Hahm Eun-jung (born December 12, 1988),[3][4] known professionally as Eunjung and also Elsie,[4][5] is a South Korean singer and actress. In 1995, she won Little Miss Korea competition at the age of seven and debuted as a child actress in the same year with the television drama A New Generation of Adults (1995). Since then, she has taken on several minor roles in movies, television series and also being cast in various commercial films. After three years of training, she debuted as a member of South Korean girl group T-ara in July 2009. She debuted as a solo artist by the name Elsie with her EP, I'm Good, on May 7, 2015.
Hahm Eun-jung | |
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Born | (1988-12-12) December 12, 1988 (age 33)[1] Seoul, South Korea |
Other names | Elsie |
Occupation |
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Years active | 1995–present |
Agent | Management Koo |
Musical career | |
Genres |
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Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 2009–present |
Labels |
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Member of | |
Korean name | |
Hangul | |
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Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Ham Eun-jeong |
McCune–Reischauer | Ham Ŭnchŏng |
Hahm was born in Seoul, South Korea. Her mother, a graduate of Ewha Womans University, is a former piano teacher who works as Hahm's agent.[6] While attending seventh grade, Hahm started taekwondo lessons and won three different competitions. Her mother made the decision to quit teaching and manage her career upon her high school graduation in 2007. Later that year, Hahm enrolled in Dongguk University, where she took performance courses.[7] She is an only child and has been quoted as explaining, "My mother had me 10 years after she was married to my father, which seems more hurtful. Upon watching several famous performers in the past, she wanted to become an actress. Now that I have, she is very pleased I have acting as a priority. She believes her original prayers were answered."[8]
In 1995, when Hahm was seven years old, she participated in the "Little Miss Korea" pageant and won.[9] That same year, she appeared in the youth drama A New Generation of Adults, which aired on KBS.[8] Afterwards, she had several minor roles in movies and Korean dramas, along with being cast in a handful of commercial films.
In 2007, Hahm appeared in various music videos, namely SG Wannabe's music video "Gasiri" ("가시리") from their 2007 album Story In New York. Later that year, she would also be seen in FT Island's music videos "Thunder" ("천둥"), "Only One Person" ("한사람만"), and "A Man's First Love Follow Him To The Grave" ("남자의 첫사랑은 무덤까지 간다").
She also appeared in the 2008 horror film Death Bell, where she plays a student who was murdered by her teacher.
Hahm originally trained to be an actress, and later debuted as a member of T-ara in July 2009. She was the first leader of the group, until September 2010.[10][11] Hahm featured in Davichi's music video "Time, Please Stop" ("시간아 멈춰라") which was released on May 6, 2010.[12]
Her first major acting role since joining T-ara was in SBS drama Coffee House, which aired on from May 17, 2010, to July 17, 2010.[13][14][15][16][17] That same year, she was cast in the horror film White: The Melody of the Curse.[18][19]
Hahm's popularity began to rise in 2011, when she starred in the teen drama Dream High.[20] The drama was a success, and brought high domestic viewership ratings, and also gaining popularity in other countries and winning several international awards.[citation needed] From 2011 to 2012, she joined MBC's variety program We Got Married, pairing up with actor Lee Jang-woo.[citation needed] She won the Best Newcomer Award at the MBC Entertainment Awards.[citation needed] Hahm then starred in historical dramas The King of Legend and Insu, The Queen Mother.[citation needed]
In June 2012, Hahm was confirmed to star in the drama Five Fingers.[citation needed] However, on August 22, it was revealed that she had been dropped from the drama.[citation needed] The Korean Actors Labor Union demanded that Hahm be issued an apology by the producer and crew.[citation needed] In February 2013, Yein E&M issued a formal apology for firing Hahm without notice.[21]
Hahm made her return to acting in 2014, with SBS' weekend drama Endless Love.[citation needed]
In 2015, it was announced that Hahm would play the lead role in the Thai romantic comedy Micro Love, making her the first female idol to star in a Thai movie.[22] In May 2015, Hahm made her solo debut under the stage name ELSIE. She released her first mini album I'm Good, with the lead single of the same name featuring K.Will.[citation needed] The Chinese version of her music video peaked at #2 on the Chinese YinYueTai's music video charts.[citation needed] On October 14, Hahm released the song Goodbye, as the soundtrack of T-ara's web-drama Sweet Temptation. The song was also included in her repackaged mini album, Goodbye, released on October 30.[citation needed]
In 2016, Hahm was cast in Flowers of Evil, a thriller directed by Cho Sung-kyu.[23] In 2017, Hahm was cast in MBC's daily drama, Sisters-in-Law, which premiered in April that year.[24]
In January 2018, Hahm confirmed her departure from MBK after her contract expired. In February 2018, Hahm signed an exclusive management contract with UFO Production, making her the company's first-ever artist. UFO Production, a subsidiary of technology company Pobis TNC, is more known for producing the MBC TV weekend drama Money Flower.[25] On May 24, 2018, it was confirmed that Hahm was cast in the upcoming KBS's drama Lovely Horribly, starring Park Si-hoo and Song Ji-hyo.[26]
On February 26, 2019, it was announced that Hahm would be the narrator for the Korea-Vietnam co-production documentary named The Muse Story, which will be broadcast on KBS World.[27] On October 14, 2020, her label announced that Hahm will star in upcoming film called “I will sing” as a singer.[28]
As of February 2021, she is cast in the leading role of the upcoming TV drama A Fool's Dream, which will be aired on KBS1 on March 29, 2021.[29] On July 15, 2021, Hahm left Cabin 74 after her contract expired.[30] On September 27, 2021, Hahm signed an exclusive contract with Management Koo.[31]
Eunjung has modeled for several brands since before her debut as a singer. Her first ever advertisement was a print-in ad for Korea's No.1 mineral water Jeju Samdasoo in 1998.[32]
In February 2011, Eunjung was chosen, along with actor Kim Soo-hyun, as exclusive models for clothing brand SPRIS. The brand is known to be the most preferred brand among young people with previous models including Lee Joon-gi, Kim Beom and 2PM. The brand was promoted with a series of TV commercial films including a 3-minute music-drama video which featured a newly recorded song by both Eunjung and Kim Soo-hyung called "Crazy4s", the song was never officially released.[33]
In 2015, posters featuring Eunjung as a model for Burger King were released all over Korea, Hahm became the third T-ara member to endorse the restaurant after her Hyomin and Jiyeon in 2014.[34]
In 2016, Eunjung was selected as a model for Coca Cola along with Yubin, Park Yoon and Jo Se-hyeon. She attended several promotional events for the brand for 2 years since 2015 including its 130th anniversary exhibition event.[35][36]
Year | Brand / Event | Country | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Ministry Of Agriculture, Food and rural affairs | South Korea | Public Relations Ambassador | |
2011 | National Police Agency | Goodwill Ambassador / Public Relations | [37] | |
Global Super Idol | Global Ambassador in Thailand | [38] | ||
2014 | Korea-Brunei 30th year relations Ceremony | Brunei | Public Relations Ambassador | [39] |
2016 | Dongguk University | South Korea | Korea Ambassador | [40] |
Gold Elite Paris | Thailand | Global Ambassador | ||
2017 | Gangneung Coffee Festival | South Korea | Korea Ambassador | [41] |
2020 | Chunsa Film & Arts Awards Festival | [42] | ||
Hattung's Aesop Fable Donation | Honorary Ambassador and participent |
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
KOR [43] |
JPN [44] |
JPN Hot | |||
I'm Good |
|
6 | — | — |
|
|
8 | — | — |
| |
Desire |
|
— | 176 | —[lower-alpha 1] | |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Album |
---|---|---|---|---|
KOR [47] | ||||
Korean | ||||
"I'm Good" (혼자가 편해졌어) (feat. K.Will) | 2015 | 66 |
|
I'm Good |
"Goodbye" | — | Goodbye | ||
Japanese | ||||
"Desire" | 2019 | — | Desire | |
"Sweet Snow" | — | Non-album single | ||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
---|---|---|---|---|
KOR | KOR Hot | |||
"N-Time" (Hwang Jung-eum, feat. Eunjung and Hyomin) | 2009 | — | — | Non-album singles |
"Wonder Woman" (with Hyomin, SeeYa and Davichi) | 2010 | 6 | — | |
"I Love You! Always Happy!" (사랑해! '항상' 행복해!) (BGH To feat. Eunjung) | 2011 | 58 | 69 | |
"Cotton Candy" (솜사탕) (BGH To feat. Eunjung) | 42 | 68 | ||
"Don't Forget Me" (나를 잊지 말아요) (with Soyeon; Minkyung of The SeeYa; Jongkook, Sejun, and KI-O of Speed; and Cho Seung-hee) | 2015 | — | — | |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
Korean | ||
"Coffee House" | 2010 | Coffee House OST |
"Goodbye" | 2015 | Sweet Temptation OST |
"Shout To The Sky" | 2018 | My Secret Terrius OST Part 4 |
"You Are My Star" | 2019 | I Hate You Juliet OST Part 3 |
"Coincidence" (with Basick) | 2021 | Recipe of Youth OST Part 1 |
Chinese | ||
"Never Lose Heart" | 2016 | Dragon Heart OST (IQIYI) |
Date | City | Country | Venue |
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June 12, 2019 | Osaka | Japan | Banana Hall |
June 13, 2019 | Kuzuha Mall | ||
June 14, 2019 | Nagoya | Legend Hall | |
June 15, 2019 | Yokohama | Ario Hashimoto | |
June 16, 2019 | Tokyo | Seven Park Ario Kashiwa | |
June 17, 2019 | Tiat Sky Hall |
*The "~Valentine's Day~ Tour" was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Date | City | Concert |
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March 1, 2011 | Seoul | South Korea |
Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baeksang Arts Awards | 2011 | Most Popular Actress (TV) | Dream High | Nominated | |
Innolife Japan Entertainment Awards | 2011 | Top Korean Actress | Won | ||
Instyle Korea Awards | 2014 | Star Beauty Award | Hahm Eun-jung | Won | [49] |
2016 | Won | [50] | |||
MBC Drama Awards | 2017 | Excellence Award (Actress) - Soap Opera | Sisters-in-Law | Nominated | |
Best New Actress | Nominated | [51] | |||
MBC Entertainment Awards | 2011 | Best Newcomer (Variety) | We Got Married | Won | |
Best Couple | Nominated | ||||
KBS Drama Awards | 2021 | Best Supporting Actress | Be My Dream Family | Won | [52] |
SBS Drama Awards | 2010 | New Star Award | Coffee House | Won | [53] |
China Film Art Festival Awards | 2017 | Popularity Award for Commercial Films | Hahm Eun-jung | Won | [54] |
The Fact Awards | 2011 | Best acting idol | Dream High | Nominated | [55] |
World Creators Awards | 2022 | Korea-China Culture Exchange Award – Grand Prize | Hahm Eun-jung | Won | [56] |
Yahoo Asia Buzz Awards | 2010 | Asia's Buzz Artist – Female | Nominated | ||
V Chart Awards | 2016 | Favorite Female Artist – Korea | I'm Good | Won | [57] |
Favourite Artist of the Year | Nominated | [58] |
From | Year | Award | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Korea National Police Agency | 2011 | Good Will Ambassador Plaque | [59] |
Gangneung Coffee Festival | 2017 | Ambassador Award | [60] |
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