Korean Music Legends

South Korea has a list of their Music Legends and as of now only four artists have made the list. These four are widely known and have paved a way for the Korean Music Scene to be known worldwide. Their music are enjoyed not only by their local fans but also their foreigner fans. Now let’s see who made it to list!

Top 4: Super Junior (a.k.a SuJu/SJ)
Super Junior is the latest artist to make it to the list. The group was added last 2009. Super Junior debuted as a project group under SM Entertainment in the year 2005 with 12 members. The 12 members are as follow: Eeteuk (Leader), Heechul, Hankyung, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook and Kibum. They debuted with the song, “Twins”. After a year, SM Entertainment decided to officially make them a group and added one last member, Kyuhyun. They came back as 13 members with the song, “U”. From then on, their popularity boomed and they gained even more fans not only locally but across the globe as well. Through the years, different sub-groups were created to showcase different music genres and target specific markets. There’s K.R.Y which is composed of Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Yesung. This sub-group is in charge of ballad songs as well as OST songs for movies and dramas. Super Junior – T is composed of Eeteuk, Heechul, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin and Eunhyuk. This sub-group specialized in singing trot songs. Super Junior – M is originally composed of Korean members Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook and Donghae as well as Chinese members Hankyung, Zhou Mi (Korean name: Jomhyuk) and Henry. This sub-group specifically targets the Chinese market. Chinese members Zhou Mi and Henry have been officially added to this sub-group not only because of their skills and talents but also because of their heritage. Hankyung (Chinese name: Hangeng) became the leader and the group debuted with the Chinese version of the song, “U” followed by “Me”. As of now, this sub-group is composed of Zhou Mi (Leader), Henry, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook and Kyuhyun with the addition of two new members: Eunhyuk and Sungmin after Hankyung left SM Entertainment and pursued a solo career. Super Junior – H stands for Super Junior Happy. They sing cute and lively songs that cheers on everyone. This sub-group is composed of Eeteuk, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin and Eunhyuk. The group’s official color is Sapphire Pearl Blue and their fans are called Ever Lasting Friend a.k.a ELF. As of now, Super Junior has 10 active members as Kangin is currently serving in the army, Kibum is focused on his acting career and Hankyung is flying solo. Still, fans are excited for their upcoming comeback.

Top 3: Dong Bang Shin Ki (a.k.a DBSK/TVXQ/Tohoshinki)
Dong Bang Shin Ki was formed under SM Entertainment in 2003. Their name translates as “The Rising Gods of the East”. They are composed of 5 members namely: U-know Yunho (Leader), Hero Jaejoong, Xiah Junsu, Micky Yoochun and Max Changmin. They are known as Dong Bang Shin Ki in Korea, Tong Vfang Xien Qi in China and Tohoshinki in Japan. They debuted with the song, “Hug” and their popularity skyrocketed with the song “Rising Sun” and “O”. They have won multiple awards in different categories as well broke records worldwide. They were the ones alongside BoA who paved the way for the Hallyu Wave in Japan. Up until now, they still hold the title of being “Asia’s Star”. They are also known as the greatest boy group of all time. The group was named ‘record breaker’ by netizens and is recognized as the “King of K-Pop and Hallyu Wave”.  The group is widely known for their vocals, choreographies, songs, appearance and personality. They have collaborated with different artists as well like fellow label mate, Super Junior, Dana (CSJH), BoA, Japanese soloist Koda Kumi, etc. They have been featured in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ alongside their fans, Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia has been featured in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ for having 800,000 members in Korea alone. What more if they count the group’s international fans? The group’s official color in Sapphire Pearl Red. The group’s Korean fanclub is called Cassiopeia but their Japanese fanclub is known as Big East. As of now, the five membered DBSK is on hiatus and are working in two different units as JYJ (Jaejoong, Yoochun and Junsu) and TVXQ (Yunho and Changmin). Fans are still keeping their faith in seeing all five together on stage someday.

Top 2: BoA
BoA is a backronym for ‘Beat of Angel’. In 2000, she debuted at the age of 13 in Korea after training for two years. She released ‘ID; Peace B’ as her debut album in Korea. She was forced to quit school to focus on developing her career. After two years she released her Japanese album, ‘Listen to My Heart’ which made her a Japanese sensation. She was the first to breakthrough the Japanese market and became a pioneer of the Hallyu Wave. She went hiatus in Korea to focus on her Japanese career and solidify her skills in speaking, writing, reading and conversing in Japanese. In 2008, BoA broke through the American Market with the single, “Eat You Up” and her debut English album, “BoA” on 2009. Her multi-lingual skills is what helped her get successful along the way. She can speak fluent Japanese, English and of course her native language, Korean. She has also recorded songs in Chinese. She has won multiple awards and had worked with different artists. This year, she celebrated her 10th year in the industry as an artist. Still young and at the age of 24, her seniors in the music industry as well as her fans believed that she will accomplish more in the future.

Top 1: Shinhwa
Shinhwa is the Korean word for ‘Myth’ or ‘Legend’. The group debuted in the year 1998, originally under SM Entertainment but signed under Good Entertainment in the year 2003. The group is composed of 6 members, 3 are singers and 3 are rappers. The members are: Eric, MinWoo, Dong Wan, Hye Sung, Jun Jin and Andy. They are actually created to be a hip hop group. They debuted with the song, “해결사” on KM Music Tank. They have enjoyed massive success and is one of the longest running groups to still be together after all these years. Still under the same agency, each member are focused on individual activities but promised fans that they’ll come back together as Shinhwa soon. Fans are currently waiting for the youngest member of the group, Andy to finished his military service and are hoping for their comeback soon.

Source Info: Kpopworld + wikipedia.org; Pics: popalive.wordpress.com + shinda88.blogspot.com + itonlyhappenedyesterday.blogspot.com + showbiznewsblog.com
Written by Eunice Faye Tresvalles / Associate Writer
credit: en.korea.com