Moon Hee-joon (; or spelled Moon Hee-jun; born March 14, 1978) is a South Korean
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
singer-songwriter signed under
SidusHQ
iHQ Inc., doing business as SidusHQ () is one of the leading talent management agencies in South Korea. It was founded in January 2001 by Teddy Hoon-tak Jung. The company is involved in talent management (artist content), and TV drama/music prod ...
. He initially rose to fame as the leader of former boy band
H.O.T. under
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 ...
.
Biography
1996–2001: H.O.T.
Being the second member to join H.O.T. after auditioning, Moon made his debut as a singer as the leader of the boy group. The group debuted with their first album, ''We Hate All Kinds of Violence'' in September 1996, which was accused of being plagiarized and lawsuits were placed against them. Despite their controversial debut, the group eventually rose to fame with their first hit, ''Candy'' and ''We Are the Future'', which the latter won them a
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
award for Best International Video. During his time as part of the group, Moon composed and wrote music for the group and with fellow member, Jang Woo-hyuk, he often choreographed the group's dance routine.
Despite H.O.T.'s success, after releasing their last album, ''Outside Castle'' in September 2000, the group disbanded in May 2001.
2001–2005: Solo artist and leaving S.M. Entertainment
After the disbandment of the group, Moon stayed on in S.M. Entertainment with
Kangta
Ahn Chil-hyun (born October 10, 1979), known professionally as Kangta (stylized sometimes in all caps and formerly as KangTa), is a South Korean singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, actor and radio personality. He is well known as a ...
, who was also part of H.O.T., and debuted as a solo artist. Moon attempted to establish a rock music career with his first album, ''Alone'', but received criticism from the public. His second album, ''Messiah'', was tinted with controversy as one of the songs, ''Media'', was banned from all 3 major broadcasting stations in South Korea, for attacking mass media. After the release of his third album, Legend, in 2003, Moon released ''The Best: Soaring for a Dream'', his last album under S.M. Entertainment and created his own company, PS Entertainment. After Moon released his fourth album, ''Triple X'', he enlisted in the army in 2005.
2006–2009: Military service, SidusHQ and comeback
Before entering the army, Moon had signed a contract with SidusHQ and during his time in the army, he hosted the KFN Korean Army Broadcast "Music Talk Show", which received recognition from various Korean artistes. In 2008, Moon released his fifth album, ''Special Album'', which included songs from H.O.T. previous albums. Moon released his first mini album, ''Last Cry'', in 2009. In the same year, Moon appeared in sitcom ''Taehee, Hyegyo, Jihyun'' and took a break from the music scene.
[
]
2010–present: Other activities, ''Begins'', HotSechgodRG
Despite being absent from the music scene, Moon took up hosting in several variety programs such as, Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend, Mnet's 'Wide Celebrity News' and other programs. In 2013, Moon released his second mini album, ''Begins'', after being away from the music scene from 3 years. It was released on January 18, 2013.
Moon, his H.O.T. bandmate Tony An
Tony Ahn (; born June 7, 1978) is a South Korean singer, best known as a member of boy band H.O.T.
After H.O.T. disbanded in 2001, its ex-members Tony Ahn, Jang Woo-hyuk and Lee Jae-won formed the dance music trio jtL. Eventually, JTL unoffic ...
and three members of disbanded or inactive fellow first-generation idol groups Eun Ji-won
Eun Ji-won Hangul: 은지원, Hanja: 殷志源, (born June 8, 1978) is a South Korean rapper and entertainer. He is the leader of the first generation idol group Sechs Kies (젝스키스).
He is recognized as an ancestor of the K-pop world, pav ...
of Sechs Kies
Sechs Kies (pronounced as ; ko, 젝스키스) is a first generation South Korean boy band. Making their debut on April 15, 1997, they are one of the first K-pop idol groups, credited with pioneering the idol scene and fandom culture. The grou ...
, Danny Ahn
Danny Ahn (Hangul: 데니안; born December 22, 1978) is a Korean-American entertainer best known as the main rapper of the South Korean pop music group g.o.d. He is notable for his unique rapping. Having made his debut in the entertainment indu ...
of g.o.d
Groove Over Dose, known by the acronym g.o.d (), is a South Korean boy band formed by IHQ (company), SidusHQ. Debuting in 1999, the group became one of the most popular boy bands of the early 2000s in South Korea. The members had gone on to sol ...
and Chun Myung-hoon
Chun Myung-hoon (born April 6, 1978) is a South Korean singer, rapper, actor and television presenter. He is a member of boy band NRG. He released his single, ''Welcome To The Jungle'' on October 19, 2012. He is well known as a cast member on s ...
of NRG starred in their own variety-reality television show ''Handsome Boys of the 20th Century
''Handsome Boys of the 20th Century'' () is a South Korean variety-reality show which aired on the cable channel QTV ( ko). It began airing on April 16, 2013 and ran for two seasons with a total of 29 episodes.
Premise and concept
The show feature ...
''. He had conceived the idea following the success of ''Reply 1997
''Reply 1997'' () is a 2012 South Korean television series that centers on the lives of six friends in Busan, as the timeline moves back and forth between their past as 18-year-old high schoolers in 1997 and their present as 33-year-olds at thei ...
'' and invited the four other entertainers, all of whom were born in the same year (1978), to star in a reality version of the show. They called their "group" HOTSechgodRG, which is made up of each of their idol group names. They have since appeared on shows such as KBS's '' Happy Together'' SBS's '' Running Man''. Due to the reuniting of Eun's group Sechs Kies and Danny Ahn's group g.o.d, they have not appeared as a five-some since the 2014 show ''Where is My Superhero?'', which aired on OnStyle
tvN STORY is a South Korean cable and satellite television channel owned by CJ ENM E&M Division. The channel is targeted to women, originate from OnStyle.
Programs
* '' Project Runway Korea'' (February 7, 2009 – May 18, 2015)
* '' Korea' ...
, due to busy schedules but remain close friends. The group, except Eun, most recently met at Moon's bachelor party which was shown on ''My Little Old Boy
''My Little Old Boy'' (a.k.a. ''Mom's Diary: My Ugly Duckling''; ) is a South Korean Television comedy, television entertainment program, distributed and syndicated by Seoul Broadcasting System, SBS every Sunday at 21:05 (Time in South Korea, KS ...
'', the reality show that Tony An was participating in.
In 2015, Moon signed an exclusive contract with KOEN Stars.
Personal life
On November 25, 2016, Moon announced that he would be marrying fellow entertainer Park Hye-Kyeong, also known as Soyul of Crayon Pop
Crayon Pop (Hangul: 크레용팝) is a South Korean girl group formed under Chrome Entertainment in 2012. The group consisted of four members: Geummi, Ellin, Choa, and Way. Their fifth member, Soyul, left the group in 2017.
Crayon Pop officiall ...
. The wedding was held on February 12, 2017, in Seoul. The pair then welcomed their first child, daughter Moon Hee-yul, on May 12, 2017. On February 5, 2022 the couple announced of their second pregnancy. Their second child, son Moon Tae-myung was born on September 7, 2022.
Discography
Studio albums
Other albums
Extended plays
Singles
Filmography
Variety Shows
Awards and nominations
References
External links
SidusHQ Star Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Hee-joon
H.O.T. (band) members
IHQ (company) artists
South Korean pop rock singers
South Korean male singers
South Korean singer-songwriters
South Korean record producers
South Korean television presenters
South Korean male idols
South Korean Buddhists
Male actors from Seoul
1978 births
Living people
Singers from Seoul
South Korean male singer-songwriters