Kang In-soo (; born March 10, 1988) is a South Korean singer and actor. Born in

Suwon Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a populati ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

, he was an aspiring singer in his adolescence and applied to the Department of Theater and Film in high school, but majored in dance following the denial of his initial application. Kang signed to H2 Media, where he debuted with boy

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

group

Myname Myname ( ko, 마이네임; stylized as MYNAME) is a South Korean boy group created by Fly to the Sky's Hwanhee under H2 Media. The group is composed of five members: Gunwoo, Insoo, Seyong, Jun.Q, and Chaejin. The group debuted on October 27, ...

. He is a vocalist for the quintet. He performed his first acting role in ''Shinokubo Story'' (2013) alongside the group. ''Naked'' (2017), his first mini-album independent from

, was released in Japan in September. He enlisted in the mandatory

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

the following month.

Life and career

1988–2010: Early life and career beginnings

Kang In-soo was born on March 10, 1988, in

. An aspiring singer, he unsuccessfully applied to Anyang Arts High School under the Department of Theater and Film. He reapplied under the dance program as his second choice and was accepted. He avoided dancing for the first two years, instead taking singing and music lessons. In order to graduate from high school, he was required to conceive a dance piece. A male dance teacher visited the school to aid in the students' production, when Kang "fell in love" with

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

upon seeing the teacher's moves. In addition to ballet, he practiced

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

during his final year in high school. He passed

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 concours and was admitted as a dance major despite not learning how to dance. He graduated from the institution and, for two years, served as a ballet instructor for rhythmic gymnasts

Son Yeon-jae Son Yeon-jae KTM (born 28 May 1994) is a South Korean retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is a former member of the South Korean national gymnastics team, based in Taereung, Seoul. She is the 2014 Asian Games All-around Champion, the 20 ...

and

Shin Soo-ji Shin Soo-ji ( born 8 January 1991) is a South Korean former rhythmic gymnast and bowler. She is the first South Korean rhythmic gymnast to qualify for all-around final at the World Championships. Personal life On January 5, 2018, it was anno ...

. He later attended

Korea National Open University Korea National Open University (KNOU, ko, 한국방송통신대학교) is a national university of South Korea. The school provides higher education including undergraduate, graduate and non-degree programs as well as distance-learning courses ...

. After deliberating between a career in ballet and music, he decided to participate in the second season of the talent television series ''

Superstar K ''Superstar K'' ( ko, 슈퍼스타 K) is a South Korean television talent show series which is held yearly. First held in 2009, Superstar K has increasingly gained more attention, considered the biggest audition program in South Korea. Superstar ...

''. Following his appearance on the show, he began receiving "love calls" from various entertainment companies, which he rejected for an opportunity to try out for Fly to the Sky's

Hwanhee Hwang Yoon-seok ( ko, 황윤석, born January 17, 1982), better known as Hwanhee ( ko, 환희), is a South Korean singer, actor and a member of South Korean R&B duo Fly to the Sky. Career Hwanhee graduated from Gwang Moon High School before hi ...

under H2 Media. Upon failing the audition, he sat by a water purifier at the company's entrance and greeted staff for the following seven consecutive days to have them recognize his face. He explained, "I did it because I wanted to show them how eager I was and that I can do it". As a result, he was invited to practice and became a trainee under the label.

2011–present: Career and military service

Kang is a vocalist in the

group

. The group released their debut single "

Message A message is a discrete unit of communication intended by the source for consumption by some recipient or group of recipients. A message may be delivered by various means, including courier, telegraphy, carrier pigeon and electronic bus. A ...

" in 2011. Kang made his acting debut along with his group in the film ''Shinokubo Story'' (2013), where he played one of five characters seeking to become "stars". He released his first solo mini-album ''Naked'' in Japan on September 6, 2017. Kang's musical style was influenced by

Big Bang The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...

Taeyang Dong Young-bae (; born May 18, 1988), better known by his stage names Taeyang (meaning "sun" in Korean) and SOL (when performing in Japan), is a South Korean singer, songwriter and dancer. After appearing in Jinusean's music video "A-yo", Taey ...

JYJ JYJ (formerly known as Junsu/Jejung/Yuchun in Japan) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 by Kim Junsu, Kim Jae-joong, and Park Yoo-chun, the three former members of TVXQ. Their group name is taken from the initial letters of each member's n ...

Kim Junsu Kim Jun-su (; born December 15, 1986) or simply Junsu, also known by the stage name Xia (stylized as XIA; ; ko, 시아) is a South Korean singer, model, dancer and stage actor. He is a member of the Korean pop group and later duo JYJ, and was ...

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

and Usher. He held a release event at the

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records ...

store in

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

the day before ''Naked's'' release, drawing in 400 attendees. The mini-album ranked at number 19 on Japan's national

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...

, selling 3,346 copies in its first week. Kang held two solo concerts in late September to promote ''Naked''. Kang enlisted in

on October 26, 2017. He received military training at the

Korea Army Training Center The Korea Army Training Center (abbreviated KATC; Hangul: 육군훈련소) is a South Korean military training institution for the Republic of Korea Army basic training. It is one of the subordinate elements of the Republic of Korea Army Trai ...

Nonsan Nonsan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It is located at . The origin of Nonsan's geographical names is said to have come from the small garden " Nolmoe, " which rises in the middle of farming fields, where rice paddies ...

South Chungcheong Province South Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청남도, ''Chungcheongnam-do''), also known as Chungnam, is a province of South Korea. South Chungcheong has a population of 2,059,871 (2014) and has a geographic area of 8,204 km2 (3,168 sq mi) located in ...

Musical style

Kang's debut solo mini-album ''Naked'' encompasses ballads, R&B,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, and

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

. Its lead single "Naked Love" is an

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

track. Kang has cited

and American singer Usher as role models.

Discography

Albums

Mini-albums

Singles

Soundtrack appearances

Filmography

Television show

Television series

Theater

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, In-soo 1988 births 21st-century South Korean male actors 21st-century South Korean male singers Japanese-language singers of South Korea Korea National Open University alumni Myname members People from Suwon Sejong University alumni South Korean contemporary R&B singers South Korean dance musicians South Korean male idols South Korean J-pop singers K-pop singers South Korean male film actors Superstar K participants Living people