Lee Hong-bin (; born September 29, 1993), also known by the mononym Hongbin, is a South Korean singer, actor, entertainer and streamer formerly signed under

Jellyfish Entertainment Jellyfish Entertainment (), is a South Korean entertainment company established by composer and producer Hwang Se-jun in Seoul, South Korea. Jellyfish Entertainment is the home of artists including Jang Hye-jin, VIXX, Verivery and formerly g ...

. He debuted as a member of the South Korean

boy group A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Man ...

VIXX VIXX ( ko, 빅스 pronounced "vicks"; acronym for "voice, visual, value in excelsis") is a South Korean boy band formed by Jellyfish Entertainment through the 2012 reality show ''MyDOL''. Originally a sextet, the group is presently composed of f ...

in May 2012, and began his acting career in 2014 in SBS' romantic drama '' Glorious Day'' as Yoo Ji-ho. He has since had a leading role 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 ...

's fantasy action-romance '' Moorim School: Saga of the Brave'' (2016) as Wang Chi-ang. In 2017, Hongbin played Yoon Jae-won in the ''

SBS Plus SBS Plus is a 24-hour drama and entertainment television channel in South Korea. Programs * I Order You * Girls' Love Story * Slimmy Lunch Box * Among Chefs * Janghodaegyeol Joonghwadaebanjeom (강호대결 중화대반점) * Stargram * Son ...

'' rom-com mini-drama '' Wednesday 3:30 PM''. He officially left VIXX in August 2020.

Early life

Hongbin was born and raised in

Jayang-dong Jayang-dong is a '' dong'', neighbourhood of Gwangjin-gu in Seoul, South Korea. See also *Administrative divisions of South Korea South Korea is made up of 17 first-tier administrative divisions: 6 metropolitan cities (''gwangyeoksi'' ), ...

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 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. His family consists of himself, his parents and two older sisters. Hongbin studied Musical major at

Dong-ah Broadcasting College Dong-ah Institute of Media and Arts (formerly known as Dong-Ah Broadcasting College) is a technical college in South Korea specialized in training professionals in the fields of media design, production, and communications. The campus is situate ...

. He stayed at a Buddhist temple with his grandmother when he was a child before returning to his parents in

Career

2012-2014: Debut with VIXX and acting debut

Hongbin was one of ten trainees who were contestants in Mnet's survival reality show '' MyDOL'' and was chosen to be a part of the final line-up and the six-member boy group finally debuted with " Super Hero" on May 24, 2012 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. B ...

. During ''MyDOL''; Hongbin was featured in

Brian Joo Brian Joo (Korean name: Joo Min-gyu (); born January 10, 1981), better known professionally as Brian (), is a Korean American singer and one-half of the R&B duo Fly to the Sky. His first solo album, ''The Brian'' was released in December 2006. ...

's "Let This Die" and

Seo In-guk Seo In-guk (; born October 23, 1987) is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He launched his singing career after winning the talent reality show ''Superstar K'' in 2009, and made his acting breakthrough in ''Reply 1997'' (2012). Since ...

's "Tease Me" music video. In 2014, Hongbin was cast in the SBS week drama '' Glorious Day''.

2015–2018: MC-ing and acting career continues

On March 3, 2015, Hongbin joined

T-ara T-ara (; ko, 티아라) are a South Korean girl group formed by MBK Entertainment in 2009, consists of four members: Qri, Eunjung, Hyomin and Jiyeon. T-ara's career is marked by hook-heavy dance-pop music, a result of their close partners ...

's Jiyeon and

Super Junior-M Super Junior-M (stylized as SJ-M), an initialism for Super Junior-Mandarin, is a Chinese sub-unit of the South Korean boy band Super Junior. The sub-unit is the first international music group in the Chinese music industry to have members of bot ...

's Zhou Mi as MC on SBS MTV's '' The Show'' from March 3, 2015 to October 13, 2015. In September 2015, Hongbin was cast in his first lead role as Wang Chi-ang in KBS2's action-romance drama '' Moorim School: Saga of the Brave''. In September 2016, Hongbin was cast alongside fellow VIXX member N and AOA's Chanmi in the web drama ''What's Up With These Kids?'' which was air on Naver TV Cast on November 16. In March 2017, Hongbin was cast in a rom-com mini drama '' Wednesday 3:30 PM'' on

. In 2018, Hongbin was cast as a high school student who was born with hearing impairment in KBS's 10-episode drama ''Shining Sounds'', which was broadcast on National Disabled Persons Day. The same year, he was cast in the romantic comedy drama ''

Witch's Love ''Witch's Love'' () is a 2018 South Korean television series starring Yoon So-hee, Hyun Woo, Lee Hong-bin, Kim Young-ok, and Go Soo-hee. It aired on MBN's Wednesdays and Thursdays at 23:00 ( KST) time slot from July 25 to August 30, 2018. ...

'', and mystery thriller '' The Smile Has Left Your Eyes''.

2019–present: Music career, variety shows, departure from VIXX, streaming

On July 10, 2019, Hongbin and

Monsta X Monsta X (; stylized as MONSTA X) is a South Korean boy group formed through the reality survival program ''No.Mercy'' under Starship Entertainment. The group is currently composed of six members: Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Joohoney ...

's Hyungwon released a collaboration song titled "Cool Love". On August 4, 2019, Hongbin was announced to be one of the cast members on the Mnet reality show Love Catcher 2. It was announced on August 7, 2020, by Jellyfish Entertainment that he decided to leave VIXX due to personal reasons. Upon his return from the military, Hongbin now streams on Twitch full time.

Personal life

Hongbin enlisted in the military in August 2020 and was discharged on February 25, 2022, without returning to active duty in accordance with the Ministry of Defense's COVID-19 Regulations.

Filmography

Television series

Variety show

Discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Hong-bin Jellyfish Entertainment artists VIXX members Japanese-language singers of South Korea South Korean dance music singers South Korean male idols South Korean pop singers South Korean male singers South Korean male television actors People from Seoul Musicians from Seoul Male actors from Seoul 1993 births Living people Dong-ah Institute of Media and Arts alumni 21st-century South Korean singers Singers from Seoul Twitch (service) streamers