Yong Jun-hyung


Yong Jun-hyung, commonly known as Junhyung, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor. He was a member of the K-pop boy band Highlight from 2009 until 2019, when he departed the group after admitting to viewing illicit videos. The police have stated that he is only being considered a witness at this point in time in the Burning Sun scandal.
As a solo artist he released one extended play, Flower, and one full-length album, Goodbye 20's. His also starred in the Korean dramas Monstar and Coffee, Do Me a Favor .

Early life

Junhyung was born in Seoul, South Korea. He changed his birth name Yong Jae-soon to his current name when he was in 6th grade. In 2007, he joined the boy band Xing, which included Kevin Woo, a now-former member of U-KISS. Junhyung was known by the stage name Poppin' Dragon while in Xing.

Career

Beast/Highlight

Junhyung debuted under Cube Entertainment as a member of the boy band Beast in 2009. The group released their first extended play Beast Is the B2ST on October 14, 2009. The group released a total of eight extended plays and three studio albums.
In 2016, Beast left Cube Entertainment, and formed their own label, Around Us Entertainment. The group debuted under the new name of Highlight. As Highlight, they released two extended plays.

Solo activities

In 2010, Junhyung was featured as a rapper in songs by other artists, including Hyuna's debut single "Change," the Asian remix of Amerie's "Heard 'em All," and G.NA's single "I'll Back Off So You Can Live Better." In 2011, Junhyung was featured on the songs "Heartsore Story" by Wheesung, "A Bitter Day" by Hyuna, "Be Quiet" by Kim Wan-sun, and "Don't Act Countrified" by ALi.
Junhyung released his first solo single, "Living Without You," on February 3, 2012. The song reached #8 on the Gaon Digital Chart. That summer, he made a cameo appearance on the sitcom Salamander Guru and The Shadows. Later that year, Junhyung produced fellow Beast member Yang Yo-seob's debut solo EP, The First Collage, and was featured on the lead single, "Caffeine."
In February 2013, Junhyung released the single "You Got Some Nerve" with LE of EXID and Feeldog of Big Star. The song reached #13 on the Gaon Digital Chart. Starting in May, Junhyung starred in the Korean drama Monstar, alongside Ha Yeon-soo and Kang Ha-neul. The series aired on Mnet and wrapped up in August. Junhyung won Best New Actor at the 2013 Korean Drama Awards for his depiction of a teen idol in the series.
Junhyung released his debut solo EP, Flower, on December 13, 2013. The EP debuted at #4 on the Gaon Album Chart, and the title track "Flower" peaked at #23 on the Gaon Digital Chart.
In 2015, Junhyung starred in the Cube Entertainment online reality series, Yong Jun-hyung's Good Life, alongside his songwriting and music production partner Kim Tae-joo. From 2016 to 2017, he co-hosted the third season of the variety show Hitmaker alongside comedian Jeong Hyeong-don. In 2017, Junhyung was also a cast member on the first season of the variety show It's Dangerous Beyond the Blankets. He returned to the show for the second season in 2018.
Junhyung released his first solo full-length album, Goodbye 20's, on May 9, 2018. The album debuted at #2 on the Gaon Album Chart. That year, he also starred in the Korean drama, Coffee, Do Me a Favor, which is based on the webtoon of the same name.

Departure

On March 11, 2019, Jun-hyung was accused of being a part of the group chatroom with Jung Joon-young where Jung shared hidden camera footage and sexually explicit images. On March 12, it was revealed that Jun-hyung's part in the group chat was actually edited in, and it has been confirmed that Jung and Jun-hyung had a one-on-one chat room with each other, but Jun-hyung was not a part of the group chatroom where the hidden camera footage and photos were shared. On March 14, Jun-hyung announced he was leaving Highlight, after he admitted to watching illegal videos sent to him by Jung, who is under investigation for secretly filming women during sex; a part of the Burning Sun scandal. The police stated that he is being considered only as a witness at this point in time.
On April 2, Around Us Entertainment announced Jun's military enlistment through an official statement.

Discography

Reality shows

Variety shows

Dramas

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryRecipientResultRef.
20137th Mnet 20's Choice Awards20's Hot Cover Music – "Past Days"Monstar
20137th Mnet 20's Choice Awards20's Booming Star – MaleMonstar
20136th Korea Drama AwardsBest Couple Award with Ha Yeon-sooMonstar
20136th Korea Drama AwardsBest New ActorMonstar
2018MBC Plus X Genie Music AwardsArtist of the Year
2018MBC Plus X Genie Music AwardsSong of the Year"Sudden Shower"
2018MBC Plus X Genie Music AwardsMale Artist Award
2018MBC Plus X Genie Music AwardsRap/Hip Hop Music Award"Sudden Shower"
2018MBC Plus X Genie Music AwardsGenie Music Popularity Awardrowspan="2"
2018Melon Music AwardsTop 10 -
2018Melon Music AwardsBest Ballad Track Award"Sudden Shower"
2018Korea Popular Music AwardsBest Digital Song"Sudden Shower"
2018Korea Popular Music AwardsBest Artistrowspan="5"
2018Korea Popular Music AwardsPopularity Award-
2018Seoul Music AwardsBonsang-
2018Seoul Music AwardsPopularity Award-
2018Seoul Music AwardsK-wave Popularity Award-
2018Golden Disc AwardsBonsang "Sudden Shower"
2018Gaon Chart Music AwardsSong of the Year "Sudden Shower"