped the Oricon chart in Japan in the International Imported Album category for the first week of July. (The Gaon Chart is the national chart of South Korea and is intended to be the equivalent of Japan’s Oricon and America’s Billboard charts.)

The album's title track "Break Down" was the first place winner for two consecutive weeks on Mnet's M! Countdown music show, for 16 and 23 June 2011 making him the first SS501 member to win an award on any music show. Kim Hyun Joong also clinched his win for two consecutive weeks on KBS2's Music Bank (TV show) with the same song. After that, he promoted his follow-up track "Kiss Kiss".


"Break Down" is certified platinum in Taiwan. Warner Music Tawian CEO Chen Ze Shan personally awarded him with a Platinum Record in a press conference held in Taiwan. Kim Hyun Joong also became the first Korean celebrity to appear in the Taiwanese TV show "The Person". 'The Person’ is a talk show that only invites the best celebrity stars in the industry, as it consistently ranks #1 in TV ratings in Taiwan.


In July 2011, he also held the first of his nationwide concerts in Japan. The tour continued from November in seven cities across Japan: Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima, Yokohama, Nagoya, Tokyo and Fukuoka.

On 11 October 2011, Kim released his second mini album "Lucky". It debuted at number 5 on Billboard's World Chart. It topped the Gaon Chart again for the third week of October 2011 and was the highest selling album on the Hanteo Album Sales Chart for the month of October 2011. 

On 25 October 2011, Kim released a digital single together with Seohyun entitled "The Magic of Yellow Ribbon", which is the theme song for a commercial for The Face Shop

On 28 October, he, along with Korean actress Ha Ji Won, acted as MC at the 2011 K-Pop Super Concert held at Gwangalli Beach in Busan, which was broadcast on SBS on 6 November.

In November 2011, Kim won the 2011 KIA Soul People’s Choice "Style Icon Award" for the third consecutive year. On 9 November, Kim announced at a press conference for his Japan Tour that he had signed a deal with Universal Music Japan for his Japan-based music activities. Kim successfully completed his Japan Tour that started on 9 November, attracting over 30,000 fans. Kim won the Best Male Solo Artist at the 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards that was held in Singapore.

On 15 December 2011, Kim released his digital album "Marry You"/"Marry Me". The digital album consists of 4 songs, namely "Marry Me, Marry You, Marry Me" (instrumental) and "Marry You" (instrumental). The music videos for "Marry Me and Marry You" were both released on his official YouTube account on 15 December 2011.

2012: Drama, fan meeting tour

On January 26, 2012, Kim released his first Japanese single "Kiss Kiss" & "Lucky Guy" (Japanese version). The singer who has focused mostly on his album promotions after his drama ‘Playful Kiss‘ which came to an end in 2010 has recently been confirmed for a role in ‘City Conquest‘. Playful Kiss was a hit in Korea and was even shown in China recently due to its success. Kim Hyun Joong is going to be the main lead for the upcoming drama, "Conquest for City" which is also known as "City Conquest". Kim will be playing the role as a wild man (Baek Mir), a strong individual who experienced and went through many kinds of hardships and difficulties and lived through a harsh life, growing up without parents, but a man who becomes infinitely weak when it comes to love. ‘City Conquest’ is a drama that’s been adapted from the original comic by author Shin Hyung Bin. This new project brings together humanism and action, and it tells the story of main character Baek Mir who grew up resentful towards his father who left his mother and himself. He takes revenge against the evils of society which drove his family into destruction.


In order to show his gratitude for the fans’ unwavering support, Kim Hyun Joong has toured over Asia starting from May to July 2012. The star started his fan meeting tour in May in Singapore, and visited 8 cities of 5 different countries, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and Thailand. In total, he’s met with over 40,000 fans.

KHJ 2012 Fan Meeting Tour Official Poster

On July 29th, Kim Hyun Joong completed his eight-city Asia tour with his final fan meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. 


An official from an agency in China stated, “Kim Hyun Joong prepared high quality performances and fan service, and he satisfied all of the fans and industry officials. With the success of his fanmeeting tour, more attention has been drawn to his future activities as one of the leaders of global Hallyu.”

Kim Hyun Joong performed nearly 20 songs live for each concert, along with exciting events to bring the fan meet up to the level of that of a full blown concert. The Hallyu star remarked, “I was so happy to feel fans’ great love” and “I’ll do my best to pay back fans’ love.”


Simultaneously, Kim announced that he would be releasing his second Japanese single album, "HEAT," on July 4. The album featured two songs, "HEAT" and "Let's Party". The album was a big success, selling over 100,000 copies and receiving the ‘Gold‘ certification from the RIAJ.


KHJ Screencap for Heat MV

‘Heat’ sold 137,774 units just on the first day of its release and easily took the first place position on Japan’s Oricon singles chart. Written and produced by B’z, the single contains a total of two tracks including “Heat” and “Let’s Party”. Kim Hyun Joong has actually managed to double his own record, as his debut single, ‘KISS KISS/Lucky Guy‘, had sold 71,812 units on the first day.


To actively promote in Japan, Kim Hyun Joong held guerrilla concerts in Odaiba and did scheduled live performances at the Saitama Super Arena on July 14th and 15th. He collaborated with Naoto Intiraymi for ‘Double Fantasia Great Assist‘ on the 14th, and also did a special premium event for fans that purchased his album, titled ‘Kim Hyun Joong Heat 2012 in Japan‘ the following day.
On August 4, 2012, Kim Hyun-joong won the "Best Asian Artist Award" at the 2012 Asia Song Festival held at the Pop Festival Stage of The Expo 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea.



Filmography

  • 2011: Dream High (Cameo KBS2)
  • 2010: Playful Kiss (MBC)
  • 2009: Boys Over Flowers (KBS2)
  • 2008: Spotlight- (with SS501 Cameo MBC)
  • 2008: We Got Married (MBC- Ep 9-38)
  • 2007: Hotelier- (with SS501 Cameo Ep 7 TV Arashi)
  • 2006: Pi Story- (Voice)
  • 2005: Can Love Be Refilled?- (Sitcom KBS2)
  • 2005: Nonstop- (Ep 208 MBC)

MV


  • 2011 Kim Hyun Joong - Kiss Kiss
  • 2011 Kim Hyun Joong - Break Down
  • 2011 Kim Hyun Joong - 제발(Please)
  • 2010 Gummy - As A Man
  • 2009 Kim Joon - Jun Be O.K
  • 2006 Eru - Black Glasses
  • 2005 2Shai - She Laughed

Album


  • 2011- Break Down (y)
  • 2008- Digital Single "Thank You"

TV commercials / Advertisements / Model


  • Samsung Anycall Blue
  • Mighty Mac
  • Elite Uniform
  • Lotte Milkshake
  • Converse
  • Samsung Anycall Haptic Pop
  • T.I For Men
  • NongShim
  • Le Coq Sportif
  • Samsung Anycall Jet
  • Dinamic Kin
  • Hotsun Chicken
  • Samsung Card
  • MVIO
  • Basic House
  • I'm David
  • Tony Moly
  • The Face Shop
  • Hang Ten
  • Coupang Spring Campaign
  • Lotte Duty Free
  • Aeon's Heatfact (Japan)
  • Aeon Coolish Fact (Japan)
  • Seoul Ambassador to Tourism
  • Slim Beauty House (Japan)
  • March 2012 Honorary Ambassador of the United Nations Millennium Development
  • Centerpole

DVDs


  • 2010 Ready,Action! Spain Photo Book
  • 2010 Kim Hyun Joong's "First Love Story DVD"

Awards


2008

  • MBC Entertainment Award: Best Couple Award on MBC's We Got Married with Hwang Bo
  • MBC Entertainment Award: Best Brand of The Year Special Award on MBC's We Got Married with other WGM Cast 
2009
  • 45th PaekSang Arts Awards Male Popularity Award for Television on KBS2's Boys Over Flowers
  • Best Actor for Seoul's International Drama Awards
  • Most Popular Icon for Style Icon Awards 2009
  • Yahoo Asia Buzz Award: Koreans Top Buzz Male Artist
  • Yahoo Asia Buzz Award: Taiwan's Top Buzz Korean Artist
  • Yahoo Asia Buzz Award: Asia Top Buzz Male Artist

2010

  • Mnet 20's Choice Award: Most Influential Star
  • 2010 Sky Perfect TV Awards - Best Dresser Award
  • 2010 Style Icon Awards - Popularity Award
  • Yahoo Asia Buzz Award: Hong Kong's Top Buzz Korean Artist
  • Yahoo Asia Buzz Award: Taiwan's Top Buzz Korean Artist
  • Yahoo Asia Buzz Award: The Best Search Asia Buzz Award 2010
  • MBC Drama Award - Male Popularity Award 
2011

  • 2011 Best CF Model given by MTN (Bloomberg TV)
  • 2011 Style Icon Awards- People's Choice Award
  • 13th Mnet Asian Music Awards- Best Male Solo Artist
  • Yahoo Asia Buzz Awards: Hong Kong's Top Buzz Solo Artist
  • Yahoo Asia Buzz Awards: Taiwan's Top Buzz Solo Artist
  • Yahoo Asia Buzz Awards: Korea's Top Buzz Solo Artist
  • Yahoo Asia Buzz Awards: Asia Top Buzz Solo Artist
2012

  • 2012 AllKpop Awards: Best Solo Artist
  • 2012 Asia Song Festival: Best Asian Artist
  • 2012 Mnet KPOP Idol Championship: Gold Medal





Family photo of pretty boy Kim HyunJoong taken around 6 years ago, a precious photo that was hung in their living room. Family photo was taken together before Kim HyunJoong’s elder brother Kim YoungJoong left for USA for his studies


ARTICLES ABOUT KHJ'S PERSONAL LIFE

Hyun Joong’s Childhood Story (Hyun Joong mother’s interview)

0-4 years old




Since Hyun Joong was born, he was very popular among the neighbours because of his big eyes, sharp intuition and cleverness.


One day, in my dream, all in a sudden, I dream of a truck fully loaded with radish driving passed me. There was a huge radish which was of the size of the truck. Withing my apron on, I ran after the truck, trying to catch the big radish. The radish rolled into my apron and I fell down onto the floor. This was the largest radish I had ever seen in my entire life. I was very surprised. Just when I tried to lift up the radish to take a look, I woke up from my dream. I felt very strange: “Is this a sign that I am pregnant?” Therefore, I went to the hospital for checkup. The doctor told me: “Congratulations!”. Indeed, I was pregnant!


Hyun Joong started to walk when he was 9 month old. Before this, although he can sit alone, he couldn’t climb, the family members were worried that he might be slow to learn walking. However, he omitted the climbing stage and advanced to the walking stage. All the family members were shocked.
Young KHJ (so cute! ^^)

During his 1 year old birthday, he would offer his birthday steam rice cake for the guests to eat. During the Toljabee* event, in order to let him choose the pencil and book, the family members purposely placed both items right in front of him, instead, he chose the brush which was placed beside those items. Hyun Joong started speaking and counting very fast, but he was most interested to sing, dance and play games.



(*Note: Toljabee event is used to predict the child’s future. In this case, Hyun Joong picked the brush which symbolizes that he will become a scholar.)


Since being newly wed up to now, our family has been living nearby the SongpaGu Olympic park. Every weekend, there would be a lot of singers performing there. When bringing Hyun Joong and his elder brother who is 1 year older than him to the park for a stroll, both children would be very happy.

Hyun Joong even got lost a few times, I panicked and searched all over the park, eventually he was always found at the stage where the singers were performing.

Once, the dance group “Seo Tai-ji and boys” were singing ‘I Know’ in the park, Hyun Joong actually ran up to the stage to dance. He even played games with the other singers on stage and laughed happily. Hyun Joong was excellent in his studies, it had never come to my mind that he will become an artist. However now that I started to think, he seems to be different from other kids since childhood.

Kim Hyun Joong excelled in studies when he was young, and had never thought of being a star.

5 – 9 years old, childhood time Kim Hyun Joong

From kindergarten, Hyun Joong had shown his multiple talents. Solving math sum very fast and drew well. Also, learned to speak and recognized words very fast. His elder brother who was 1 year older than him would always sit still to learn. However, Hyun Joong was the kind of child who could play almost everything but yet could still learn well at the same time.



We were worried that both children would feel pressured from learning, therefore, we always let them get in touch with nature more often. In order to celebrate their starting of primary school life, our family went for a tour in Jeju Island. During that time Hyun Joong rode on a horse which was many times taller than him and refused to come down. Seeing this, the people around praised him for being so wonderful. During weekends, we always brought the children to fish. This is why until now, if he felt pressured from his artist work, Hyun Joong will always go fishing alone.


Starting from 2nd year of primary school, Hyun Joong became the class representative. He always handled his own things meticulously. Waking up right after his little alarm clock rang at 6am in the morning on time, completing all his home work by himself. When we visited his school, his class teacher always praised him: “Hyun Joong was very fast in learning. He would not have a problem to enroll into Seoul University.”


At that time, we thought Hyun Joong would use his learning ability to be successful in his career, we had never thought that he would be an artist.





Actually, starting from 2nd to 4th year of his Primary school, Hyun Joong participated in the Mathematic Olympic Competition and he always won the Gold medal. He also always won in art competition. His medals were so many until it could fill up an entire box. His result was always ranked 1st in the class and often rank 1st or 2nd in the whole school.



To prevent him from being singled out by his friends, we also sent him for extra tuition classes to learn calligraphy and Hanja. Even in the tuition center, he was always top in the class. When still in the lower primary years, Hyun Joong already obtained the certificate for level 3 Hanja qualification examination. His tuition center teacher praised: “Hyun Joong passed the certification examination even lower secondary students found hard to pass.” Our family members were also shocked.

Hyun Joong hides 300 millions won (approximately USD237,000) in a book as a gift for his brother

In junior high school placement test, he was enrolled scoring the 4th highest result in the entire school. It was in his 3rd year junior high school when he announced that he wanted to be an artist. As his father was worried that he was too engrossed in his studies, he bought him a guitar to ‘rest his brain’, this was the trigger point for him to be an artist.


Hyun Joong started to be engrossed in guitar. Hyun Joong's guitar teacher said: “He is very talented, something needed to be learned in 3 years he could master them in 3 months. His guitar teacher once advised his father to let Hyun Joong further his talent in music, but his father was strongly against it.

KHJ with his friends
There after, Hyun Joong formed a band, working part time and performing outside. One day, the neighbours said: “The day before, the child of that household was delivering fried chicken.” Only then the family knew that he worked part time in fried chicken restaurant. We felt that as a man one had to be independent, it is alright to go through hardships, so we didn’t stop him from working.


Hyun Joong said: “I would follow my parents’ wish to study in arts high school, but I will make every other decisions in future.” After joining the high school for 1 year, he voluntary dropped out from school. His father & I said: “Dropping out was your own choice, you have to be responsible for your own decision.” He was given only 10 thousand won (USD7.90!) pocket money every month.

Due to Asean financial crisis, our business was affected. We started a fashion business in Dongdaemun. We had to work until 11pm everyday. After getting off from work, I often went to the TGI restaurant which my son worked to secretly watch my son working for around 1 hour before returning home.

During winter, while waiting for my son to come back home, I kept looking out for him from the window. At around 1am, looking at my son making his way through the knee height snow with much difficulties, I felt pain in my heart. In spite of that, I didn’t want him to see my sorrow and always turned off the lights to pretend that everybody had fallen asleep.

After passing the trainee singer interview, my son would return home only when he was given time off. In order to be a trainee, his pocket money was always not enough. Often, he came back starving by public bus. There were many times, he didn’t even have the transportation fee and had to walk home. Despite that, Hyun Joong had never once asked for money from us.

But his love for his family members is extremely deep. When his brother who was studying in America decided to dropped off from his university due to lacking of school fees, Hyun Joong told his brother: “Brother, please read this book.” and gave him a novel as a present.

When his brother opened up the book to read, he found a 300 million won cheque hidden in the book. His brother gave his father a call mentioning that no matter how he counted he couldn’t believe the cheque amount. It was beyond our imagination that while being a trainee singer, he could still carefully save so much money. Ever since he enrolled into the university (Kyonggi University Digital Music faculty), we never worried about him.



Both of us always told him: “Pray before doing something”. Although Hyun Joong said: “Since now elder brother is serving in the army, you can rely on me. Therefore, in the future, don’t work in Dongdaemum anymore.” We hope that not only he can be a singer but also be able to form a family of his own and be responsible. With this, we have no other extravagant hopes.

Credit: 
doubleskhj + hyunjoongchina + (English translation) ss501ufo.blogspot.com
hyunniespexers.wordpress.com




Kim HyunJoong, Tears of Filial Piety “Mother, Please Smoothen Your Wrinkles"

HyunJoong who acts as Yoon JiHoo in KBS 2TV ‘Boys Over Flowers’ has an unknown tear-breaking and filial piety story behind him. Kim HyunJoong’s mother JungYeonMi said to IS in an interview on 19-Feb “HyunJoong is very sentimental child even though he is blunt and doesn’t talk much.” She also talked about the story of crying when she received a gift of beauty products from his son recently. 



Family photo of pretty boy Kim HyunJoong (Left up) taken 3~4 years ago, a precious photo that was hung in their living room. Family photo was taken together before Kim HyunJoong’s elder brother Kim YoungJoong left for USA for his studies 


Kim HyunJoong’s mother said “He came come a few days ago and put the beauty products on the dining table. I asked him what is that and my son replied ‘Mum, I bought for you to use. Now can you please learn to enjoy life? Can you don’t do the work at the market anymore?’ and some other good-talking.” 

She continued “I talked to my son’s uncle whom he is very close with to discuss what should I do. Uncle said ‘HyunJoong came over to find me not long ago, he said he suddenly saw his mother’s face and that there was more wrinkles than before, he was so heart-broken. Then he went to the restroom to cry because he hates being seen crying.’ After which, he asked his uncle which beauty products are good to smoothen wrinkles as he wants to purchase it as a gift. Hearing that my son went to the restroom to cry, I felt really bad. Now, I am considering to stop my clothing business at DongDaeMoon market.” 

Kim HyunJoong’s parents folded up their poor business during IMF (financial crisis time) and started their clothing business at DongDaeMoon which both of them have to work until very late together. Kim HyunJoong who was a high school student at that time, dropped out from school to work part-time to earn himself a living while preparing to debut as a singer. 

JungYeonMi said “Because we wanted to raised our son as a strong kid with responsibility, we pretended not to know when he came back from his part-time work at wee hours in the morning. My husband and I would go to the restaurant that our son was working at and waited outside for an hour every night to look at him and we cried. Even though the lights were on while we wait for our son to return, the truth is that we would turn off the lights and pretended that we were sleeping just before he reaches the front door.” 

Kim HyunJoong has been thrifty while being active as a singer to save money for his brother’s overseas studies fee. Recently, his filial piety can also be seen when he gave a new car to replace his father’s 10 years old car. 

JungYeonMi said “I always say to my son to pray to god before they start to do anything. We opposed to our smart son, who managed to get grade 3 in Chinese Character Competence Test during elementary school, to get into the entertainment industry, but we believed in him when we saw his persistence in doing what he wanted to do. I am proud of my son.”

Credits : best@joongang.co.kr + SS601.com + (English Translation) xiaochu @ Quainte501.com



Hyun Joong: ‘Father Smashed Guitar, Ran Away From Home’

Kim HyunJoong ran away from home during 3rd year middle school and 1st year high school for music. <Photo provided by DSP Entertainment>

Being a member of school band ‘AXERS’ during middle school, Kim HyunJoong promoted to high school and prepared to be an entertainer. He was chosen to be a trainee when he was in year 1 and started the systematic training.

Even though he wanted to keep everything as a secret from his parents, but because the entertainment company requires the permission from the parents for underage trainees, he had no choice but to let his parents know. His mother mdm JungYeonMi recalled “I was working while the manager called in. He asked for the permission for HyunJoong to become a trainee but I told him ‘no’ immediately. I warned him not instigate these kids.”

However, Kim HyunJoong continued his life as a trainee and naturally it became more frequent to skip school. In the end, as he did not have enough attendance during the 2nd semester in year 1, the school contacted his parents that he had to stop school.

At the night after his father submitted the application to stop school. His father wasn’t able to control his anger and scolded Kim HyunJoong “From now on, you go and earn money to feed yourself”. In the reprimanding from his parents, Kim HyunJoong ran out from his house.

Kim HyunJoong also had another experience of running away from home during 3rd year middle school. He was given permission to participate in school band on the condition that he will do well in his studies, however when his results declined suddenly, his father smashed his guitar.

Kim HyunJoong who usually obeys his parents, ran away from home after seeing his guitar being smashed. He returned home again after 5 days. Kim HyunJoong who endured a lot of distress after running away from home said “Father, as long as you tell me not to leave home” and his father replied “Comeback home”.

After stopping school, Kim HyunJoong who was given the responsibility of handling his own things himself by his parents, started doing part-time jobs. He worked every evening at chicken shop, T family restaurant, etc. His mother revealed “Which parents in the world would feel good to see their own children working but not studying? It was a daily routine for me to go and watch over him working at T shop every night at 10 o’clock through the window panes before coming home. Just like that, I watch over HyunJoong for an hour everyday and cried.”

Kim HyunJoong himself also started to gradually regret about stopping school as time passes. However, it is no use crying over spilt milk. His mother who is unable to see him like this goes to the Office of Education and begged to be able to transfer to another school, and the following year, he was able to return to school as a student.

Credits : jjangga@sportschosun.com + SS601.com + (English Translation) xiaochu @ Quainte501.com

KHJ's DOGS

Kim Hyun Joong also has 2 cute dogs which he treats as part of his family: Art & Matic

ART (credit as tagged)
MATIC (credit as tagged)

Took my time to compile info and articles about KHJ so Please RE-POST with FULL CREDITS! Thank you! :)



    2 comments:

    Unknown said...

    thanks, you have really done a great work compiling all these. great work done.
    now, he's known in Ghana due to his role as ji hoo in BOF. I love him a lot. he's got lot's of fans here too.
    congrats kim hyun joong.

    Anonymous said...

    Thank you for all your hard work.

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