Kim Min-jun (Korean: 김민준; Hanja: 金閔俊; born January 15, 1988), better known by his stage name Jun. K, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, dancer and actor. He is the main vocalist of 2PM.[1]
Formerly known as Kim Jun-su (Hangul : 김준수), he revealed on October 17, 2012, that due to family reasons, he would be changing his name to Min-jun, though his stage name would remain the same.[2][non-primary source needed]
Jun. K is the writer and the composer of 2PM's title songs, "Go Crazy","My House" and "With Me Again". He also wrote and composed many b-side tracks for 2PM.[3][unreliable source?]
Aside from his group activities, Jun. K has released 3 digital singles, 2 extended plays in South Korea and 1 digital single, 4 extended plays in Japan, his first three Japanese albums which peaked at number two on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart.[4][5] His second Japanese album Love Letter ranked number one on both Billboard Japan "Top" and "Hot" album sales charts.[6][7] His first Korean album, Mr. NO♡, debuted at number nine on Billboard World Albums chart.[8] His third Japanese album "No Shadow" ranked number two on Billboard Japan "Top" and "Hot" album sales charts.[9] His fourth Japanese album No Time ranked number three on the Oricon daily sales chart.[10]
Jun. K was chosen as the main vocalist of 2PM. The group officially debuted on September 4, 2008.
During a 2 pm fanmeeting in 2009, he performed his composition "Hot" for the first time for his solo.[15] "Hot" was later recorded by all six members and included on their second studio album Hands Up (2011). In 2010, he collaborated with composer Jung Woo on the track "Tok Tok Tok" released in August, provided guest vocals for then-labelmate San E's song "B.U.B.U." (an acronym for "Break Up Back Up"), released in September as part of his first extended play, and teamed up with other idols and singers for the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit campaign song "Let's Go," released in October.
2011–2013: Solo debut and musical role
On October 7, 2011, Jun. K released his debut single "Alive". The accompanying music video was uploaded to 2PM's official YouTube channel three days later.[16] The song quickly climbed the charts and became number one on Cyworld.[17] On March 14, 2012, it was released as a ringtone on Japan's Recochoku ahead of 2 pm's greatest hits album 2PM Best: 2008–2011 in Korea, where it could also be found as a bonus track in Limited Edition B. "Alive" managed to quickly rank in at number one on the daily chart. Following this, JYP Entertainment stated that the song "shows a deeper look into Jun. K's unique musical world. It has a smooth beat that reveals a new charm to the singer."[18][unreliable source?] He also recorded "Love... Goodbye" for the soundtrack of the Korean drama I Love Lee Tae-ri. It served as the male lead's theme.[19][unreliable source?] He began his acting career in 2012 with played in musical theatre The Three Musketeers. Jun. K played as D'Artagnan.[20][unreliable source?]
He played Daniel in the musical, Jack the Ripper in early 2013.[21][unreliable source?]
In December 2013, He participated again on musical The Three Musketeers to performed in Tokyo, Japan.[22][unreliable source?]
2014–present: Solo activities
In an interview with The Star in 2014, Jun. K revealed that Oricon's editor-in-chief had said Love and Hate was the number one album released in Japan that year and expressed his gratitude: "When I heard this I felt even better. I have really worked hard without any rest since December last year. I tried my best to prepare it, but I'm really thankful to everyone who helped me achieve this good result, and everyone who congratulated me."[23][unreliable source?]
Jun. K's Love & Hate concert tour ranked in the top 10 best concerts in Japan by Ranking Box, for having one of the most impressive live concerts of 2014, making him the only K-pop artist on the list.
The editor-in-chief stated, "The album I personally listened to the most this year is Jun.K's solo album, 'Love & Hate', which was released in May. He's an artist who has an outstanding ability as a singer-songwriter, impressive voice tone, and musical talent. His solo live concert was rich with not only lyrical music but expressiveness as well."[24][unreliable source?]
On June 11, 2014, Jun.K released the Korean version of "No Love".[25] Another song from the Japanese EP, titled "Mr. Doctor", was featured on HOT 97's DJ LEAD's Mix Album twice, in 2014 and 2015.[26]
Jun.K's second Japanese album, Love Letter, was released on November 25, 2015, and quickly reached number one on the Oricon Daily album charts and on Japan's Billboard charts for top album sales.[27][28] On December 30, 2015, the Korean version of Love Letter was released.[29][unreliable source?]
In July 2016, Jun. K announced the release of his first Korean mini album, Mr. No♡, digitally on August 9 and physically on August 11. He held a showcase on August 8 before releasing his album and the showcase also aired on Naver's V app.[30][unreliable source?]
Jun.K's third Japanese album, No Shadow, was released on December 14, 2016, and reached number one on the Oricon daily album charts and number two on the Oricon Weekly album charts and Japan's Billboard charts for top and hot album sales.[9]
On January 4, 2017, Jun. K released a surprise music video for his song "Your Wedding", for his return as a solo artist in Korea. The music video stars 2 pm's Nichkhun and TWICE's Nayeon. "Your Wedding" is a pre-release for Jun. K's self-composed album titled 77-1X3-00.[31][unreliable source?] On January 12, 2017, Jun. K released the Korean album 77-1X3-00, as well as the music video for its title track, "No Shadow".[32][unreliable source?]
Jun. K's second concert tour "Love Letter" and third concert tour "No Shadow" ranked in each year's top 10+1 best concerts in Japan by Yahoo in a row, for having the most impressive two live concert tours of 2015 and 2016 making him the only K-pop artist on the lists.[33][34]
On November 27, 2017, Jun. K released his second Korean mini-album My 20's as the final project in Korea before his army enlistment.
"Moving Day" is the title track, and the album includes songs he personally composed and wrote.[35][unreliable source?]
Jun. K's fourth Japanese album, No Time, was released on April 4, 2018, as the final project in Japan before his army enlistment, No Time debuted at number three on the Oricon Daily album chart.[10]
Jun. K’s fourth Korean single and the first Japanese digital single “This Is Not A Song, 1929” was released in both Korea and Japan simultaneously on June 10, 2020. On the same day, he carried out a free online concert "THIS IS NOT A SPECIAL LIVE" for his fans to show his gratitude towards their continued support.[36][unreliable source?]
On December 9, 2020, Jun. K released his third Korean mini album 20 Minutes, with "30 Minutes Might Be Too Long" serving as the album's title track.[37]
On March 10, 2021, Jun. K released his fifth Japanese album, This Is Not a Song.[38]
In July 2022, it was announced that Jun.K would hold a fan meeting 2022 FAN MEETING < WE, LOVE ON, AGAIN> in Japan on September 23.[39]
Personal life
Jun. K speaks Korean, English, and Japanese. His hobbies include composing, fashion, and collecting accessories and shoes.[1] His specialities are singing and writing themes.[1]
He revealed that he had received over 70 awards from elementary to high school related to writing such as essays and book reports.
"When I was young, I read a lot of books. My mother liked writing. She helped me all the way from writing book reports."[40][unreliable source?]
He is a Buddhist. On February 24, 2011, he was admitted into the bachelor program for Performing Arts at the Dong-Ah Institute of Media and Arts, starting his new semester as a fourth-year student.[11]
On October 17, 2012, he announced that he would be legally changing his name from Kim Junsu to Kim Minjun due to family reasons. In a 2014 interview with Starcast, he discussed the change: "There are still hateful comments about me changing my name. It is a name which my father gave to me in advance before he passed away after thinking about when to give it to me. I talked about it for 8 months with my mother. I thought about it for a long time since changing my name didn't feel good to me."[41]
On February 10, 2018, Jun. K was discovered to have been driving under the influence of alcohol at a sobriety checkpoint that was set up at the intersection near Sinsa Station.[42] He was reported to have been indicted without physical detention as he had a blood alcohol content level of 0.074 per cent. Jun. K personally apologized for his recent drunk driving incident, resulting in him not joining his fellow 2PM members on stage for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics Headliner Show.[43]
Jun. K joined the Nodo training centre, 2nd infantry division of 1st ROK Army, in Gangwon-do Yanggu to fulfil his mandatory military service on May 8, 2018.[44] He received a silver medal with an honourable mention from the commander of the division for his outstanding performance as a trainee at the training camp graduation ceremony.[45][46][unreliable source?] After completing the training session successfully, Jun. K was assigned to a military band as a saxophone player and a singer.[47]
On May 31, 2019, Jun. K received the status of "Special Class Warrior" which is considered a measure of success as a soldier as it is only awarded to those who excel in shooting, physical endurance, first aid, vigilance, CBR training, mental endurance, and combat skills.[48][unreliable source?]
Jun. K completed his military service and was discharged on January 2, 2020.[49]
^Choi Jeong-ah (July 29, 2022). "2PM 준케이, 오는 9월 3일 일본에서 단독 팬미팅" [2PM's Jun.K will have a solo fan meeting in Japan on September 3rd] (in Korean). Sports World. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2022 – via Naver.
^"'2PM 두 번째' 준케이, 오늘(2일) 닉쿤·팬들 환영 속 제대" [2PM's Jun.K is second member to be discharged, Nickhun and fans welcome him at his discharge]. Naver (in Korean). January 2, 2020. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
^Jung Ga-young (August 20, 2021). "[단독] 2PM 준케이·틴탑 니엘·블락비 태일, '야생돌' 일일 멘토 된다" [[Exclusive] 2PM’s Jun-K, Teen Top’s Niel, and Block B’s Taeil to become daily mentors for ‘wild idols’]. sportsworld (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
^Go Jae-wan (August 10, 2022). "韓프로듀서 허완, 태국 오디션 '세븐스타즈'로 대박…K-오디션 진가 확인" [Korean producer Heo Wan hits a big hit with Thailand audition 'Seven Stars'... K-Audition check] (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022 – via Naver.
^Im Sung-kyu (September 15, 2021). "준케이 '아돌라스쿨 새 MC에요'[★포토]" [Jun.K 'Adola School's new MC' [Photo]]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 15, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021 – via Naver.
^Kim Myung-mi (November 23, 2021). "준케이 김진환→백아연 손동표, 극장형 보이는 라디오 '온에어' 출연" [Jun-K Kim Jin-hwan → Baek A-yeon and Son Dong-pyo to appear on 'On Air', a theater-style radio show] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021 – via Naver.
^Jeong Hee-yeon (December 27, 2021). "뉴이스트 백호→골차 홍주찬, 창작뮤지컬 '이퀄' 캐스팅 [공식]" [NU'EST Baekho → Gollcha Hong Joo-chan, casting for creative musical ‘Equal’ [Official]] (in Korean). Sports Donga. Archived from the original on December 27, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2021 – via Naver.
^Jang Jin-ri (January 27, 2022). "준케이·유태양·와이 다시 만난다…'온에어', 딜레이 뷰잉 서비스 시작" [Jun.K, Yoo Taeyang, and Y meet again... 'On Air' launches delayed viewing service] (in Korean). SPOTV News. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022 – via Naver.
