Jang Suwon

Jang Suwon
Background information
Born	(1980-07-16) July 16, 1980
Origin	South Korea
Genres	K-pop
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1997–2000, 2002–present
Labels	Daesung Entertainment JS Entertainment (Solo) A&G Mods (J-Walk) YG Entertainment (Sechskies)
Associated acts	Sechs Kies, J-Walk

Jang Suwon (born July 16, 1980) is a South Korean singer.^[1] He is known as a robot actor and member of the South Korean boy group, Sechs Kies and a duet, J-Walk, along with a fellow Sechs Kies member, Kim Jaeduck.^[2][3] His nicknames were "Short Man" and "Angel".

Career

Sechs Kies

Suwon followed a friend to try out for DSP audition and got selected. At the interview, he said he was good at nothing and was picked because of this honest answer. It was revealed later that Kang Sunghoon, who had the power of choosing members, chose him for his good looks and positive attitude.^[4][5]

He was in his second year of high school when he debuted as Sechs Kies in 1997. He was known to be the most considerate and the youngest of member of the group. Though he had little parts in the group, he was noted for his ease at singing. Sechs Kies achieved great success and became an icon of the 1990s. However, they suddenly disbanded after promotion of fourth album on May 2000.^[6]

J-Walk

In 2002, Suwon teamed with Kim Jaeduck to form J-Walk under Kiss Entertainment and began to sing more.^[2] They released their first album, entitled Suddenly same as hit song on March 2002. They released second album Someday at the same year and soon became top duo after releasing two successful albums. They took SBS Gayo Daejeon Popularity Award with Kang Sunghoon in 2002.

They subsequently collaborated with their former DSP labemate Click-B to form a project boy group, JnC, under Kiss Entertainment. After releasing their debut project album in 2004, one of Click-B's members left, leaving JnC inactive.^[7]

Their first EP Sun Shower(여우비) was delayed until 2007 when they signed with Vitamin Entertainment.^[8] J-Walk released their third album My Love in 2008 and Eun Jiwon helped them by participating in the music video and featuring in the title song. Since Kim Jaeduck entered the military shortly after, Suwon had to promote the album by himself. Suwon entered the military on December 2009 and served in Division 15's military band. He was released from the army on October 2011.^[9]

Robot Actor

On September 2013, Suwon starred in the idol edition of "Love and War" but he was criticized for his poor acting, which has been labeled "robot-acting" and "unwatchable".^[10] People stopped criticizing him because of his nice attitude and good performance in radio star. Moreover, he regained fame with his poor acting at variety shows which led to shooting many advertisements.^[11] Jang Suwon also starred in the drama "Misaengmool", which was a parody version of the popular drama "Misaeng" as the main character Jang Geu Rae.^[12] However, people was dissatisfied with his improved acting skills, and even missed his "robot-acting." ^[13]

Reunite As SechsKies

In 2016, Sechs Kies finally reunited after their disbandment 16 years ago in a famous Korean variety TV show called "Infinite Challenge". They held a pop-up reunion concert on 14 April, the day before the anniversary of SechsKies' debut. ^[14]After Infinite Challenge aired, Sechs Kies earned many more fans; their hit songs ranked high in music charts and “Couple” was seen in 11th place in Music Bank.^[15]

With their growing popularity, YG Entertainment officially announced that they signed a contract with Sechs Kies except for Ko Ji-yong on May 11.^[16] On October 7, Sechs Kies released a new digital single "Three Words (세 단어)" which topped all 8 major music charts shortly after release, achieving all-kill status. It also ranked high in Asian music charts and global iTunes in Taiwan and is among top tracks on iTunes charts in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and others.^[17]

It is revealed that Suwon wanted to get back together the most in the radio star and led the way so he enjoys reunion very much. He received more invitation after reunion and joined different activities.^[18]

After collaboration

Suwon opened his own clothing line in the United States and provided uniforms for JYJ Kim Junsu's Hotel.^[19] He also has opened a restaurant, "Yummy Kampong," in Dongdaemun.

Filmography

Film

Variety Shows

Discography

J-Walk

• Suddenly (2002)
• Someday (2002)
• Sun Shower (여우비)(EP) (2007)
• My Love(2008)
• Frappuccino (EP) (2013)
• Love...Painfully (EP) (2013)

JnC

• JnC (J-Walk & Click-B Project Album), 2004

Endorsement

References