Kim Yoo-jin (born March 3, 1981), known professionally as Eugene, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as a former member of the girl group
S.E.S., which went on to become one of South Korea's best-selling artists. Following the group's disbandment in 2002, she subsequently left
SM Entertainment
SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...
and released two solo studio albums.
As an actress, Eugene has participated in various
television dramas and movies, making her acting debut in
KBS2
The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters.
KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...
''Loving You'' (2002). Her other notable roles include in ''
Save the Last Dance for Me'' (2004), ''
Wonderful Life'' (2005), ''
Bread, Love and Dreams
''Bread, Love and Dreams'' ( it, Pane, amore e fantasia) is a 1953 Italian romantic comedy film directed by Luigi Comencini. At the 4th Berlin International Film Festival it won the Silver Bear award.
Plot
The film is set in Sagliena, an imagina ...
'' (2010), ''
A Hundred Year Legacy
''A Hundred Year Legacy'' () is a 2013 South Korean television series starring Eugene and Lee Jung-jin. Revolving around themes of food, love and family, the warm human drama is about a modest Seoul noodle house that's been operated by the same ...
'' (2013), ''
All About My Mom
''All About My Mom'' () is a 2015 South Korean television series starring Eugene and Lee Sang-woo. It aired on KBS2 from August 15, 2015, to February 14, 2016, every Saturday and Sunday at 19:55 ( KST).
Synopsis
Jin-ae ( Eugene) works hard to ...
'' (2015) and ''
The Penthouse: War in Life'' (2020–2021).
Early life
Eugene was born in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea. With the suggestion of her grandfather, who settled down in Guam, her family immigrated to Guam after she finished the first semester of 5th grade elementary school. She attended Agueda I. Johnston Middle School from October 1992 until June 1995, and
John F. Kennedy High School from June until September 1997. She returned to Korea with her mother and younger sister to finish high school, and eventually graduated from Korea Kent Foreign School,
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
in June 1999. At high school, more than 80% of her subjects were A credits. In elementary school, only 23 out of 24 subjects were awarded. In middle school, almost all her subjects were excellent.
Career
S.E.S.
Eugene made her debut with S.E.S. in 1997. S.E.S enjoyed tremendous success, becoming the top-selling K-pop girl group, until
Twice
Twice (; Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn: ''To~uwaisu''; commonly stylized as TWICE) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaey ...
broke their record in 2019. The group broke up at the end of 2002 after
Bada
Bada (stylized as bada; Korean: ) is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Samsung Electronics for devices such as mid- to high-end smartphones and tablet computers. The name is derived from " (bada)", meaning "ocean" or "sea" in ...
and Eugene parted ways from SM Entertainment, while
Shoo stayed with SM Entertainment until 2006.
On May 28, 2016, Eugene with S.E.S. members Bada and Shoo attended a charity event, Green Heart Bazaar. In October 2016, Eugene along with Bada and Shoo re-formed S.E.S. to celebrate their 20th anniversary since the debut of the group. They started their project of the 20th anniversary debut with released digital single "Love
tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
, a remake of their 1999 single "Love", through SM Entertainment's digital project
SM Station
SM Station is a digital music project by South Korean record label SM Entertainment. It undertook to release one digital single every Friday starting from February 3, 2016. The project's first season ended on February 3, 2017, with 52 songs. Its ...
on November 28 and its music video released on December 29.
In early December 2016, they aired their ten episode reality show ''Remember, I'm Your S.E.S.'', which broadcast through mobile app Oksusu. To accompany their 20th anniversary debut, they held a concert, Remember, the Day, on December 30 and 31 at
Sejong University
Sejong University (SJU; ) is a private university located in Seoul, South Korea known for its standing in hospitality and tourism management, dancing, animation and rhythmic gymnastics. Founded as the Kyung Sung Humanities Institute, it was rename ...
's Daeyang Hall in Seoul.
On January 2, the special album of their 20th anniversary debut ''
Remember
Remember may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson
* ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film
* ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...
'' was released. The album consists of double lead singles. "Remember" was digitally released on January 1 and "Paradise" was released along with the album on January 2. They held a fanmeet as their last project of 20th anniversary debut called I Will Be There, Waiting For You on March 1, 2017.
Solo career
![Eugene in 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Eugene_in_2010.jpg)
After S.E.S. broke up in late 2002, Kim starred in four Korean dramas: ''Loving You'', ''
Save The Last Dance for Me'', ''
Wonderful Life'', and ''
Love Truly
''Love Truly'' (; lit. ''I Really, Really Like You'') is a 2006 South Korean television series starring Eugene, Lee Min-ki, and Ryu Jin. It aired on MBC from April 8 to August 6, 2006 on Saturdays and Sundays at 19:55 for 34 episodes.
The dra ...
''. She also appeared in commercials and advertisements, and released two solo albums. ''My True Style'', her first album, sold nearly 65,000 records and had one hit ballad, "The Best". Her second album ''810303'' sold a disappointing 19,000 copies. Although sales were low, the single "Windy" was successful, as it was nominated for first place on the music show ''
Music Camp
A band camp typically refers to a high school, college, or university marching band summer camp. Band camp is often mandatory for members of the band and constitutes the majority of the preparation a marching band makes before its marching season ...
''.
Eugene made her theater debut in the musical adaptation of the film ''
Innocent Steps
''Innocent Steps'' (; lit. "Dancer’s Purity") is a 2005 South Korean film directed by Park Young-hoon. Another English title for the movie is "Dancing princess".
There's a director's cut version of the movie featuring additional 17 minutes of f ...
'' and her film debut in ''
Unstoppable Marriage
''Unstoppable Marriage'' is a 2007 South Korean romantic comedy film. It stars veteran actors Kim Soo-mi and Im Chae-moo alongside popstar and television actress Eugene and Ha Seok-jin. The film is Eugene's big screen debut, and is also the direc ...
''. After taking on the lead roles in the dramas ''
One Mom and Three Dads
''One Mom and Three Dads'' () is a 2008 South Korean television series starring Eugene, Jo Hyun-jae, Jae Hee, and Shin Sung-rok. It aired on KBS2 from April 2 to May 22, 2008 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes.
Synopsis
Song ...
'', and ''
Creating Destiny
''Creating Destiny'' (; lit: ''Creating Relations'') is a 2009 South Korean romantic comedy television series based on the two-volume manhwa of the same title written by Choi Soo-jung and Hyun Go-woon. It aired on MBC from October 10, 2009 to Jan ...
'', Eugene then starred in the television series ''
King of Baking, Kim Takgu
''Bread, Love and Dreams'' () is a 2010 South Korean television drama starring Yoon Shi-yoon, Eugene, Joo Won and Lee Young-ah. It tells the story of how a determined young baker overcomes many trials towards his goal of becoming the best bak ...
'', which was a huge hit and earned "national drama" status.
In 2007 Eugene took over from
Lee Hyori
Lee Hyo-ri (; born May 10, 1979) is a South Korean singer, record producer, activist, actress and television presenter. Dubbed as the "Nation's Fairy" during her ''Family Outing'' days, she debuted as a member of South Korean girl group Fin.K.L ...
as one of the co-hosts of the variety show ''
Happy Together Friends'', until the show was overhauled for a third season. After the success of her previous program ''Eugene's Makeup Diary'', cable style network O'live again chose her as the host of new show ''Get It Beauty'' which began airing in July 2010.
Eugene has authored two books: ''Eugene's Beauty Secrets'' and ''Eugene's Get It Beauty''. She is also the co-president of the clothing brand byMOMO.
In 2012 she became the host of season 3 of
MBC's revamped flagship amateur singing competition show ''The Great Birth''. Her next leading role was in the 2013 weekend family drama ''
A Hundred Year Legacy
''A Hundred Year Legacy'' () is a 2013 South Korean television series starring Eugene and Lee Jung-jin. Revolving around themes of food, love and family, the warm human drama is about a modest Seoul noodle house that's been operated by the same ...
'', which reached ratings of over 30 percent. She then starred in two more family dramas, ''
Can We Fall in Love, Again?
''Can We Fall in Love, Again?'' () is a 2014 South Korean television series starring Eugene, Uhm Tae-woong, Kim Yoo-mi, Choi Jung-yoon and Kim Sung-soo. It aired on JTBC from January 6 to March 11, 2014 for 20 episodes.
The series is based on ...
'' and ''
All About My Mom
''All About My Mom'' () is a 2015 South Korean television series starring Eugene and Lee Sang-woo. It aired on KBS2 from August 15, 2015, to February 14, 2016, every Saturday and Sunday at 19:55 ( KST).
Synopsis
Jin-ae ( Eugene) works hard to ...
''.
On December 17, 2018, it was announced that Eugene had signed with INN Company after deciding not to renew her contract with C9 Entertainment.
In 2020, she appeared in TV series ''
The Penthouse: War in Life'' aired on
SBS TV
SBS may refer to:
Broadcasting
* SBS Broadcasting Group, Belgium, formerly many countries
* Talpa TV, formerly SBS Broadcasting B.V., Netherlands
** SBS6, Dutch television channel
** SBS9, Dutch television channel
* Special Broadcasting Service ...
from October 26.
In 2022, Eugene will attend a fan sign event in front of the Lotte World Mall Jamsil store from 7pm on the 12th.
Personal life
On May 11, 2011, Eugene announced she would be married to
Ki Tae-young
Ki Tae-young (born Kim Yong-woo on December 9, 1978) is a South Korean actor. Ki made his acting debut in 1997, and went on to play leading roles in the television dramas ''Creating Destiny
''Creating Destiny'' (; lit: ''Creating Relations'') ...
, her leading man in the 2009 TV series ''
Creating Destiny
''Creating Destiny'' (; lit: ''Creating Relations'') is a 2009 South Korean romantic comedy television series based on the two-volume manhwa of the same title written by Choi Soo-jung and Hyun Go-woon. It aired on MBC from October 10, 2009 to Jan ...
''. Their wedding was held at the Seoul Central Church in
Anyang, Gyeonggi-do, on July 23, 2011. They were the first couple featured on ''Super Couple Diary'', a reality show filming the daily married life of celebrity couples. Eugene gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Ro-hee on April 12, 2015. She also gave birth to another girl, Ro-rin, on August 18, 2018.
After the
sinking of the ''MV Sewol'', fans of Eugene began to doubt her belief in the
Evangelical Baptist Church of Korea
The Evangelical Baptist Church (EBC) of Korea (; officially Korean Evangelical Baptist Church – formerly known as Korean Laymen's Evangelical Fellowship), was established in 1962 by Yoo Byung-eun and Pastor Kwon Shin-chan (; 192396). The name o ...
. She explained she is not a believer of the Evangelical Baptist Church, but in the Korean Christianity Baptist Church which separated from the Evangelical Baptist Church 32 years ago.
Discography
Studio albums
Soundtrack contributions
Participation in albums
Filmography
Film
Television series
Television show
Web shows
Hosting
Musical theatre
Books
* ''Eugene's Beauty Secrets'' (2009)
* ''Eugene's Get It Beauty'' (2011)
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1981 births
Living people
S.E.S. (group) members
South Korean Baptists
South Korean women pop singers
South Korean film actresses
South Korean musical theatre actresses
South Korean female idols
South Korean television actresses
Korea University alumni
Singers from Seoul
Actresses from Seoul
People from Seoul
Guamanian actresses
Guamanian people of Korean descent