Park Ji-ung[1] (Korean: 박지웅; born October 28, 1982),[2] better known by his stage name Park Hyun-bin (박현빈), is a South Korean trot singer. Dubbed the "Prince of Trot",[3] he made his debut in 2006 and has released three studio albums. His songs have become popular chants and rally songs sung at sporting events or election campaigns due to their catchy lyrics and tunes.[4][5]
Early life
Park was born and raised in Gwangmyeong and moved to the Incheon area when he was in middle school. He was exposed to music from an early age as his father was an amateur saxophone player and his mother is a former vocal instructor.[6][7] After completing his mandatory military service in the Republic of Korea Air Force, where he was part of the band,[8] he decided to pursue a career in music and majored in voice at the Chugye University for the Arts.[7] During his second year in college, he auditioned at Jang Yoon-jeong's agency and was selected.[7]
Career
Park debuted in 2006 with the album Gondre Mandre.[9] At that time he was given the sobriquet "Male Jang Yoon-jeong" by netizens and fans as both were under the same management and embodied a new generation of trot singers who possessed good looks and charismatic stage presence.[7] He was recognized by the Korean Traditional Music Promotion Association [ko] with the Rookie of the Year award in 2007.[10]
In 2008 Park released his second album, Shabang Shabang in 2008.[11] He won the award in the Trot category at the Seoul Music Awards that year, beating veterans such as Tae Jin-ah and Song Dae-kwan.[12] In 2011 he released a Japanese version and it became a hit in Japan, topping the USEN Enka charts.[13][14][15] He was one of the performers at the 2011 Music Bank World Tour and became the first trot singer to perform at the Tokyo Dome and the only trot singer in the line-up, which mostly consisted of pop singers and idol groups.[16][17] That year he returned to the domestic music scene and released his third album Hourglass.[18]
in 2016 Park was involved in a traffic accident near Julpo IC on the upbound line of the West Coast Expressway. In this accident, he suffered a fracture to his right leg and thigh, and the manager who was driving suffered a crushing injury to his face. Because this accident left him traumatized , he now avoids using cars at all and takes the KTX to most local events.[19]
^Kim Saet-byul (October 1, 2021). 박현빈, '전국 TOP10 가요쇼' 새 MC 낙점…2일 방송 [Park Hyun-bin, the new MC of 'National Top 10 Music Show'... 2 days broadcast]. The Fact (in Korean). Retrieved October 1, 2021 – via Naver.
^Jin Hyang-hee (October 19, 2022). 불타는 트롯맨' 이석훈-김준수-신유-박현빈-이지혜 합류 ['Burning Trotman' Lee Seok-hoon, Kim Jun-su, Shin Yoo, Park Hyun-bin, and Lee Ji-hye join] (in Korean). Mail Business Star Today. Retrieved October 19, 2022 – via Naver.
