"Uhm Jung-hwa"

Uhm Jung-hwa (born August 17, 1969) is a South Korean female Korean pop artist and actress. Uhm began her career as a chorus member of MBC, one of the three major South Korean broadcasting companies, in 1989. She made her film debut in the 1992 film Marriage Story and released her first album Sorrowful Secret, in 1993 on Samsung Music.

She is considered to be one of the most influential women in the Korean entertainment industry, and numerous Korean female artists recognise her as a role model.


Uhm was born in Jecheon, North Chungcheong, South Korea. She is the second child of Uhm Jin-ok, a music teacher who died in a motorcycle accident when she was four, and Yoo Gyeong-sook. Her younger and only brother Uhm Tae-woong is an actor. Following her father's death, her family found themselves in a difficult financial situation.

Uhm Jung Hwa officially debuted as a singer in 1993 with her first album Sorrowful Secret. By the mid-90s she established herself as one of the top Korean female singers and entertainers with a series of hit singles: Sad Expectation (Hangul: 슬픈 기대), A Love Permitted Only by Heaven (하늘만 허락한 사랑), Betrayal of the Rose (배반의 장미), and Tell Me (말해줘 with Jinusean). Jung Hwa's fourth album, Invitation, became one of the highest selling albums of the year and received positive reviews from critics and fans. She released two of her most recognizable singles of her career, Poison and Invitation (초대). She remained successful the following year, in 1999, with her fifth album 005.1999.06, which sold well over 900,000 copies. It remains one of the best selling albums by a female artist and cemented her status as the "Queen of Korean Pop" in South Korea.

During the 2000s, UJH began to focus more on her acting career and committed her self to taking a variety of acting roles. She also began to pursue and experiment with different musical genres, in particular electronica. In 2004, she released her double cd Self Control, which featured songs composed by Jung Jae Hyung, Fractal and Roller Coaster. Music critics praised UJH for her ability to re-invent her image and sound.

After a two year break from the music scene, she released her ninth studio album Prestige. Throughout the year she released two singles: "Come 2 Me" and "Wind Song" (바람의노래) each enjoyed positive critical reception. In early 2007 she won a Korean Music Award for best electronic dance record.

In the summer of 2008 she released her first EP titled "D.I.S.C.O" with help from long time friend Yang Hyun-suk of YG Entertainment. The lead single "D.I.S.C.O" featured popular boy band member T.O.P from the group Big Bang. The EP was very successful and was further promoted by the digital single "D.I.S.C.O PT.2" which was a remix version of "D.I.S.C.O" and featured G-Dragon, the leader of Big Bang.

Uhm Jung-hwa has established herself as one of Korea's top actresses. She is known for her roles in the films Marriage Is a Crazy Thing, Singles, Princess Aurora, Dancing Queen and Haeundae, which became one of the highest grossing movies in Korea. She has won 2 Baeksang Arts Awards for Best Actress, in 2002 for her role in Marriage Is A Crazy Thing and again in 2012 for her role in Dancing Queen.

Uhm Jung-hwa launched her new clothing & lingerie line, ‘Corner Suite‘ and ‘ZHUM in New York‘, which made 10 million USD within 3 months of its release. ‘Corner Suite’ became an instant hit when the line debuted on online markets. The line immediately sold out. Future plans include putting her line of clothes on more home shopping channels, as the demand for it is great.

She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer but fully recovered after surgery in May 2010. Uhm said she felt a little afraid leading up to the surgery, but rather than being discouraged by the pain she was experiencing, she made up her mind to dedicate herself to helping others by inspiring them. "I want to use my talent and influence in a meaningful way," she said.

Korean Albums
Album Title     Release Date     Sales
*SORROWFUL SECRET     1993     -
*슬픈기대     1996     -
*後愛     1997     -
**BEST....My Songs     1998     314,131
*Invitation     1998     850,000
005.1999.06     1999     900,373
*All Details     1999     350,000+
*Queen of Charisma     2000     545,021
*花     2001     500,403
*SELF CONTROL     2004     252,000+
*Prestige     2006     100,342+
*D.I.S.C.O (EP)     2008     80,022+
Korean Digital Singles
    tvN Remix version (2006)
    Come 2 Me NEW REMIX (2006)
    D.I.S.C.O PT.2 (2008)

Films

    Dancing Queen (2012)
    Mama (2011)
    Bestseller (2010)
    Five Senses of Eros (2009)
    Haeundae (2009)
    Insadong Scandal (2009)
    Changing Partners (2007)
    Seducing Mr. Perfect (2006)
    My Piano (2006)
    Princess Aurora (2005)
    All for Love (2005)
    Mr. Handy (2004)
    Singles (2003)
    Marriage Is a Crazy Thing (2002)
    How to Top My Wife (1994)
    Blue Seagull (1994)
    On a Windy Day We Must Go to Apgujeong (1993)

TV series
    He Who Can't Marry (KBS, 2009)
    Get Karl! Oh Soo Jung (SBS, 2007)
    Tropical Nights in December (MBC, 2004)
    Wife (KBS, 2003)

Aerobics video
We are Yoggy - A Yoga VHF (2002)

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org