The nine members of SNSD are Yuri, Yoona, Tiffany, Taeyeon (leader), Sunny, Sooyoung, Seohyun, Jessica, and Hyoyeon [check their individual profiles].

SNSD made their official debut in August 2007 with single Into the New World. A reality show Girls Go To School were filmed in conjunction with their debut.

Most of the members have been involved in some projects prior to the group debut, e.g. in magazine ads, TV commercials and music videos etc.

SNSD released their first full album in November 2007; the title track received mixed reviews, but its second track Kissing You became a hit on various music charts in early 2008.

The debut album is re-released as Baby Baby in March 2008 and collectively sold over 100,000 copies by April, an impressive number in Korean music market.

SNSD were involved in various projects in 2008, including a reality TV show Factory Girl where the members would work as interns for Korean Elle magazine. A few of them also worked on solo in other fields, e.g. radio jockeys and TV hosts; with Yoona notably successful in her acting career.

SNSD were back in early 2009 with mini-album Gee; the title song was a huge hit, topping various musical charts and breaking various consecutive #1 records. They released their 2nd mini-album, Tell Me Your Wish in June 2009, with a much talk-about marine girls theme. The album becomes a huge success as well.

As usual the girls were also busy with other projects, i.e. reality shows Horror Factory and Girls’ Generation’s Hello Baby. HF was cancelled prematurely though due to poor ratings, while GGHB achieved moderate successes.

The girls ended 2009 on high note with their first solo concert in Seoul; and they were arguably the biggest winners at most of the year end music awards.

SNSD kicked off 2010 with their second full length album Oh! in January. It did well and became the girls’ 4th consecutive albums to achieve 100,000 in sales. A repackaged album RunDevilRun was released in March.

SNSD are also popular product ambassadors, appearing in various commercials such as Viliv PMP, Goobne Chicken, and LG Mobile etc.

Related links

Visit main blog for more Girls’ Generation news, videos, pictures and wallpapers.

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Han Hyo-joo Profile

Name: Han Hyo-joo
Korean name: 한효주 / 韓孝珠
DOB: February 22, 1987
Birthplace: Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do
Blood type: A
Profession: Actress

Han Hyo-joo Biography

Whether it’s attributed to talent or luck (or both), it’s undeniable that Han Hyo-joo has had a pretty smooth entertainment career. She was discovered in 2003 from some beauty contests and made her acting debut in 2005 in sitcom Nonstop 5. She also landed an MC job on SBS’s music show Popular Song in the same year.

Han made her first breakthrough in 2006 with her starring role in drama series Spring Waltz. The drama did just ok, but she gained some wide notice which probably contributed for her role in Like Land And Sky in 2007. The soap opera was a huge hit, and Han became one of the hottest rising actresses then.

Han continued to impress in 2008 with hit drama Iljimae alongside Lee Jun-ki.

And 2009 was to be her defining year with the runaway success of Brilliant Legacy, making her and co-actor Lee Seung-gi two of the most sought after stars in Korea. She featured in a special web series Soul Story after that in which she sung one of the theme songs Sudden Burst of Tears.

Han had starred in some movies as well, but none of the films had done particularly well in box office. She also starred in a telecinema Heaven’s Postman with pop singer Jaejoong which was filmed in 2008 but was released in late 2009 instead.

Han’s first major project in 2010 is a historical drama Dong Yi, co-starring Ji Jin-hee. The drama is still in filming at the time of writing.

Visit my main blog for more Han Hyo-joo news, videos and pictures.

Yuna’s Profile

Name: Kim Yuna
Korean name: 김연아 / 金姸兒
DOB: September 5, 1990
Birthplace: Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Height: 164cm
Profession: Student, figure skater

[Also known as Kim Yu-Na, Yu-Na Kim]

Yuna’s Biography

Kim Yuna began skating when she was seven.

In 2003, at age 12, she became the youngest woman ever to win the senior title at the South Korean Figure Skating Championships. The sport was not popular in South Korea back then though.

The Koreans only started to pay serious attention to the young star after Kim won the silver medal at the 2005 Junior Grand Prix Final, the country’s first ever medal in an international figure skating championship.

Kim made her senior international debut at 2006 Skate Canada where she won a bronze medal. She continued to excel in various competitions and won the gold at the 2006/2007 Grand Prix Final in Russia.

Kim claimed the world records in 2007 for both the short and long programs under the new ISU scoring system.

She only managed a bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Japan though, while successfully defended her title at the 2007/2008 Grand Prix Final in Italy.

Kim again won the bronze medal at the 2008 World Championship in Sweden despite competing with a back injury. She got silver in the 2008/2009 Grand Prix Final in South Korea.

Kim’s dominance began to surface in 2009 with a new world record in short program at the 4CC. She set another new record in short programs and overall score enroute to her gold medal at the 2009 World Championship in USA. She was the first female skater to surpass 200 points under the new ISU judging system.

Kim continued to break record after record and won her third Grand Prix Final title in Japan for the 2009/2010 season.

Kim broke the world record again with a total of total of 228.56 points, en-route to winning the gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Kim is a huge celebrity in South Korea, appearing in various commercials e.g. for Nike, Kookmin Bank, Hyundai Motors, Hauzen (profile pic) and Anycall etc. She is also appointed as an ambassador for the 2010-2012 Visit Korea Year.

Check her official site and my main blog for more Kim Yuna news.

BoA’s Profile

Name: Kwon Boa
Korean name: 권보아
Nickname: Kkamshi, Beat of Angel
DOB: November 5, 1986
Birth place: Guri, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Height: 160cm
Blood type: AB
Religion: Catholic
Profession: Singer

[Also known as Boa Kwon, Kwon Bo-ah]

BoA’s Biography

BoA was discovered when she was 11 years old while accompanying her brother to an audition at SM Entertainment. Her brother didn’t make it, but BoA caught the eye of the talent scout instead.

BoA was trained for two-years before releasing her debut Korean album, ID; Peace B in 2000. The result was moderate, but enough to convince Japan’s Avex Agency to make a joint venture with SM to launch her career in Japan.

BoA released a few singles before making releasing her full Japanese album, Listen to My Heart in March 2002. The album was a huge hit; and BoA became the first Korean to top Japan’s Oricon sales chart.

Following Japan’s success, BoA launched her 2nd Korean album No.1 in April, which became one of the best selling albums of the year in Korea. BoA officially stamped her mark as an A-list pop star in the region, and she was just 16.

BoA’s popularity continue to grow across Asia over the years; she is one of only two artists to have six consecutive albums topping Oricon chart. Her popularity in Korea dipped a little though, probably due to her lack of activities there.

It’s also a known fact that BoA is interested in acting. She voiced for Korean version of Animated film The Hedge in May 2006; there were rumours that she would be starring in a full movie, but SM has other plans in mind.

In September 2008, SM announced the plan for BoA’s American debut; she released digital single Eat You Up in October 2008, and her self-titled debut English album in March 2009. A repackaged deluxe album was released in August.

BoA’s latest album is her seventh Japanese album, Identity, which was released in February 2010. It’s also announced that she will be making her comeback in Korea later this year.

BoA’s related links

Visit my main blog for more Kwon BoA news, videos, pictures and wallpapers.

Official | Korean | Japanese | USA

After School made their official debut in January 2009 with digital single AH! and was branded by their company as Korea’s Pussycat Dolls. Their first single wasn’t a real hit, but they garnered attention with their commanding live performances.

New member Uee was introduced in March, making it a six-members group. The new team released their second single Diva in April with moderate success; followed by Dream Girl and collaboration with Son Dambi in Amoled.

AS underwent another reshuffling as So-young left the group – or graduated according to their concept – in October due to health reasons.

New members Raina and Nana were introduced a month later; just in time for the release of Because of You in November 2009 which became their first major chart topper. The ladies also shed their early PCD style with a more sophisticated and classier image which was well received by fans.

The seven current members of After School are Gahee (leader), Jung Ah, Jooyeon, Bekah, Uee, Raina and Nana [check their individual profiles].

Related links

Visit my main blog for more After School news, videos, pictures and wallpapers.

Official | Korean

The Wonder Girls officially debuted in early 2007 with mini-album The Wonders Begin, but they were making headlines for unfortunate incidents, i.e. car accidents and change of members because of health reason.

Their luck changed in September 2007 with the release of full album The Wonder Years. The song Tell Me was one of the hottest songs of the year; its cheeky choreography has became a national dance and gaining international notice.

The girls’ popularity is soaring ever since. They released the So Hot single in June 2008, which did pretty well; and Nobody a few months later, which was again one of the songs of the year with an extremely popular choreography.

The Wonder Girls began their concert tour in early 2009, which began in Bangkok before moving to a few American cities and ended in their homeland by March.

An announcement was made shortly after the end of their tour that the girls were ready to take on the American market in full force with the English version of Nobody. And their company brought in another good news in June that the girls would be joining the Jonas Brothers’ tour as opening act for their concerts.

The tour ended in late August, and it obviously helps the girls to gain popularity in the states, as their English single of Nobody has moved into the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making them the first ever Korean artists to achieve the feat.

The group underwent their second member reshuffle with Sun Mi leaving to pursue her study in February 2010. Hong Kong born Hye-rim came in as replacement.

Related links

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