Park Sun-young, known professionally as Hyomin, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actress. She is a member of South Korean girl group T-ara. Apart from her group's activities, Hyomin has also starred in various television dramas such as My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox, Gye Baek, The Thousandth Man, and in various films such as Gisaeng Ryung and Jinx!!!. She debuted as a solo artist with her debut EP, Make Up, on June 30, 2014.
Career
1989–2011: Early life and career beginnings
Hyomin was born Park Sun-young on May 30, 1989, in Busan, South Korea, and is the only child in her family. In 1997, Hyomin's path to stardom started early when she won the MiMi Princess modeling contest at the age of 8. She was a famous internet ulzzang and even modeled for online shopping malls before debuting with T-ara. She was a trainee under JYP Entertainment and was considered to be a replacement for Hyuna, who was a member of the Wonder Girls in 2007. Before being cast by Core Contents Media, she started appearing in music videos, such as SS501's "Unlock", SG Wannabe's "Smooth Break-Up" and FT Island's "Heaven". She was chosen by Core Contents Media to be featured in some of her labelmates' songs prior to her debut. This included Hwang Jung-eum, the Colour Pink project with Seeya, Davichi and Black Pearl. She has also performed on a music show with Seeya during their promotions for the song "Hot Girl". Hyomin debuted in 2009 as a member of T-ara. The group made their debut stage on July 30 on the music program M Countdown with their single "Lie". Hyomin was a fixed cast member of KBS' variety show, Invincible Youth from October 23, 2009 to December 24, 2010. In November 2009, Hyomin was cast in the musical production of I Really Really Like You, an adaption of the hit drama Love Truly. Fellow member Jeon Bo-ram was cast in the same musical in December 2010 alongside her father Jeon Young-rok. In 2010, Hyomin was in the Wonder Women project group with label mates Seeya and Davichi, along with fellow member Hahm Eun-jung. She was featured on the soundtrack for SBS's drama Coffee House in 2010 and also collaborated with Brave Brothers for their digital single "Beautiful Girl" in 2011. She starred in the drama My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox as Ban Sun-nyeo from August 11 to September 30, 2010. On June 14, 2011, Core Contents Media announced that Hyomin would take over leadership as T-ara's third leader for their comeback album, John Travolta Wannabe, and Japanese promotions. She later passed on her leadership to fellow member, Park So-yeon. Hyomin made her big screen debut in the horror film Gisaeng Ryung, which was released on August 4, 2011.
In 2012, Hyomin was cast in the musical "Our Youth Roly-Poly" along with group members Park Ji-yeon and Park So-yeon. Hyomin was also cast in the Chinese version of We Got Married, in which her partner is Fu Xinbo, a Chinese idol. On June 14, 2012 it was confirmed that Hyomin was cast in a supporting role in the MBC's fantasy sitcom The Thousandth Man. On February 10, 2013, Hyomin was cast in a lead role in the Japanese film Jinx!!!, starring Kento Yamazaki and Kurumi Shimizu. In April 2013, Hyomin along with T-ara member Hahm Eun-jung, Park Ji-yeon and former member Areum formed a subgroup called T-ara N4, releasing their first mini-album titled Jeon Won Diary.
On June 30, 2014, Hyomin released her first solo extended play Make Up with lead single "Nice Body". She made her official debuted stage on July 3 on Mnet's M! Countdown. Hyomin released another single titled "Fake It" on July 20. On March 14, 2016, Hyomin pre-released single Still. Her second extended play Sketch with double title tracks "Sketch" and "Gold" was released on March 17, 2016. In January 2018, Hyomin left MBK Entertainment after her contract ended. Her intention is to continue promoting with T-ara in the future. In May 2018, Hyomin joined Sublime Artist Agency to pursue her solo career in South Korea and China. On August 7, 2018, it was reported that Hyomin was aiming for a mid-September solo comeback with R&B Pop, working with producers from EXO's Ko Ko Bop, Twice's Dance The Night Away and more. On September 12, 2018, Hyomin released a digital single titled "Mango", followed by a showcase. On January 20, 2019, Hyomin released her second digital single titled "U Um U Um" ahead of her 3rd mini album expected to be released in mid-February. On February 20, 2019, Hyomin released her third mini album Allure. The album's title track is also called "Allure ".
Other work
Fashion design
During T-ara's "Roly-Poly" promotions in June 2011, Hyomin designed her own stage costume, which flaunted a retro pattern and short shorts that were popular during the period. Hyomin launched an exclusive clothing collection, in collaboration with celebrity stylist Kim Sung-il, for G-Market on June 4, 2012. Hyomin has come up with a total of 150 products for the collection, and has been actively involved with the planning, designing, and product launch preparations for the shop. In 2016, Hyomin also became the face of Brave Brothers's brand new makeup brand, "Brave i" and filmed a commercial film.
Cosmetic design
In 2019, Hyomin has collaborated with VT Cosmetics and KODI to launch a new cosmetic brand named "MINITT" on February 25, 2019. Hyomin directly participated in the planning, designing and development process. The brand's name "MINITT" is a combination of Hyomin's "MIN" and "MINUTE", which means "fall into the charms of MINITT at the moment". The brand's slogan is "Draw your color, Draw your MINITT".
