Shin Hwa-yong

Life and career

Early life and career beginnings

Jung Yong-hwa was born on June 22, 1989, in Seoul, South Korea. His family consists of his parents and a brother, who is four years older. He moved to Busan in 1991 and lived there through high school, where he first began composing music. After taking his college entrance, he moved back to Seoul, where he joined FNC Music. In 2009, Jung left for Japan to study music with his bandmates. While there, they did street performances and released independent albums. The group debuted in Japan with the mini album Now or Never on August 19, 2009 with an indie label AI Entertainment. They officially debuted in Korea in 2010 with the mini album Bluetory, and the title track "I'm a Loner" became an instant hit in Korea.

Music career

On January 14, 2011, Jung released his first solo digital single, "For First Time Lovers". The song was featured on the second season of We Got Married, where Jung was a cast member. Upon its release, topped various South Korean music charts such as Bugs, Daum, Soribada and Naver Music. The song debuted at #12 on the Gaon Singles Chart, climbing up to the #1 spot in the following week and stayed there for two consecutive weeks.

In 2014, he released "You, My Star", a self-composed single dedicated to his fans. All profits of the single were donated to charity.

In January 2015, Jung debuted as a solo artist with the album One Fine Day, which clinched the No. 1 spot on Billboard's World Albums chart. The album featured artists JJ Lin, Yang Dong-geun, Verbal Jint, YB's Yoon Do-hyun and Peter Malick. One Fine Day received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who noted his growth as a singer-songwriter. Jung later embarked on his first series of solo concerts across Asia.

In 2016, Jung collaborated with Sunwoo Jung-a on a collaborative album project. The duo released two singles “Hello” and “Empathy”; Jung composed "Hello" and co-wrote the lyrics to "Empathy".

In early 2017, FNC Entertainment revealed that Jung will make a solo comeback in July. He reportedly collaborated with foreign artists through a songwriting camp for the album. His first mini-album, Do Disturb, as well as the music video for its title song, "That Girl," were both released on July 19, 2017. Jung released his second Japanese album Summer Calling on August 9, 2017 and is set to embark on a tour in four Japanese cities in the same month.

Songwriting

Jung has composed several notable singles for CNBLUE, including "In My Head" (2011), "Where You Are" (2012) and "I'm Sorry" (2013). In particular, his composition "Can't Stop" for the group's fifth EP was very well received and earned earned rave reviews from critics and K-pop fans.

For his drama Heartstrings (2011), he composed and sang "Because I Miss You". The single peaked at #14 on the Gaon Chart, and later ranked #1 on Japanese ringtone charts. He also produced "Casting Love" for the soundtrack of Marry Him If You Dare (2013), which was sung by Jeon Gun-hwa.

Jung has also composed for other artists. He composed and produced "Fool" (also known as "Babo") as a gift for label-mate Juniel, which was featured on her debut album as well as "Love is Only You" for another FNC artist, girl group AOA. Jung released 17 compositions for the first half of the year in 2012.

As a gift for the CNBLUE School in Burkina Faso, Africa, Jung helped produce their "School Song". In 2013, Jung penned the song "Feel Good", the brand song of Samsung Galaxy, which was released officially on YouTube on August 23, 2013.

Acting career

Jung Yong-hwa had debuted before his group did, becoming the first member of CNBLUE to appear on the television screen. In 2009, he landed his first acting role in the SBS drama You're Beautiful, which aired from October 7 to November 26, 2009. As the series revolves around the life of a musical group, he played the role of the lead guitarist in the faux idol band A.N.Jell. The series gained a cult following, and earned high ratings in Japan, which fostered the growth of his popularity.

In 2011, Jung was cast in MBC's youth drama Heartstrings, along with fellow band member Kang Min-hyuk. The drama also reunited Jung with You're Beautiful co-star Park Shin-hye. After the drama aired, Jung experienced a rise in popularity in Japan.

Originally cast in Kim Eun-sook's teen drama The Heirs, Jung revealed that he declined the role to "avoid" actress Park Shin-hye (who was the lead actress of Heirs) despite being fascinated with the character and knowing that the drama is likely to succeed. Instead, he chose to star in KBS's romantic comedy Marry Him If You Dare. Explaining his decision, Jung said that the audience is likely to be "bored" as he had already worked with Park in two dramas.

In 2014, Jung took the leading role in period action drama The Three Musketeers. Despite suffering from low ratings, Jung received positive reviews from critics and producers for his improved acting in the series. Three Musketeers was also well-received in China and fostered in Jung's growth in popularity in the country.

In 2017, Jung made his big-screen debut in the Chinese gastronomy film Cook Up a Storm alongside Nicholas Tse. The same year, it was confirmed that Jung will be starring in the upcoming JTBC drama The Package with Lee Yeon-hee.

Variety show

After his successful acting debut, Jung joined his first variety show, MBC's Sunday Sunday Night program Korea Ecosystem Rescue Centre: Hunters, which featured seven celebrity MCs going out to capture wild boars. The show premiered on December 6, 2009 but was forced to prematurely cease its run in mid-January 2010 due to protests by animal-rights groups. He subsequently continued as one of the MCs on the replacement program Eco House, which deals with global climate change.

In 2010, Jung became the one of the hosts of SBS's live music show Inkigayo and variety-talk show Night After Night. He left both programs in 2011.

In February 2010, he was paired with Seohyun of Girls' Generation as part of a virtually wedded couple for MBC's We Got Married. Collectively known as "YongSeo" couple, they filmed their final episode of the show on March 15, 2011. At the end of the year, Jung won the "Popularity Award" at the MBC Entertainment Awards for his stint in We Got Married.

He has also made several guest appearances on SBS's Running Man and as of September 2015, has the most number of appearances in the show with 12 episodes.

Personal life

On June 28, 2016 it was reported that Yong-hwa is being under investigation for insider trading. He was reportedly being investigated for allegedly earning approximately $347,000 through buying stocks in FNC Entertainment after learning about their plans to sign a major celebrity. On June 30, Yong-hwa has been cleared of suspicion and proven innocent. On October 31, FNC Entertainment officially announced that they will take legal action against malicious rumors about the singer after being framed of insider trading.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Variety and reality show

Discography

• One Fine Day (2015)
• Do Disturb (2017)
• Summer Calling (2017)

Concert tours

• Jung Yonghwa 1st Concert - One Fine Day (2015)

Awards and nominations