Yoon, Eun-Hye (
born
October 3,
1984) is a
South Korean actress, singer, and model. She first known as a member of the popular
girl group Baby V.O.X, staying with the group from 1999 - 2005. She has since moved on to acting, receiving popularity and fame from her role as a crown princess on the drama
Princess Hours, also known as "Goong", as well as her role as the main protagonist in the highly successful drama,
The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince.
In addition to her acting and singing, Yoon Eun-Hye graduated from
Kyung Hee Cyber University in February 2007, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, specializing in Tourism Management.
[1]
Baby V.O.X. days
-
When the girl group Baby V.O.X discharged a member due to a scandal, Yoon Eun-Hye was chosen to replace her. Yoon Eun-Hye was by far the youngest member in the group, debuting at the age of 15. She recorded four albums with the band before leaving the group in July 2005
[2] in order to pursue an acting career. While with the group, Eun-Hye quickly became known as the "cute" one not only for her young age, but because of her bright personality. However, she was also criticized for her weight, as she looked overweight compared to very slim another band members. Although she debuted a new, skinnier body in early 2005, she appeared to be experiencing a "yoyo" effect, as noted by various Korean
netizens.
[3]
Eun-Hye suffered in the hands of criticist
Baby V.O.X. when she joined the group to produce their third album. In a water gun incident, Baby V.O.X. was scheduled to appear on Gyun-Ahn Broadcasts
Music Engine and was waiting inside their van when Eun-Hye was shot by a water gun by an unidentified man. The man pretended to be a passionate fan of the group and attempted to offer a
Pikachu doll as a present. Suddenly, he took out a water gun and shot Yoon Eun-Hye right in the eye before fleeing. After being shot, Eun-Hye expressed severe pain and could not open her eyes for a long period of time. Baby V.O.X. had to cancel their performance and Eun-Hye was taken straight to the hospital. There, Eun-Hye was informed that her
cornea was damaged. The members of the group claimed they smelled soy sauce and vinegar from the water that came out of the water pistol. No further information regarding this incident was released.
[4]
Music career
Besides singing in the band, Baby V.O.X, Yoon Eun-Hye lent her voice to Mighty Mouth, for their song ’Sarang Hae,’ better known as ’I Love You.’ She however, DOES NOT appear in the music video.
Acting career
Yoon Eun-Hye has played a small role on the sitcom "Nonstop Four", where she had a small role with
MC Mong, before moving on to became a regular guest for the variety show
X-Man on . While on "X-Man", she became involved in a romantic scandal with popular
K-pop singer
Kim Jong Kook which received coverage from a local newspaper. Although "X-Man" raised her public profile, she left the show a year later in order to pursue acting. Eun Hye also played
Kim Jong Kook’s love interest in his music video "Saying You Love Me" which was released in July 2006.
Eun Hye had her first major acting role in popular
Korean drama,
Princess Hours (also known as Goong). Initially, however, fans of Goong had questioned her acting ability leading to controversy.
[5][6] The success of the drama also appeared unclear as it competed with
My Girl which also boasted casting of popular celebrities such as
Lee Jun Ki and
Lee Dong Wook.
[7] The drama began with average ratings, but as it continued, viewership increased to 28.3% nationally, leading to an extension of the first season (from 20 to 24 episodes) and a
Princess Hours special on MBC. Although Yoon and the other main actors initially agreed to work on a second season of
Princess Hours, only one of them officially agreed to do so. Another director of a different company eventually filmed a spin-off series with brand new characters, known as
Goong S which was not to be confused with the actual Goong sequel planned by the original director and company.
Due to the success of her first drama, Eun Hye has been able to continue acting in other dramas such as
The Vineyard Man. Like most Korean dramas at that time
[citation needed],
The Vineyard Man initially suffered from low ratings due to strong competition from the MBC 45th anniversary drama
Jumong; however, the drama ratings gradually increased and reached a successful 15.6% on its finale.
Eun Hye returned in the lead actress role for MBC’s Monday/Tuesday drama "
The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince" that started airing in July 2007. In this drama, Yoon plays an employee ’Go Eun-chan’ at a coffee shop, who was once a master of Taekwondo. With her short haircut and tomboyish ways, she is presumed to be a boy by the owner of the shop, thus leading to romantic complications.
[8] The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince garnered higher ratings than her first series
Princess Hours. Coffee Prince reached the viewership ratings as high as 32.1% in Seoul, making it number one for it’s timeslot in MBC and 29.9% nationwide
It has been reported that Eun Hye has been paid 20 million won per episode for starring in Coffee Prince, enabling her to join Korea’s A-list of stars who also are members of the 20 million won club. This "club" consists of
Bae Yong-joon,
Kwon Sang Woo,
Ko Hyun Jung,
Song Il kook and Yoon Eun Hye, to name a few.
Controversy with management
The chance for Yoon Eun Hye to act in
Goong 2, if it is ever produced, seems unlikely because she has feuded with her management company, Eight Peaks which is producing Goong.
Eun Hye, who has gained enormous popularity through her role in "Coffee Prince", had filed the second certification of contents (COC) to cancel her contractual agreement with her management company, Eight Peaks. When asked to reveal the information behind the second COC, Eun Hye’s counsel stated, "if Eight Peaks refused to cancel the contract then they would not hesitate to file a lawsuit, suing them for their refusal."
The contents of the first COC stated that in January 2007 Eun Hye was confirmed to be starring in the MBC drama "
Que Sera Sera" and had even participated and completed the script reading and rehearsal for the upcoming shoot. However, Eight Peaks had canceled Eun Hye’s involvement in QSS in order for Yoon to star in Eight Peaks’ self produced drama.
Consequently, after the cancellation of Eun Hye’s QSS involvement, Eun Hye took a two day vacation to
Kangwon-do in March. Eight Peaks claimed that they had no knowledge of this so-called incident and spread a rumor of Eun Hye’s irresponsibility online which damaged her reputation.
Yoon’s manager, Park Geun-Soo has stated "the second COC includes evidence to support the disagreeable actions made by Eight Peaks." Those actions included the improper handling and distribution/division of earnings and proceeds as well as the unilateral (one-sided) manner of making and carrying out decisions which caused immense problems.
[9]
It had been reported that, while Eun Hye was enjoying enormous fame and popularity through her role in the "Coffee Prince", she was suffering mental and emotional problems from the conflicts with Eight Peaks.
Yoon has been diagnosed with
Pernicious anemia.
[10][11]
New management
After having settled the disputes with Eight Peaks through careful negotiation, Eun Hye then signed with her new management agency,
Kraze Entertainment. As a result, Eun Hye was able to focus on her acting career, which will be Kraze Entertainment’s focal point of attention.
Her successful performance in ’Coffee Prince’, has put her in the list of being one of the best actresses in Korean entertainment.
[12]
Dramas
Movies/TV Shows
Awards
- "Best Actress Award": 44th Annual Baeksang Arts Awards 2008 (Coffee Prince)
- "Best Actress Award": MBC Awards 2007 (Coffee Prince)
- "Best Actress Award": The Grimme Awards 2006 (The Vineyard Man)
- "Best Couple": KBS Awards 2006 (The Vineyard Man)
- "Best New Actress Award": KBS Awards 2006 (The Vineyard Man)
- "Best New Actress": MBC Awards 2006 (Goong)
References
External links
