Jung Yong-hwa of CNBlue: from rocking busker in Japan to multitalented bandleader taking on K-pop in Korea
- Jung has spent 10 years in the music industry, starting with studying music in Japan and street performances
- His pop rock band can compete in the charts with K-pop’s leading acts
Few Korean pop stars are lucky to have a career that lasts 10 years, and rarely are they as varied and fruitful as Jung Yong-hwa’s. The multifaceted singer-songwriter-producer-actor has been able to grow in different creative fields, with fans supporting his endeavours all the way.
Here’s a look at Jung’s decade in K-pop.
His early life
Jung Yong-hwa was born in Seoul in June 1989. The younger of two brothers, he and his family moved to the country’s second-most populous city, Busan, in 1991, where he spent most of his life. The young Jung was a high-ranking student, enjoying English and gym classes the most.
He loved American boy bands such as *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys while he was in middle school, and started composing his own music in high school.
After his college entrance exams, he moved back to Seoul and joined the FNC Music agency to pursue his musical interests. By 2009, Jung was in Japan to study music with his band mates in the pop rock group CNBlue. Despite being Korean, their careers began as street performers in Japan, and they released their first EP on a Japanese indie label.
