Biography of Seungyoon
Kang Seung-yoon acclaimed and celebrated South Korean singer-songwriter, and actor is famous by the stage name Seungyoon or Yoon. Seungyoon is the leader of the South Korean boy band Winner, other members include Jinu, Hoony, and Mino. He became a celebrity after his appearance in the reality television singing contest Superstar K2 in 2010. He was ranked fourth place.
He rose to prominence as a soloist with the digital single ‘Instinctively’ with nearly 2 million copies in sales. On 12 January 2011, he signed with the label YG Entertainment. He officially debuted as a solo artist on 16 July 2013 with his digital single ‘It Rains’. He became the leader of Winner on 17 August 2014.
He set forth his acting career through the sitcom ‘High Kick: Revenge of the Short Legged’ (2011). He starred in the web series ‘We Broke Up’ (2015) which earned him the ‘Best Make Actor’ award in the K-web Fest Awards. His other actor credits include ‘Prison Playbook’ (2017) and ‘Kairos’ (2020).
Under the alias ‘Chow Yun-fat’, Seungyoon served as the ‘122nd Masked King’ on MBC’s King of Mask Singer. Seungyoon, with his unsurpassed record-breaking six consecutive wins, earned the titles: ‘The First 6-Time Idol Champion’ and ‘The Youngest Champion’ at the time.
Early Life and Education
Seungyoon was born on 21 January 1994 in Haeundae District, Busan. He is the only child and his baptismal name is Don Bosco. His parents are divorced and were raised by his single mother.
In school, he thrived in mathematics with an IQ of 141. During his second year of middle school, he became a victim of bullying and developed social anxiety. Over this interval of time, he learned to play the classical guitar at an academy.
He was determined to develop a career as a classical guitarist as well as other parallel choices he had in mind. His interest in Billiards made him a billiard player and became the eventual regional youth representative. He was an active player until his first year of high school. He took the GED examination and joined Busan High School of Arts majoring in classical guitar and graduated in 2012. Later he was regarded as a singer.
Career
Seungyoon participated in the regional preliminary audition for Superstar K2 in 2010 and made it into its preliminaries. He performed ‘This Time’ by Jonathan Rhys Meyers and was ranked fourth behind Huh Gak, John Park and Jang Jae-in among 1,350,000 participants.
With the digital release of the single ‘Instinctively’, Seungyoon rose to stardom as a solo artist and won ‘Rookie of the Year’ at the Gaon Chart Awards. At the same time, he won the ‘Rookie of the Month (October)’ at the Cyworld Digital Music Awards. On 12 January 2011, Seungyoon signed an offer with YG Entertainment and Psy and commenced training on 9 March.
Seungyoon was the fourth artist to release an original soundtrack for ‘Midas’ in 2011 as a trainee. ‘You Are Heaven’ occupied the top spot in real-time and daily South Korean music streaming platforms like Genie and Gaon Digital Chart. He has also auditioned for ‘High Kick: Revenge of the Short-Legged’ (2011). A new role was specially curated for him and he starred alongside Lee Jong-suk and Krystal Jung. For its soundtrack, he collaborated with Lee Juck on ‘Smile, My Love’.
At the age of 19th, he debuted as a solo artist on 20 June 2013 with the digital single ‘Wild and Young’, composed by Teddy Park. For several causes, it was postponed and the next day another pre-release of a digital single ‘It Rains’ was released. The single was a universal success on all music streaming platforms and ranked number two on Gaon Digital Chart. His other single digital credits include: ‘Wild and Young’, and ‘Stealer’ starring rookie actress Yoon Jin-yi.
He participated in the Mnet survival reality broadcast ‘WIN: Who Is Next’ (2013). Seungyoon was allocated to ‘Team A’ with Kim Jin-woo, Lee Seung-hoon, Song Min-ho and Nam Tae-hyun. Following an ankle injury, Seungyoon was replaced by Song as its leader. Team A became the champions and formed the band Winner marking its official debut on 17 August 2014. With the band’s initial success and early breakthrough, they left their print in the music industry. For the digital single ‘Wild Boy’, Seungyoon has participated in Superstar K2 judge panellist Yoon Jong-shin’s Monthly project with Song.
Seungyoon returned to acting with the web drama ‘We Broke Up’ in 2015. He starred with the label-mate Sandara Park. The drama was a stellar success and became the fourth most-watched web drama on Naver TV with 11.45 million views and 16 million views collectively as of October 2015. Among the spectrum of Korean web dramas, ‘We Broke Up’ received an invitation to the Geneva International Film Festival in Switzerland.
Seungyoon was awarded the ‘Best Male Actor’ K Web Fes Awards for his web drama performances. He starred in the web drama ‘Love for a Thousand More’ (2016) which narrates the intricacies of time and affection, enchanting the journey of romance, starring Hwang Seung-eon and Kim Jin-woo.
He also released a soundtrack titled ‘You’. He starred in ‘Prison Playbook’ which narrates the complexities of life confined in a prison. The drama was an on-screen reunion of Seungyoon and Krystal. He and Mino released the soundtrack ‘Door’ and gave voice to the Korean film ‘Golden Slumber’ (2018) whose original soundtrack was by ‘The Beatles’.
Seongyoon defeated the South Korean singer So Chan-whee in the MBC singing competition program King of Mask Singer earning the title ‘122nd Mask King’. He secured six back-to-back wins and won the titles ‘The First 6-Time Idol Champion’ and ‘The Youngest Champion’ at the time.
Seungyoon made his comeback after three years with the television series ‘Kairos’ (2020). He starred as ‘Im Gun-wook’ and the series narrates the themes of opportunity and choices. He was nominated for ‘Best New Actor’ at the 2020 MBC Drama Awards.
He appeared in the fourth season of Voice (2021), a suspense thriller of murders and crime. Seungyoon is featured as the 4D patrol officer in the cyber team. Apart from acting he also sang the soundtracks ‘Can You Hear Me’ and ‘Your Voice’.
Seungyoon released his full-length album Page and its lead single ‘Iyah’ on 29 March 2021. The album topped number three on the Gaon Album Chart and had 10 million views on Youtube during the second week of its release. Seungyoon staged his first ever-solo concert on 21 November 2021 titled ‘Passage’ in Olympic Hall in Seoul following COVID-19 guidelines. On 14 March 2022, Seungyoon released his fourth digital single ‘Born to Love You’.
He appeared for the special invitation to the KBS2 singing competition program Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend to compete in the Lee Juck Special. He was crowned the winner of Performing Rain by Lee Juck against artists like Forte di Quattro, Kwak Jin-eon, Choi Jung-in, and Jung Dong-ha.
Achievements
As a member of the popular South Korean boy band Winner, Seungyoon is the leader and a popular celebrity. He is an emerging artist with his active engagement in the band and his solo artistry. Here are some of his notable achievements:
- Seungyoon won the Rookie of the Month-October at the Cyworld Digital Music Awards 2010.
- In 2011, he won the Rookie of the Year 2011 at Gaon Chart Music Awards.
- At the K Web Fest Awards 2015, Seungyoon won the Best Male Actor for starring in “We Broke Up.
- With his record-breaking six consecutive wins, he earned the titles “The First 6-Time Idol Champion” and “The Youngest Champion” at the time.
- In 2010, Seungyoon was appointed by CJ Internet, the National Police Agency and YMCA as Dispatch! Marvel Cops Ambassador.
Military Life
On 24 May 2023, YG Entertainment officially announced Seungyoon’s enlistment date on 20 June 2024. Initially, he will be receiving basic military training and is likely to serve as an active-duty soldier in the army.
Personal Life
In the year 2019, amidst the promotional campaigns for the lead single ‘Ah Yeah’, he showed symptoms of spinal disc herniation and was hospitalized for the same at a nearby hospital. He received treatment for the diagnosis and was discharged three days later.
Seungyoon, a member of YG Entertainment, was caught up in the whirlwind of dating rumours with Moon Ji-hyo, a label mate at YG Entertainment. The rumours whisked away after a netizen shared photos of the two on social media.
Though the label never officially confirmed their relationship, a representative of YG Entertainment told the media “It is difficult to confirm private matters related to our artists.”
Net Worth and Lifestyle
Seungyoon net worth is estimated to be $5 million US dollars.
The majority of his income comes from his being a part of the band and from his solo artistry. He has a keen interest in collecting exquisite watches and expensive cameras. He is a very kind and generous person who often does charitable deeds.
Awards
- Cyworld Digital Music Awards (2010)
Rookie of the Month-October - Gaon Chart Music Awards (2011)
Rookie of the Year - K Web Fest Awards (2015)
Best Male Actor
Interesting Facts about Seungyoon
- He is a leader, main vocalist, and a maknae in WINNER.
- He adopted a shelter puppy named Thor.
- His favourite food is fried rice.
- He likes taking pictures and photography.
- He speaks in the Busan dialect.
- He can not eat apples and peaches.
- He was Busan’s regional representative for the billiard.
- His favourite ice cream flavours are “Very Berry Strawberry” and “Shooting Star” from Baskin-Robbins Restaurant.
- He grew up as an only child with his mother.
- With his record-breaking six consecutive wins, he earned the titles “The First 6-Time Idol Champion” and “The Youngest Champion” at the time.
FAQs
- How old is Seungyoon?
As of 2023, he is 29 years old. - Is Seungyoon married?
He is single and is focused on building his career. - What is his Instagram ID?
