Korean pop star and famous music producer Park Jin-young is set to wow the US audiences with The JYP Tour, featuring his protégés Wondergirls, J-Lim, Min and G-Soul.

The tour will kick start on Feb 9 at the Wamu Theater at New York’s Madison Square Garden, followed by Los Angeles’s Wiltern Theater on Mar 8. There are also plans for concerts at Atlanta and San Francisco, which are pending on announcement.

Besides the concerts, JYP will also hold auditions in NYC (Mar 9) and LA (Mar 15) to look for fresh talents to join his agency; more audition details from K-popped.

Jang Geun-suk is South Korea’s rising star. The 20-year-old artist gained wide notice in late 2006 with popular drama “Hwang Jiny” and his popularity continue to boost with recent fantasy-martial-art drama “Hong Gil Dong”.

More pictures from 6th Korean Film Awards…

Hostess Song Yun-ah and special guest Park Jin-young (JYP) performed on stage

Ji Hyun-woo and Jung Il-woo

Lee Hana and Lee Young-eun

Kwak Ji-min and Lee Yeon-hee

Kim Min-sun and Lee Hye-young

Jung Kyung-ho and best supporting actor Sung Ji-ru

Jun Hye-jin and Kim Ji-soo

Hyun Young and Jo Eun-ji

Jin Goo and Andre Kim

I know some JYP fans will welcome his comeback, but I would prefer him to stay as a producer instead… he has been working wonders over the past 6 years as a music producer.

Besides, Korean music scene has changed quite a lot in the last few years… I am not sure if Korean fans would still accept the extremity of JYP’s music and performances.

Below is JYP’s latest music video, “Kiss”… not recommendable for underage.

Korean teenage girls-group Wonder Girls with their “Tell Me” music video; the MV is a bit silly, but cute… fit the bill for a group of young girls ain’t so?

Tell Me is a song from WG’s debut album “The Wonder Years” which was released in September (they previously released a single “The Wonders Begin”). The song also marked the debut of new member Kim Yoo-bin who replaces Kim Hyun-ah who quits the group for health reasons.

Tell Me has been quite a hit since its release, partly thanks to a video (below) from their producer JY Park. The video was made by Park when he was in New York, with himself showing the dance moves that he created for the girls. It was quite a hit in Korean forum when it was released, and spurred the interest for the actual Tell Me MV…

JY Park (Park Jin-young) was a pop singer himself before establishing his company (JYP Entertainment) and become a producer. His most successful ‘product’ so far has to be superstar Rain, but Rain is no longer working with his company.

Picture of Rain

Rain Profile

Name: Jung Ji-hoon, Rain
Korean name: 정지훈
Nickname: Bi (means rain in Korean; 비)
DOB: June 25, 1982
Birth place: Seoul, Korea
Height: 184cm
Blood type: O
Profession: Singer and actor

(Also known as Ji-hoon Jung, Pi, Jung Ji-hun, Jeong Ji-hun)

Rain Biography

Rain started his entertainment career in teenage with boyband Fanclub, but the group didn’t achieve good results and was disbanded.

Rain didn’t want to give up on his music career, and went for lots of auditions before being accepted as a trainee with JYP Entertainment. Rain worked as a backup dancer while learning the skills to become a pop star under the guidance of his singer-boss Park Jin-young.

Rain made his solo debut in 2002 with album “Bad Guy” by using his stage name ‘Rain”. The album was a hit and Rain was rising in fame. It was also in 2002 that he made his acting debut in TV drama “Orange”.

Rain released his 2nd album, “How to Avoid the Sun” in 2003, which was a great hit as well.

Rain’s international breakthrough came in 2004 with popular drama “Full House”, co-starring famous Korean actress Song Hye-kyo. The drama achieved great ratings not just in Korea, but across Asia as well… making Rain an Asia superstar

Following his international fame, Rain held a concert tour in 2005 in Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and ended in New York in early 2006. His exposure in USA has gained notice from Times magazine, which named him as one of the “100 Most Influential People Who Shape Our World” for 2006.

Rain made his movie debut in 2006 with “I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK” (co-starring Im Soo-jung) Rain’s performance was well received by critics, but the movie was a box office disappointment.

Rain started his 2nd world tour later in 2006. The tour started well in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan and Australia etc. before facing problems in Shanghai; the Shanghai concert has to be postponed indefinitely due to unpredicted circumstances.

Rain’s real trouble however, was in USA and Canada. 5 concerts were planned initially but all of the concerts have to been cancelled for various issues. The worst case happened in Los Angeles where the concert was cancelled just hours before its schedule. Rain and his agencies are currently facing lawsuit from Hawaii’s local promoter over various accusations for cancelling the tour.

Rain is currently filming his Hollywood debut movie, “Speedracer” using the name Ji Hoon Jung. He is not the main character but is playing as supporting role instead.

Rain Related Websites

Official Website (Korean) ll Rain Forum