Park Jin-young

Biography

Park was born in Seoul. He graduated from Baemyung High School and he earned his bachelor's degree in geology from Yonsei University.

Music career

In 1992, Park debuted as a group called 'Park Jin-Young and the New Generation,' but it fared poorly. In 1994, he debuted as a solo singer with the album Blue City featured the song "Don't Leave Me", and it was successful.

Park has released many albums. He followed Blue City with his second album Tantara in 1995. His third album Summer Jingle Bell came out in 1997 and featured the hit song "She Was Pretty". His fourth album Even After 10 Years (1998) featured the song "Honey", his sixth album Game (2001) featured the song "Swing Baby", and his seventh album Back To Stage (2007) featured the song "Kiss". In 2013 he released an album called "White in Snow". While maintaining his status as a successful artist, he has also composed and produced over 31 charting singles and 25 albums for various musical acts in South Korea. He served as in-house songwriter and producer for a number of his label's most prominent acts including top-selling first-generation K-pop group g.o.d, singer-actor Rain, boy band 2PM and the former girl group Wonder Girls.

In 2004, Park ventured into the U.S. music industry, becoming the first Asian producer to successfully cross over to the U.S., producing music for Will Smith, Mase and Cassie.

In May 2008, Park collaborated with Jackie Chan to form the "I Love Asia" Project, prompted by the earthquake tragedy in China. Park produced the song 'Smile Again', along with Chan and Korean director Kang Je-gyu to raise funds for relief efforts in Sichuan. The song featured an array of Korean stars, including various actors and singers, as well as Korean figure skater Kim Yuna. The music video was released on the JYP Entertainment YouTube channel on June 30.

In October 2009, Park became the first Korean songwriter, together with RAINSTONE to enter the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with the Wonder Girls hit single "Nobody" which debuted at 76.

On December 3, 2009, Park released his single, No Love No More. On April 22, 2011, Park collaborated with Brown Eyed Girls' Ga-In, releasing a duet track titled "Someone Else." The song charted at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and sold over 1 million copies. This was the first song Park released in about two years. Park followed up his success with "Someone Else" by releasing a single titled "You're the One" on April 28, 2012. The song charted at number three and sold over 1.5 million copies.

In 2015, Park released the song "Who's Your Mama?", featuring Lucky J's Jessi. The song became a hit, consequently displacing fellow label-mates Miss A from first spot on the Korean charts. Later that year, he participated in the Infinite Challenge Yeongdong Expressway Music Festival, forming a duo called Dancing Genome with comedian Yoo Jae-suk and releasing the song 'I'm So Sexy'.

In 2016, Park released a single titled 'Still Alive'. During the same period, he appeared in the Conan O'Brien special 'Conan in Korea', recording a song with Conan O'Brien, Steven Yeun & Park Ji-min titled 'Fire', with label-mates Wonder Girls and TWICE appearing in the music video. The song was released on Conan O'Brien's YouTube channel on April 9. Park also appeared in the Korean variety show Sister's Slam Dunk in 2016, producing the cast's single titled 'Shut Up'. The song unexpectedly achieved a real-time chart all-kill upon release. On September 22, 2016 it was reported that Park would be producing the title track of girl-group I.O.I for their final album prior to disbandment. The song, titled "Very Very Very" was released on October 16, 2016. It achieved commercial success upon release, earning a perfect all-kill on the Korean charts and topping the Gaon Digital Chart.

Plagiarism lawsuit

On February 10, 2011, songwriter Kim Sin-il filed a lawsuit against Park claiming that "Someday", sung by IU and composed by Park, plagiarized Kim's song "To My Man". Kim alleged that the beginnings of the two songs, including the jazz chords, are almost identical and sued Park for 110 million won. Park denied the allegations, and no settlement was reached after several court hearings. On February 10, 2012, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that "Someday" was plagiarized from Kim's song, and ordered Park to pay 21.67 million won in damages to Kim. Park appealed the ruling, but on January 24, 2013, the Seoul High Court ruled against Park and ordered him to pay 56.93 million won to Kim.

Acting

In early 2011, JYP made his acting debut in Dream High, for which he received a nomination for New Actor of the Year at the Baeksang Arts Awards. In January 2012 he was seen in the sequel to Dream High called Dream High 2.

In 2011, Park made his film debut as Choi Young In, a man on a mission to hand-deliver 5 million dollars, in Five Million Dollar Man with Jo Sung-ha and Min Hyo-rin. The film was released on July 19, 2012.

Personal life

In 1999, Park Jin-young married Seo Yoon-jeong. In March 2009, the couple announced their divorce. On October 10, 2013, he married a non-celebrity woman who is 9 years younger than him.

Park is a capable English speaker, as evidenced by the various interviews he has conducted in the U.S.

Discography

Studio albums

• 1994: Blue City
• 1995: Tantara
• 1997: Summer Jingle Bell
• 1998: Even After 10 Years
• 1998: Kiss Me
• 2001: Game
• 2007: Back To Stage

EP

• 2009: Sad Freedom
• 2012: Spring - 5 Songs for 1 New Love
• 2013: Halftime
• 2015: 24/34
• 2016: Still Alive

Singles

Lyrics and composition

Filmography

Film

Television series

Awards

• 2001: 3rd M.net Korean Music Festival: Best R&B Performance for "I Have A Girlfriend"
• 2009: 11th Mnet Asian Music Awards: Best Asian Composer for Nobody
• 2012: Mnet 20's Choice Awards: 20's Do Don't
• 2015: 17th Mnet Asian Music Awards: Best Male Artist and Best Producer
• 2016: Golden Disk Awards: Digital Bonsang