Ong Seong-wu (Korean: 옹성우, born August 25, 1995) is a South Korean singer and actor. He is known for his participation in the survival reality show Produce 101 Season 2, where he finished in fifth place, and is a former member of the show's derivative boy group Wanna One.[1] Following Wanna One's disbandment, Ong made his acting debut with cast At Eighteen (2019). He also established his career as a solo artist with the release of his first extended play, Layers, on March 25, 2020.
Early life
Ong Seong-wu was born in Incheon, South Korea. He is the youngest of two children, with one older sister. He attended Guwol Middle School, followed by Hanlim Multi Art School, graduating in 2014. He graduated from Dong Seoul University as dance and acting major.[2][3] Ong also danced professionally as part of several street and B-boy dance teams during this period.[4]
Ong was encouraged by his mother to pick up a musical instrument and started playing the drums after his sister began learning the piano.[5] While playing the drums at a band contest in 2008, Ong was scouted as a trainee by the now-defunct entertainment company Lion Media. However, internal troubles with the company and its eventual closure lead to the delay of his debut, and contractual issues prevented him from signing with other companies for a period of time.[6] In August 2016, he signed as an acting trainee with his current company Fantagio at the recommendation of one of his university professors.[7]
Career
Pre-debut: Produce 101
Despite being an acting trainee, Ong was sent as a representative by his company to participate in Produce 101 (season 2) due to his well-rounded skills in singing and dancing.[7] He achieved an 'A' rank in the evaluations and finished in fifth place in the finale with 984,756 votes. As part of the top eleven contestants, he would go on to debut as a member of Wanna One.[1]
Prior to his participation in Produce 101, Ong took part in a short film project Short Film Project: Beginning. The short film, titled Seong-wu Is Alright, was released on June 19, 2017.[8][9] Additionally, he made a special appearance on the mobile drama Idol Fever, which aired between July 7 to July 17, 2017.[10]
Ong debuted as a member of the project group Wanna One on August 7, 2017.[11] He went on to represent the group in several appearances on variety shows such as Happy Together, The Return of Superman, and Saturday Night Live Korea.[12][13][14] He also served as a special emcee on music show broadcasts for M Countdown and Inkigayo.[15][16] Ong, together with fellow group mate Kang Daniel, was cast for the pilot episode of the variety show Master Key, and was later confirmed as a fixed cast member.[17] His appearance on the show garnered positive reactions from media outlets, receiving praise for his skillful deception of his cast mates in the psychological game-style show to net the show's biggest win thus far.[18][19]
In November, Ong featured in singer Huh Gak's music video for his digital single "Only You".[20]
His contract with Wanna One ended on December 31, 2018. However, he continued to appear with the group until its official farewell concerts on January 24–27, 2019.[24]
2019–present: Acting endeavours and solo activities
Upon conclusion of his activities with Wanna One, Ong embarked on his first solo fan-meeting tour, titled "Eternity", in March and April 2019.[25] On March 7, 2019, he was also named PR Ambassador of the Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education.[26]
As part of Pepsi and Starship Entertainment's 2019 Pepsi K-Pop Collab Project, Ong released the single "Heart Sign".[27] The track was written by producers Flowblow, who penned Wanna One's hit debut single, "Energetic".[28] The music video was released on June 11, 2019.[29]
Ong made his acting debut in the later half of the year, starring as the male lead in JTBC's youth drama At Eighteen, alongside Kim Hyang-gi and Shin Seung-ho.[30] The drama tackles some of the issues faced by youths in South Korea, such as first love, the pressures of school and parental expectation, to topics such as school violence and bullying. Ong played the role of transfer student Choi Jun-woo, who is falsely accused of school violence.[31] He garnered many positive reviews for his emotive acting,[32] and went on to nab several awards for the role, including Best Rookie Award and Hallyu Star Award at the Korea Drama Awards.[33] and made Ong nominated at the 56th Baeksang Arts Awards. In the Best New Actor – Television category.[34] Ong also recorded the song "Our Story" as part of the official soundtrack for the drama, which was released on August 8, 2019.[35]
In January 2020, Ong kicked off his second solo fan-meeting tour, titled "We Belong".[36] The digital single "We Belong" was released on January 9.[37] Intended as a fan-song, Ong participated in both the lyric writing and composition of the single,[38] and performed it on the first time during the Seoul leg of his tour on January 11.[39]
Ong appeared on the second season of travel variety show, Traveler, with fellow actors Ahn Jae-hong and Kang Ha-neul. The variety show focused on the backpacking travels of the trio in Argentina, and began airing starting February 15.[40] He went received much attention for his photography skills on the first episode.[41]
Ong made his comeback as a singer with his first solo album, Layers.[42] The EP was released on March 25,[43] together with lead single, "Gravity".[44] Ong took part in the composition and lyric writing of all the songs on the album, drawing his inspiration from his emotions and stories from the past year.[45]
Ong collaborated with singer Baek Ji-young on the duet "Didn't Say Anything". The ballad was released on May 12.[51]
Ong began starring as the male lead in the JTBC drama More Than Friends, alongside Shin Ye-eun and Kim Dong-jun, playing photographer Lee Soo. The drama premiered 25 September.[52] The song "Late Regret" was recorded and released by Ong as part of the drama's soundtrack.[53]
Furthermore, Ong will also be making his film debut in the upcoming musical-movie, Life is Beautiful, starring Ryu Seung-ryong and Yum Jung-ah. The film will go to theatres in second half of 2022. Ong will also star in the movie, Jung's Ranch with Ryu Seung-ryong and Park Hae-joon.[54] This will mark his second collaboration with Ryu.
In 2021, Ong has been confirmed to appear in the drama Shall We Have A Cup of Coffee? It airs on KakaoTV[55] and is confirmed to join the Netflix film Seoul Vibe, which is expected to air in 2022.[56] Ong appeared alongside dancer, Noze, in Lee Seung-hwan and Sunwoo Jung-a's music video for the song "How could you", released on November 18, 2021.[57][unreliable source?]
In 2022, Ong announced that the fan meeting 'RE:MEET' will be held for the second time in March 2022, which will be held offline and online.[58]
Personal life
Military service
Fantagio announced that Ong would enlist for his mandatory military service as an active duty soldier on April 17, 2023.[59]
^"We Belong" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart, but peaked at number 55 and 76 on the Gaon Download Chart and the Gaon BGM Chart, respectively.[63][64]
^"Late Regret" did not enter the Gaon Digital Chart, but peaked at number 77 on the Gaon BGM Chart.[66]
^ ab최유정-김도연까지?, '아이돌 권한대행' 탄탄한 카메오, 워너원 '옹성우' (July 11, 2017). "'아이돌 권한대행' 탄탄한 카메오, 워너원 '옹성우', 최유정-김도연까지?". Seoul Economic Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ฺBae Hyo-joo (February 11, 2022). "옹성우 팬미팅 'RE:MEET' 개최, 2년 2개월만 팬들 만난다" [Ong Seongwu fan meeting 'RE:MEET' held, meeting fans for the first time in 2 years and 2 months] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022 – via Naver.
^Lee, Min-ji (March 16, 2023). "옹성우 4월 17일 군입대 "육군 현역으로 복무" [공식입장 전문]" [Ong Seongwu enlisted in the military on April 17th “Serving as an active duty soldier” [Full text of official position]] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023 – via Naver.
^"Gaon Album Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on August 27, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
Layers: "2020년 13주차 Album Chart" [Week 13 of 2020 Album Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). March 22–28, 2020. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
^2020년 4월 Album Chart [April 2020 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
"Gravity": "2020년 13주차 Digital Chart" [Week 13 of 2020 Digital Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). March 22–28, 2020. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
^2020년 2주차 Download Chart [Week 2 of 2020 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). January 5–11, 2020. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
^2020년 2주차 BGM Chart [Week 2 of 2020 BGM Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). January 5–11, 2020. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
"Heart Sign": "2019년 24주차 Digital Chart" [Week 24 of 2019 Digital Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). June 9–15, 2019. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
"Our Story": "2019년 32주차 Digital Chart" [Week 32 of 2019 Digital Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). August 4–10, 2019. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
"Didn't Say Anything": "2020년 20주차 Digital Chart" [Week 20 of 2020 Digital Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). May 10–16, 2020. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
^2020년 43주차 BGM Chart [Week 43 of 2020 BGM Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). October 18–24, 2020. Archived from the original on February 19, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
^kim Na-yeon (July 20, 2022). "유아인X고경표→옹성우 '서울대작전', 8월 26일 넷플릭스 공개 확정" [Yoo Ah-in X Go Kyung-pyo → Ong Seong-wu's 'Operation Seoul National University' confirmed to be released on Netflix on August 26th] (in Korean). MT Star News. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022 – via Naver.
^Kang Hyo-jin (January 25, 2022). "[단독]옹성우, 넷플릭스 영화 '20세기 소녀' 특별출연" [[Exclusive] Ong Seongwu to make a special appearance in Netflix movie '20th Century Girl] (in Korean). SPOTV News. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022 – via Naver.
^Yeon Hwi-seon (February 18, 2022). "이솜X옹성우X심은경X양동근, '별빛이 내린다' 출연...4월 크랭크인 [공식]" [Esom X Ong Seong-wu X Shim Eun-kyung X Yang Dong-geun to appear in 'Starlight Falls'... April crank-in [Official]] (in Korean). OSEN. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022 – via Naver.
^Kim Myung-mi (May 27, 2022). "'힘쎈여자 강남순' 김정은-김해숙-이유미-옹성우-변우석 캐스팅[공식]" ['Strong Woman Gangnam Soon' Kim Jong-un, Kim Hae-sook, Lee Yu-mi, Ong Seong-wu, Byun Woo-seok Cast [Official]] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022 – via Naver.
^Kim, Hyun-rok (November 7, 2022). "헤어질 결심, 43회 청룡영화상 13개 부문 최다 후보…한산 헌트 10개 후보[공식]" [Decision to break up, the most nominations in 13 categories at the 43rd Blue Dragon Film Awards... 10 candidates for Hansan and Hunt [Official]. SporTV News (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022 – via Naver.
^Park, Jae-hwan (October 12, 2022). "제 58회 대종상 영화제 내달 9일 개최... '헌트' 12개, '헤어질 결심' - '한산' 11개 부분 노미네이트" [The 58th Daejong Film Festival to be held on the 9th of next month... 12 nominations for 'Hunt', 'Decision to break up' - 11 parts for 'Hansan] (in Korean). KBS Media. Archived from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022 – via Naver.
^Han, Hyun-jung (December 9, 2022). "옹성우·박재찬·박세완·조윤서, '뉴웨이브상'[대종상]" [Seongwu Ong, Jaechan Park, Sewan Park, Yunseo Jo, 'New Wave Award' [Daejong Award]] (in Korean). Maeil Business Star Today. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022 – via Naver.
^Cho, Yeon-kyung (April 7, 2023). "제59회 백상예술대상, TV·영화·연극 최종 후보 공개" [59th Baeksang Arts Awards, TV/Film/Play Finalists Revealed] (in Korean). JTBC. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Naver.
External links
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