Biography of Eun Ji-won

Eun Ji-won is a South Korean rapper and entertainer, who is the leader of the first generation idol group ‘Sechs Kies’. The ‘Sechs Kies’ is a boy band who debuted on 15 April 1997 and is credited with fandom culture. Eun Ji-won is acclaimed as an ancestor for hip-hop in the Korean pop scene. His popularity is celebrated for his screen persona on ‘1 Night 2 Days’, the South Korean reality-variety show.

Early Life and Education

Eun Ji-won was born on 8 June 1978 in Seoul, South Korea. His mother, Kim Seong Ah, is a singer from the female duo, Lily Sisters. Eun studied at the Hawaiian Mission Academy in Hawaii from grade 9 to 12. He was schoolmates with the former ‘Sechs Kies’ member Kang Sung-hun. During his teen years, he worked as a cafe DJ that fostered his interest in music and was later recruited by DSP Media. Eun Ji-won is related to Park Chung-hee and Park Geun-hye. Both of them served as Presidents of South Korea.

Career

On 15 April 1997, Eun Ji-won debuted under ‘Sechs Kies’ with their first single School Anthem on the KMTV Show Music Tank. The team rose to stardom with their most celebrated singles ‘PomSaengPomSa’ and ‘Couple’. He made his on-screen debut with the lead role in the film ‘Seventeen’ along with his fellow members from ‘Sechs Kies’. The band disbanded on 18 May 2000, despite their success and fame. Before their disbandment, the team released their final track titled ‘Thanks’.

On 27 October 2000, Eun Ji-won began his solo career with his self composed mini album ‘G’. Along with his album ‘G Pop’, he also released his dance music on 29 March 2001. Eun Ji-won’s first album was a great success and with his second album ‘Heavy G’, he started experimenting with new styles of music for his first full hip-hop album.

He released his third album ‘Drunk in Hip Hop’ with the title track ‘Drunk in Melody’ under Waltz Music Entertainment on 6 September 2003. The album cemented his status as a rap artist and was a major breakthrough into the hip-hop scene. The title track, ‘Drunk in Melody’, won the Hip Hop Award at the SBS Gayo Awards in 2003 and the KMTV Korean Music Awards. He rewrapped his third album, ‘Drunk in Hop Hop’ with the alternative versions of ‘Mi Casa Ro’ and ‘Never, Ever’ from his solo album.

Eun was the lead role in the romantic comedy ‘Marrying a High-School Girl’ directed by Duk-hwan Oh on 23 December 2004. Eun was an associate of the The Movement Crew, a hip-hop crew which performed at the group concert on 12 May 2006 which was founded by Tiger JK. Eun Ji-won’s style is immensely influenced by Tiger JK’s musical style. Most often in his songs, common featuring artists include Drinken Tiger, Tasha, Dynamic Duo and Bobby Kim.

Eun Ji-won’s single ‘Adios’ marked his tie-in to his Latin inspired music. Eun’s album ‘Love, Death, Introprection’ was released on 30 October 2007 introducing four new tracks along with an instrumental version of Adios. He was also a part of the 13 Creative Unit, which is a subsidiary of Eyagi Entertainment. Even though Eun Ji-won appeared in entertainment television roles, his popularity and fame was marked with the KBS reality variety show ‘1 Night 2 Days’ as a founding member. Eun Ji-won was complimented for his slapstick personality as ‘Eun Choding’ and continued to delve into his career as a variety entertainer.

During the early years of 2009, Eun Ji-won left CH Entertainment and founded his own company named GYM Entertainment. In 2009, Eun released his fifth full-length studio album ‘Platonic’, an electric dance album with 11 tracks. Eun also released his single ‘While Buzzed’, which is yet another electronic dance song.

Eun was the major lead in the new group named ‘Clover’ with the fellow members Gilme and Mr Tyfoon. They made their debut with the single ‘La Vida Loca’, which was widely celebrated and topped the Cyworld Music Chart. On 29 September 2011, Clover released the digital single ‘A Guy Who I Know’. The following year, the group received Hip-Hop/Rap Award at the 21st Seoul Music Awards. Clover released their second digital single ‘Pork Soup’ and the following year on 18 November 2103, Clover released their third digital single ‘Trickling’.

Eun Ji-won, along with other prominent artists like Chun Myung-hoon, Tony An, Moon Hee-joon and Danny Ahn, featured on the new show QTV called Handsome Boys of the 20th Century in 2013. The show lead to the formation of the group HotSechGodRG, and it was a performance project. The show was impactful and the group worked outside of the main show. They performed on multiple entertainment programs like Immortal Songs:Singing the Legend, Happy Together and Hwasin-Controller of the Heart. In 2014, Moon Hee-joon, Danny Ahn and Chun Myung Hoon starred in the new show called W.I.S.H, which aired on OnStyle from 19 July 2014 to 9 August 2014.

In the show Infinite Challenge, ‘Sechs Kies’ held a reunion concert at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena. The group signed a contract under YG Entertainment and the reunion amplified their popularity and ignited the spark of old and new fans to unite together, resulting in their comeback concert being a great success.

‘Sechs Kies’ released the new digital single ‘Three Words’ on 7 October 2016. The single achieved all-kill status and was a mega-hit majoring in multiple music charts. It topped the Asian music charts, global iTunes in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, etc.

In 2016, ‘Sechs Kies’ released their new album which is a compilation album by ‘Sechs Kies’ titled ‘2016 Re-ALBUM’ with 10 past hit songs by ‘Sechs Kies’ that was remastered by YG producers. ‘Sechs Kies’ won several awards including Click! Star Wars Awards Hall of Fame, the 6th Gaon Chart Music Awards, The Kpop Contribution of The Year, the 8th Melon Music Awards Hall of Fame, the 31st Golden Disc Awards Best Male Group Performance and the 26th Seoul Music Awards Bonsang.

On 28 April 2017, the ‘Sechs Kies’ released their album The 20th Anniversary, which had a high audience reception and topped several music charts both domestically and internationally gaining the status as hallyu stars. The title track ‘Be Well’ won the #1 on KBS Music Bank. YG Entertainment announced Eun Ji Won has signed his individual contract with YG Entertainment.

On 27 June 2019 Eun Ji-won released his sixth studio album ‘G1’ through YG Entertainment. The lead single ‘I’m On Fire’ was produced by YG producer Future Bounce and label-mate Winner’s Mino featuring female vocalist Blue.D. The lyrics were written by Mino and Eun Ji-won himself.

After Kang Sung-hoon’s withdrawal from the group ‘Sechs Kies’, on 28 January 2020 they released their first mini album ‘All for You’. Gradually, the group started exploring the music style, like ballads and old school R&B. In 2022, Eun Ji-won holds a profile as an entertainer on variety television and is a fixed member on shows including Master in the House, Things That Make Me Groove Season 2 and Naked World History.

Achievements

Eun Ji-won is commonly embraced as a South Korean rapper, dancer, host, composer and the leader of the Korean Hip hop group called Sechs Kies. Eun made a zealous comeback with his track ‘Adios’. Here are some of his notable achievements:

• In 2001, Eun Ji-won won the ‘Netizen Popularity Award’ at the ‘SBS Gayo Daejeon’.
• In 2003, Eun Ji-won was awarded the ‘Hip Hop Award’ at the ‘SBS Gayo Daejeon’.
• In 2003, Eun Ji-won won the ‘Hip Hop Award’ at the ‘KMTV Korean Music Awards’.
• In 2010, Eun Ji-won won the ‘Best Entertainer’ at the ‘KBS Entertainment Awards’.
• In 2011, ‘Daesang’ was awarded to ‘1 Night 2 Days’ members at the ‘KBS Entertainment Awards’.

Military Life

Eun Ji-won was exempted from the military enlistment as he failed to meet the required educational requirements as his educational qualifications were not mentioned at the time of military enlistment.

Personal Life

Eun Ji-won married his first love Lee Soo-yeon from his school days, who was two years his senior. They have known each other since 1994 and reunited 13 years later in life. The couple got married on 20 April 2010. With their marriage, Eun Ji-won and Lee Dong-Gook, the soccer player became brother-in-laws. On 28 February 2013, Eun Ji-won announced his divorce that happened in August 2012 after 2 years of marriage. He stated the reason as difference of opinions in personalities and ideologies on life.

Net Worth and Lifestyle

Eun Ji-won’s net worth is estimated to be around $3-5 million US dollars.

Eun Ji-won treats the people close to him as his own family. He gifted his manager, a new car, who worked with him for 10 years for his continued involvement in his life and career. He lives a simple lifestyle and keeps his life in the personal space. Currently, he is focusing on his upcoming ventures and projects.

Awards

• KBS Entertainment Awards 2011
  Daesang (awarded to all the ‘1 Night 2 Days’ Members) (2011)
• KBS Entertainment Awards 2010
  Best Entertainer (2010)
  

• KMTV Korean Music Awards 2003
  Hip Hop Award (2003)

• SBS Gayo Daejeon 2003
  Hip Hop Award (2003)

• SBS Gayo Daejeon 2003
  Netizen Popularity Award (2003)

Interesting Facts about Eun Ji-won

1. Eun Ji-won has a pet dog.
2. Eun Ji-won’s favorite colours are black and white.
3. Eun Ji-won is friends with comedian Lee Soo Geun.
4. Eun Ji-won is a fixed cast member on the tvN variety show ‘New Journey To The West’.
5. Eun Ji-won can speak Korean, English and a little bit of Japanese.
6. Eun Ji-won is in the Sech Skies sub-unit Black Kies.

FAQs

1. When does Eun Ji-won celebrate his birthday?
   Eun Ji-won celebrates his birthday on 8 June.
2. Was he enlisted in military service?
   Eun Ji-won was exempted from military enlistment.
3. How old is Eun Ji-won?
   As of 2023, Eun Ji-won is 45 years old.
4. What is Eun Ji-won’s Instagram ID?
   1_kyne_g1 is his instagram ID.