Kim Hyun Jung

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For the other "Kim Hyun Jung", see Big Mama King.

Kim Hyun Jung
Korean name
Hangul:	김현정
Hanja:	金賢政
Revised Romanization:	Kim Hyeon-jeong
McCune-Reischauer:	Kim Hyŏn-chŏng

Kim Hyun Jung (born April 4, 1978) is a Korean pop singer. Commonly known as the Korean dance-pop queen, she is most famous for energetic dance tunes with influences from traditional Korean melodies. She has a record of selling more than 500 000 copies of each of her albums and has won more than 30 musical awards.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Trivia 3 Discography 3.1 그녀와의 이별 3.2 A Sea Gull of Dream 3.3 The Third Eye 3.4 Wild Beauty 3.5 Diet 3.6 Hit for 6ix 3.7 I Love Soul 3.8 Fun Town 20 3.9 Dance with Hyun Jung 4 Filmography 5 External links

[edit] Biography

Before her musical breakthrough, Kim Hyun Jung originally wanted to become a ballad artist. However, her first release 그녀와이 이별 [Breakup with Her] with its strong dance beat became such a hit in 1998 that she decided to build a career in dance instead. And to date, she has only had two ballads as a feature tracks, 거짓말처럼 [Like a Lie] from her third album and 떠난 너 [You're Gone] from the fourth. In addition to her powerful voice, live singing abilities and dance talent, Kim's trademarks include her particularly long legs that tend to get mentioned in just about any context, earning her the title "Miss Long Legs".

The successful first album further produced the second feature track 혼자한 사랑 [Lonely Love], and the following year saw the release of Kim's second album A Sea Gull of Dream, continuing with the style she had become known for. The feature releases of the album were 되돌아온 이별 [Recurring Breakup] and 자유선언 [Declaration of Freedom].

The Third Eye, Kim Hyun Jung's third album, is widely considered as her best effort, and has indeed so far been the most popular one. The album promotion began with the song 멍 [Bruise], which is still her biggest hit to date. 멍 was followed by two other tracks, 너 정말? [Are You for Real?] and 거짓말처럼 [Like a Lie].

For the fourth album Wild Beauty, Kim took a more experimental approach. The release was a critical success as well as a commercial one, with the popularity of the songs 놔 [Let Go], a rock-flavoured dance tune, and 떠난 너 [You're Gone], a power-ballad with Irish sounds. Overall, the album's unusual style reminded of that of the innovative Korean techno artist Lee Jung Hyun. In 2001, Kim also won a Bonsang award at the annual SBS Gayo Dae Jun Award Ceremony and the honour of Best Female Soloist in M.NET Music Video Award Ceremony for 떠난 너.

2001 was not, however, only a year of success for the dance diva. First, her album release was delayed by a leg injury that also forced her to postpone her promotion tour to Taiwan and Hong Kong scheduled for July 2001. A month later, she further suffered an even more serious accident. During the shooting of a variety entertainment show featuring top singers and actors, she fell upside down from a slide while dressed up as a tomato and trying to catch a ball. She was hospitalized with disjointed neck bones and strained shoulder ligaments, forcing her to cancel her already delayed promotion plans.

Kim Hyun Jung's first return to her roots came with the fifth album Diet in 2002. Some critics labelled the album as 'eclectic' while its variety of styles was applauded by others. Nevertheless, the song 단칼 [Swift Slash of the Knife], which is included on the album in two very different but equally innovative versions, became a major hit, and the R&B-spirited 현장 [Scene] a minor one. The special feature of the Diet album was its title track, a megamix of almost 18 minutes including different mixes of most of the album tracks. In 2002, she also won another Bonsang award, this time at the SBS Awards.

Kim launched her sixth album in 2003 along with the powerful song 끝이라면 [If It's the End] that was especially loyal to her traditional style, even bearing distinct resemblance to 어쩌면 [Maybe] from her third album. Exceptionally, almost half of the tracks on Hit for 6ix were ballads.

I Love Soul, Kim's seventh album, was in exchange even more experimental than Wild Beauty, actually not containing any real dance tracks at all. The album is made up of various styles including R&B, jazz, swing, gospel and soul, as the title suggests. The two feature tracks were B형 남자 [B Type Man] and 태양 에너지 [Solar Energy]. The former was about the typical preconceptions associated with men with blood type B.

In 2005, the dance-pop queen made another return to her roots with the special dance remake album Fun Town 20. The album comprised eighteen cover versions of well-known Western, Korean and Japanese dance hits from the 70's, 80's and 90's as well as a Russian folk song. The leading track of the album was Funky Town, originally performed by Lipps Inc. Other revisited classics included Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance with Somebody and Enrique Iglesias's Bailamos.

[edit] Trivia

• Kim Hyun Jung entered the entertainment industry when she was spotted by an agent on the street.
• She is highly popular in Hong Kong, where her fans call her Amy Kim.
• She was the first Korean pop singer to be interviewed by TIME.
• Some months before the release of her third album, Kim Hyun Jung had her teeth aligned.
• In 2002, Kim wrote the storyline to the cartoon T.R.Y illustrated by Park Moo-jik and published in the comic magazine Cake.
• Kim wrote the lyrics to the former Korean boyband Sechs Kies member Kang Sung Hoon's song "Because I Love You" included on his second album.
• Kim was planning a special ballad album to be released during the winter 2002-2003. The release was delayed until autumn 2003, but in the end, it never took place.
• Apart from her legs, there is an another fact that is often mentioned in conjunction with Kim Hyun Jung. In July 2003, she and more than ten other South Korean celebrities entered the island of Guam in order to film an episode of the famous South Korean TV show Rose War. However, they were denied entry and held in detention on suspicions of "attempting to immigrate and work illegally" at the Guam International Airport by U.S. immigration officials. Kim was held in confinement apart from her crew for more than six hours and deported back to her country the following day while the rest were admitted to stay. Later on, she received a formal apology from the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.
• The song Like a Virgin from the album I Love Soul was banned by the Korean Broadcasting System for sexually explicit title and lyrics.
• Kim Hyun Jung now has a piercing on her upper left eyebrow.

[edit] Discography

[edit] 그녀와의 이별

	1.	그녀와이 이별 (IVY Remix)	Breakup with Her	3:50
	2.	혼자한 사랑	Lonely Love	4:01
	3.	폭군을 사랑한 여자	Woman Who Loved a Violent Guy	3:09
	4.	진실과 테크닉	Truth and Technique	3:47
	5.	내안의 너를	The Part of You in Me	4:26
	6.	연	Year	4:16
1998	7.	변명	Excuse	3:39
	8.	The End		5:22
	9.	그녀와의 이별	Breakup with Her	4:02

[edit] A Sea Gull of Dream

	1.	되돌아온 이별	Recurring Breakup	3:29
	2.	자유선언	Declaration of Freedom	3:27
	3.	훈련소 앞에서	In Front of the School	3:58
	4.	실루엣	Silhouette	3:39
	5.	벽	Wall	3:23
	6.	몽중인	Dreamer	4:30
1999	7.	7일간의 이별	7-Day Breakup	4:07
	8.	한번 웃어봐	Try to Smile Sometimes	4:12
	9.	러브게임	Love Game	3:26
	10.	늦은거야	Too Late	3:44
	11.	Before and After		3:19
	12.	A Sea Gull of Dream		3:36

[edit] The Third Eye

	1.	미라지 (신기루)	Mirage	3:44
	2.	고요	Silence	4:03
	3.	사실은	In Fact	4:46
	4.	너 정말?	Are You for Real?	3:44
	5.	멍	Bruise	3:25
	6.	어쩌면	Maybe	3:48
2000	7.	누군가 했더니	Look What the Cat Dragged In	3:48
	8.	자기야	Honey	3:43
	9.	U-Turn		3:27
	10.	거짓말처럼	Like a Lie	4:25
	11.	Disco Bus		4:11
	12.	What Is It?		3:32

[edit] Wild Beauty

	1.	Time		1:30
	2.	떠난 너	You're Gone	3:56
	3.	The Night		3:40
	4.	놔	Let Go	3:26
	5.	그, 너, 나	He, You, Me	3:18
	6.	Crazy		4:03
2001	7.	괜찮아	It's Ok	4:36
	8.	Professional		3:21
	9.	내 맘	My Heart	3:39
	10.	Shining Star		3:36
	11.	White Color		4:00
	12.	I Love Music		3:36
	13.	나에게로의 초대	Invitation to Myself	4:34

[edit] Diet

	1.	현장	Scene	3:22
	2.	단칼 (acoustic)	Swift Slash of the Knife	4:19
	3.	나쁜사랑	Bad Love	3:29
	4.	예감	Premonition	3:34
	5.	나보다 널	'	3:44
	6.	얼음	Ice	3:18
2002	7.	순종	Obedience	3:42
	8.	단칼 (dance)	Swift Slash of the Knife	3:38
	9.	데이지	Daisy	4:42
	10.	그녀	She	3:37
	11.	니가 사람이니!	You're a Man	3:39
	12.	거미	Spider	3:36
	13.	그대우나봐	'	3:12
	14.	Diet (Megamix)		17:42

[edit] Hit for 6ix

	1.	못	Nail	4:05
	2.	끝이라면	If It's the End	3:49
	3.	Hit Me		3:44
	4.	풍선과 커플링	Balloon and Couple Ring	3:30
	5.	Happy Birthday		3:41
	6.	돈텔마마	Don't Tell Mama	3:37
2003	7.	남자의 유혹	Temptation of Men	3:32
	8.	Stop It		3:41
	9.	그놈의 결혼식	His Wedding	4:03
	10.	첫 날	First Day	3:39
	11.	자신없는 이별	Breakup without Confidence	4:30
	12.	Not Alone		4:45
	13.	The Ring Around My Balloon		3:30
	14.	끝이라면	If It's the End	3:42

[edit] I Love Soul

	1.	태양 에너지	Solar Energy	3:25
	2.	Like a Virgin		3:27
	3.	중독	Addiction	4:07
	4.	Don't You Follow Me		3:44
	5.	No.No.No		4:01
	6.	2nd Round		3:47
2004	7.	B형 남자	B Type Man	4:30
	8.	연습 (Coma…)	Exercise	4:05
	9.	Acoustic Love		3:48
	10.	길 (그대로 오는길)	The Way (To Come to You)	4:15
	11.	Outro		3:26
	12.	B형 남자 (MR)	B Type Man	4:30

[edit] Fun Town 20

	1.	아파요	It Hurts	3:25
	2.	Funky Town		3:40
	3.	번뇌	Agony	3:40
	4.	어떤 기다림	Some Waiting	4:00
	5.	내사랑 (Don't Go)	My Love	3:05
	6.	어느새	Preconscious	4:10
2005	7.	Only You		3:40
	8.	7년간의 사랑	7 Years' Love	3:55
	9.	정거장	Station	3:10
	10.	Let's Go Diva		3:45
	11.	Fantasy		3:47
	12.	버스 안에서	In the Bus	3:30
	13.	한 송이 저 들국화처럼	A Flower like a Wild Chrysanthemum	4:05
	14.	어쩌다 마주친 그대	'	3:25
	15.	유혹	Temptation	3:55
	16.	별처럼	Like a Star	3:25
	17.	I Wanna Dance With Somebody		3:47
	18.	친구를 다이알을 타고	'	4:00
	19.	Remix (Fantasy, 진이, 버스 안에서)		6:05

[edit] Dance with Hyun Jung

	1.	Reverse (feat. Gio, Crown J)		1:13
	2.	더 잘해봐	Do It Better	3:50
	3.	굳세어라 현정아	Be Strong Hyun Jung	3:36
	4.	바로그녀 (Nanta Version)	As It Were Her	4:01
	5.	상상해봐 (feat. 창진)	Try to Imagine	3:37
	6.	키스를 훔쳐보며	Stealing a Kiss	4:06
2006	7.	이별을 배워	Learn the Breakup	3:55
	8.	트집	Fault	3:31
	9.	7년간의 사랑	7 Years' Love	4:00
	10.	못	Nail	3:54
	11.	Only You		3:43
	12.	번뇌 (feat. Gio)	Agony	3:44
	13.	진실과 테크닉	Reality and Technique	3:50
	14.	바로 그녀 (Folk Version)	As It Were Her	3:35
	15.	더 잘해봐 (Underground Mix Version)	Do It Better	3:24

[edit] Filmography

• 2001: Yesterday (예스터데이)
• 2005: 안녕 프란체스카 (TV)

[edit] External links

• Official Homepage
• Cineseoul profile