Kim Ye-won (; born August 19, 1998), better known by her stage name Umji (), is a South Korean singer and dancer. She is a former member of the girl group

GFriend GFriend (stylized in all caps; ) was a South Korean girl group formed by Source Music in 2015. The group consisted of six members: Sowon, Yerin, Eunha, Yuju, SinB, and Umji. They debuted with the extended play (EP) '' Season of Glass'' on Jan ...

, and a current member of the trio

Viviz Viviz (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by BPM Entertainment. The group consists of former GFriend members: Eunha, SinB, and Umji. The group debuted on February 9, 2022, with their first extended play ''Beam of Prism ...

Early life

Umji was born on August 19, 1998, in

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

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 ...

and is the youngest daughter of her family (one older brother and one older sister). Her father is dentist and chairman of a famous dental corporation in

. Umji went to English preschool and graduated from Shinsong Middle School,

. She graduated from the

School of Performing Arts Seoul School of Performing Arts Seoul ( ko, 서울공연예술고등학교), colloquially known as (SOPA) in South Korea, is an arts high school in Gung-dong, Guro District, Seoul. History SOPA was founded on March 6, 1966 as Jeonghui High School ...

(SOPA - Theater Department) in February 2017, along with her groupmate,

SinB Hwang Eun-bi (born June 3, 1998), better known by her stage name SinB, is a South Korean singer, dancer and actress. She is known for being a former member of South Korean girl group GFriend and a current member of the trio Viviz. Early life S ...

Career

Umji made her debut as a member of the group

on January 15, 2015, with the release of the extended play '' Season of Glass'', along with the single "

Glass Bead Glass bead making has long traditions, with the oldest known beads dating over 3,000 years. Glass beads have been dated back to at least Roman times. Perhaps the earliest glass-like beads were Egyptian faience beads, a form of clay bead with a ...

". The group first live performance took place on 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 ...

's ''

Music Bank Music Bank may refer to: * ''Music Bank'' (TV program), a South Korean music program by KBS **''Music Bank World Tour The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show '' Music Bank'' by the Korean Broa ...

'' on January 16. In September 2016, she released her first solo soundtrack for the South Korean drama ''

Shopping King Louie ''Shopping King Louie'' () is a South Korean drama starring Seo In-guk, Nam Ji-hyun, Yoon Sang-hyun and Im Se-mi. It aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00 ( KST) on MBC from September 21 to November 10, 2016. Synopsis A romantic comedy ...

'', entitled "The Way". In October 2016, the singer stopped activities with the group after being diagnosed with a twist in the sarus muscle. She returned a month after recovering for the Melon Music Awards. In November 2017, she took part in ''

King of Mask Singer ''The King of Mask Singer'' () is a South Korean singing competition program presented by Kim Sung-joo, with introductions by voice actor . It airs on MBC on Sunday, starting from April 5, 2015 as a part of MBC's '' Sunday Night'' programming ...

'', participating in two rounds until she was eliminated by Sunwoo Jung-a. In 2018, along with member Sanha from the boys band

Astro Astro may refer to: Entertainment and media * Astro (South Korean band), a South Korean boy band * Astro (UB40) (1957–2021), member of the British reggae band UB40 * Astro (Chilean band), a Chilean indie rock band * Astro (Japanese band), ...

, the singer was chosen to host a

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

for the youth audience entitled ''

Yogobara ''Yogobara'' (; acronym in Korean for 요즘 고딩들의 바깥 라이프; lit. ''Social Life of High Schoolers Nowadays'') was a South Korean television program which aired on SBS MTV every Sunday at 10:30 ( KST). It was also simulcasted throu ...

''. In March 2020, the singer released her second soundtrack for the South Korean drama ''Welcome'' called "Welcome". In April 2020, she replaced her fellow group member Eunha as a new DJ for Naver Now "Avenger Girls". In October 2020, Umji appeared with Eunha on the show ''

Knowing Bros ''Knowing Bros'' (), also known as ''Men on a Mission'' or ''Ask Us Anything'', is a South Korean television entertainment program produced by SM C&C that premiered on December 5, 2015, and currently airs on Saturdays at JTBC. Although the sho ...

'' and showcased a tip of the single " Mago" from GFriend's studio album 回:''Walpurgis Night'' released two weeks later on November 9. On October 6, 2021, it was announced that Umji, along with former GFriend members, Eunha and

, have signed a contract with

BPM Entertainment BPM Entertainment (), also known as Big Planet Made, is a South Korean entertainment company established in 2021. The company is best known as the home to the trio Viviz, solo artists Soyou, Huh Gak, Ha Sung-woon, Lee Mu-jin, Be'O, Mighty Mouth ...

to debut as a trio. On October 8, 2021, it was announced their new group name would be

. Viviz debuted on February 9, 2022, with the extended play '' Beam of Prism''.

Discography

Soundtrack appearances

Composition credits

All song credits are adapted from the

Korea Music Copyright Association The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it i ...

's database unless stated otherwise.

Filmography

Radio show

References

External links

* {{Authority control Living people 1998 births People from Incheon K-pop singers School of Performing Arts Seoul alumni South Korean women pop singers South Korean female idols 21st-century South Korean singers 21st-century South Korean women singers South Korean television personalities GFriend members Viviz members BPM Entertainment artists Hybe Corporation artists