Han Seung-yeon (born July 24, 1988), better known mononymously as Seungyeon, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as the main vocalist of the South Korean

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

Kara Kara or KARA may refer to: Geography Localities * Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture * Kára, Hungary, a village * Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township * Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province * Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in Da ...

and for her role in ''

Hello, My Twenties! ''Hello, My Twenties!'' () is a South Korean television series starring Han Ye-ri, Han Seung-yeon, Park Eun-bin, Ryu Hwa-young, Park Hye-su, Ji Woo and Choi Ara. It aired on JTBC from July 22, 2016 to October 7, 2017. Synopsis A slice-of-life ...

''.

Early life and career beginnings

Han Seung-yeon was born on July 24, 1988, in

Yeongdeungpo District Yeongdeungpo District () is an administrative district in southwest Seoul, South Korea. Although the origin of the name is uncertain, the first two syllables are thought to be from "''yeongdeung''" (靈登) or "divine ascent", a shamanic rite. T ...

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 South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. She made her acting debut as a

child actress The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...

in a

bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...

in ''Dear Ends'' (1993), ''Summer Showers'' (1995) and ''

Star in My Heart ''Star in My Heart'' () was a 1997 Korean drama series run on MBC. One of the earlier Korean dramas to air outside Korea, as part of what became known as the Korean Wave, it was very popular and helped its cast (particularly Ahn Jae-wook) beco ...

'' (1997). She later left South Korea to study at

Tenafly High School Tenafly High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school in Tenafly in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Tenafly Public Schools. ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. However, she withdrew from high school mid-course in order to pursue a singing career. After returning to South Korea, she debuted as a member of

on March 29, 2007. During her time with the group, she passed a high school qualification exam, the

College Scholastic Ability Test The College Scholastic Ability Test or CSAT ( ko, , ), also abbreviated Suneung ( ko, , ), is a standardized test which is recognized by South Korean universities. The Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) administers the annual ...

, and was accepted by

Kyung Hee University Kyung Hee University (abbreviated to KHU) (Hangul: 경희대학교; Hanja: 慶熙大學校) is a private research university in South Korea with campuses in Seoul and Suwon. Founded in 1949, it is widely regarded as one of the best universities i ...

, majoring in theater and film.

Career

2007–08: Debut and solo activities

Seungyeon debuted as main vocalist of Kara on ''

M! Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Bro ...

'' on March 29, 2007. She was the VJ for ''MSL Break'' from 2007 to 2008. She replaced Tiffany of

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensembl ...

as co-host of '' Boys and Girls Music Countdown'' in June 2008 with

Kim Hye-sung Kim Hye-sung (; also spelt Kim Hye-seong; born January 14, 1988) is a South Korean actor and model. Biography Kim Hye-sung is a South Korean actor under NAMOOACTORS. In March 2012, Kim Hye-sung enlisted for his mandatory military service at the ...

, and later with actor

Kim Soo-hyun Kim Soo-hyun (; born February 16, 1988) is a South Korean actor. One of the highest-paid actors in South Korea, his accolades include four Baeksang Arts Awards, two Grand Bell Awards and one Blue Dragon Film Award. From 2012 to 2016 and in ...

. Their segment ended on May 8, 2009. From October to December 2008, she was part of the cast of the MBC Every 1

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

''I Need a Family – Season 2'', where a group of celebrities would live life as a family, consisting of a father, mother, son and daughter. She also became part of MBC's entertainment news show ''Section TV'' as a "pop correspondent," debuting on November 21, 2008.

2009–present: Continued solo activities, Kara disbandment and label changes

Han was featured on rapper Nassun's single "Come to Play", which was released in March 2009, and was featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

for the movie ''Why Did You Come to My House?'' (2009), releasing her first solo song entitled "Miracle". In October 2009, she became part of the "Dream Team Girl Group" named 4Tomorrow for

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

's campaign ''

Samsung Anycall Anycall () was a South Korean mobile phone brand established by Samsung Electronics in 1993. Like other mobile phone brands in South Korea, they provide technology such as cameras, internet access, and digital TV through Digital Multimedia Broadc ...

''. Their digital single "Tomorrow" was released on October 6, and the official music video for their single was released on the October 12, starring actor

Lee Dong-gun Lee Dong-gun (, ; born 26 July 1980) is a South Korean actor and singer. Career Lee Dong-gun made his debut in the entertainment industry in 1998 as a singer, but he would later gain fame as an actor, starring in television dramas such as ''Sw ...

In 2010, she recorded the song "Super Star" for the soundtrack of the

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 ...

drama '' Mary Stayed Out All Night''. The same year, she became a host of MBC Every1's ''I Love Pet'' alongside fellow member

Kang Ji-young Kang Ji-young (born January 18, 1994), also known as Jiyoung or JY, is a South Korean singer and actress based in Japan. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Kara. Life and career Kang Ji-young was born on January 18, 1994, in Paju ...

. In 2011, she recorded the song "Because of Love" for the soundtrack of the SBS drama ''

Warrior Baek Dong-soo ''Warrior Baek Dong-soo'' () is a 2011 South Korean fusion historical/action television series starring Ji Chang-wook in the title role, with Yoo Seung-ho, Yoon So-yi, Shin Hyun-bin, Choi Min-soo and Jun Kwang-ryul. It aired on SBS from July 4 ...

''. In July 2011, she became a co-host of SBS's ''Animal Farm''. Han released her first solo single "Guilty" on November 30, 2012, along with its music video. She had performance of the single on MBC's ''

Music Core Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect o ...

'' on December 15. In 2013, Han appeared as the protagonist's younger counterpart in the daily drama ''Pure Love'' (2013). Then in her first major supporting role, Han portrayed Choi Suk-bin in the

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

Jang Ok-jung, Living by Love ''Jang Ok-jung, Living by Love'' () is a 2013 South Korean historical television series, starring Kim Tae-hee, Yoo Ah-in, Hong Soo-hyun and Jae Hee. Based on the 2008 novel by Choi Jung-mi, it is a reinterpretation of Jang Hui-bin's life, as a wom ...

'' (2013). In 2014, starred in the weekend drama ''

Jang Bo-ri is Here! ''Jang Bo-ri Is Here!'' () is a 2014 South Korean weekend television drama series broadcast by MBC starring Oh Yeon-seo, Kim Ji-hoon, Lee Yoo-ri and Oh Chang-seok. It premiered on April 5, 2014, airing every Saturday and Sunday at 20:40 for 15 ...

''. The same year, she played her first leading role in the cable series ''Her Lovely Heels''. Also from 2013 to 2014, Han and fellow member

Park Gyu-ri Park Gyu-ri (born May 21, 1988), better known by the mononym Gyuri, is a South Korean singer, actress, and radio personality. She is a member of South Korean girl group Kara. Life and career 1988–2002: Early life and career beginnings Park ...

served as hosts of the music program ''

The Show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** Sp ...

''. In January 2016, Kara was disbanded after Seungyeon, Park Gyuri and Goo Hara decided not to renew their contract. She later signed a contract with J Wide Company in the same year. In May, Han was cast in the omnibus web film ''Bugs Attack''. In July 2016, Han starred in the coming-of-age youth drama ''

''. In October 2016, Han was cast in a short film titled ''Frame in Love''. In 2017, Han starred in JTBC's web drama ''Last Minute Romance''. She also reprised her role in the sequel of ''Hello, My Twenties''. In 2018, Han switched over to Inyeon Entertainment and was cast in the fantasy romance drama '' About Time''. She then took on the leading role in travel romance drama ''

Twelve Nights ''Twelve Nights'' () is a 2018 South Korean television series starring Han Seung-yeon and Shin Hyun-soo. It is produced by and aired on Channel A's Fridays at 23:00 KST time slot from October 12 to December 28, 2018. Synopsis It tells the sto ...

''. In April 2020, Han signed with new agency

YGX Entertainment YGX is a South Korean hip hop dance group under YG Entertainment. It is formerly as a record label and entertainment company. History Yang Hyun-suk announced, in May 2018, a subsidiary company called YGX would merge with Seungri's DJ label NHR. ...

. In 2021, Han appeared in comedy horror film ''

Show Me the Ghost ''Show Me the Ghost'' () is a 2021 South Korean comedy horror film, written and directed by Kim Eun-kyoung and starring Han Seung-yeon, Kim Hyun-mok and Hong Seung-bum. The film depicts the story of two job seeking best friends Ho-du and Yeji, ...

'' as Ye-ji. She won Fantastic Actor Jury's Special Mention Award for her performance at 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.

Discography

EPs

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Filmography

Film

Television series

Hosting

Audiobook

* ''Victor the fool'' by Joachim de Posada, voice of Laura

Awards

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Han, Seung-yeon 1988 births DSP Media artists Kara (South Korean band) members Living people People from Seoul Japanese-language singers South Korean female idols South Korean dance musicians South Korean rhythm and blues singers South Korean sopranos South Korean women pop singers South Korean child actresses South Korean film actresses South Korean television actresses South Korean television presenters South Korean women television presenters South Korean radio presenters Kyung Hee University alumni 21st-century South Korean actresses 21st-century South Korean women singers Singers from Seoul Tenafly High School alumni South Korean women radio presenters YG Entertainment artists