Tag: JYP Entertainment

Idolmakers: D.O., Suzy, Henry, Minho

Jae-Ha Kim

One of the things that has impressed me about K-Pop’s idol system is that it has developed some truly talented actors. They remind me of performers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, when entertainers were trained to sing, dance and act. Two highly-acclaimed K-Dramas — “SKY Castle” and “Memories of the Alhambra” — featured young K-Pop stars in strong co-starring roles. In the former, SF9’s Chani (né Kang Chan-Hee) put in a stellar performance as a high school student framed for murder. In the latter, EXO’s Chanyeol (né Park Chan-Yeol) played a terrified teenage game developer.

Go Away With … San E

Jae-Ha Kim

“I didn’t really know what hip hop and rap was when I was in (South) Korea,” San E says. “And then I moved to Atlanta when I was in middle school and just naturally started paying attention to it, because it was everywhere. I was lucky, even though I didn’t think so as a kid. Atlanta has a lot of great musicians. The music scene is pretty diverse and I was just going with it.”

Go Away With … The Wonder Girls

Jae-Ha Kim

The Wonder Girls’ single “Nobody” became the first song by a Korean group to ever hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The quintet, which splits its time between Seoul, South Korea, and New York City, performs its radio-friendly songs in Korean, English and Chinese. After touring with the Jonas Brothers, the Girls hit a string of smaller clubs earlier this year. Known simply by their first names, Yenny and Sun (both 21 years old) and 17-year-old Lim chatted about their favorite vacation spots. Like a true teenager, Lim admits she’s always on the lookout for “famous restaurants and landmarks.”