The coming 24 March, to the Korean pop industry, will be remembered as a "happy day", beacuse there's an idol group - with no change of member through the years - who will be celebrating their 10th anniversary on that day.
As an idol group, while they enjoy massive popularity with the masses, becoming a long-running group is extremely difficult as well. Most idol groups that were popular with fans and media in the late 90s have either undergone changes in member lineup or have already disbanded.
But there is one group that has bucked the trend - Eric, Shin Hyesung, Lee Minwoo, Kim Dongwan, Junjin and Andy - they are Shinhwa.
Having made their debut on 24 March 1998 on KMTV's "Show! Music Tank", Shinhwa has gone through failures, setbacks and success in the past 10 years. The members have already reached their 30s unknowingly. Let's take a walk down memory lane, and share the past 10 years with Shinhwa who has been through tears and laughter with the Shinhwa Changjo fanclub.
▶Shinhwa, a successful but difficult 10-year period
The 1979-ers - Eric (Mun Jung Hyuk), Shin Hyesung (Jung Pilkyo), Kim Dongwan, Lee Minwoo - together with 1980-born Junjin (Park Choongjae) and 1981-born Andy (Lee Seon Ho) are the members who form Shinhwa. In 1998, they belonged under SM Entertainment, who also managed H.O.T, Sechskies and other popular idol groups. They took their first step into the gayo world at a time when these groups had already a huge headstart in the music scene.
At the same time, Shinhwa realised that the gayo world was not a place where they could do as they pleased. They were given a harsh dose of reality when their first album, which included songs like Hae Gyul Sah and Eusha Eusha (songs that they still perform at their concerts), did not do as well as expected.
But Shinhwa members persevered. After the failure of the first album, they told themselves, "If the 2nd album fails too, we'll quit the business". Bearing that in mind, they put in even more effort into vocal and dance practice, and it paid off well. The main track from their 2nd album T.O.P was a hit, and they rose up the ranks to become the next idol group to watch out for.
However, the 3rd album in 2000, the 4th album in 2001, the 5th and 6th albums in 2003 - which churned out hits like "Hey Come On", "Perfect Man", "Wedding" - still didn't launch them into idol group superstardom to become the No. 1 idol group, as they still had groups like H.O.T and G.O.D to contend with.
Through their solo activities, Eric and Dongwan gained recognition as actors, while Junjin, Minwoo, Hyesung, Andy proved themselves as multi-entertainers on different variety shows. After they've all gained more popularity for themselves, they released their 7th album in the summer of 2004, and finally reached the summit of the gayo world.
"Brand New", "Shooting Star", "Oh!", "Angel", "Crazy" from the 7th album all became hits, and with that Shinhwa won the Daesang at the 2004 SBS Gayo Awards - the unforgettable and emotional moment when they hugged in tears, holding the precious award.
After this, members Eric, Dongwan, Minwoo, Junjin and Andy delved further into the world of acting, as well as musicals, while Hyesung, Dongwan, Minwoo, Junjin and Andy went on to release their solo albums, in their own preferred musical styles and genres. As solo artists they continued to enjoy popularity in their own right.
Shinhwa continues to dominate the gayo world with the strategy of "independent yet united", which has proven to be more effective and efficient than any other group. The power of each individual member, together with the combined strength of the Shinhwa group, seems to produce the effect of "1+1>2", and with that they are recognized as representatives of the Hallyu wave.
In the midst of their rising popularity, each member has had his fair share of scandals with other female celebrities, and there were also times when the members have also had to make public apologies on their official fansite. But whenever they meet with situations like this, Shinhwa would always stand up after the fall. The strong bonds of friendship among the 6 Shinhwa members play a very large part in this.
Just like what the members have said before, "Being guys we had our share of fights when we were younger, but we'd resolve it soon after. But it's because of things like this that we've become as close as brothers. The members exist only because Shinhwa exists. To each other, we can't exist separately."
▶The Story of Shinhwa continues
As an idol group, while they enjoy massive popularity with the masses, becoming a long-running group is extremely difficult as well. Most idol groups that were popular with fans and media in the late 90s have either undergone changes in member lineup or have already disbanded.
But there is one group that has bucked the trend - Eric, Shin Hyesung, Lee Minwoo, Kim Dongwan, Junjin and Andy - they are Shinhwa.
Having made their debut on 24 March 1998 on KMTV's "Show! Music Tank", Shinhwa has gone through failures, setbacks and success in the past 10 years. The members have already reached their 30s unknowingly. Let's take a walk down memory lane, and share the past 10 years with Shinhwa who has been through tears and laughter with the Shinhwa Changjo fanclub.
▶Shinhwa, a successful but difficult 10-year period
The 1979-ers - Eric (Mun Jung Hyuk), Shin Hyesung (Jung Pilkyo), Kim Dongwan, Lee Minwoo - together with 1980-born Junjin (Park Choongjae) and 1981-born Andy (Lee Seon Ho) are the members who form Shinhwa. In 1998, they belonged under SM Entertainment, who also managed H.O.T, Sechskies and other popular idol groups. They took their first step into the gayo world at a time when these groups had already a huge headstart in the music scene.
At the same time, Shinhwa realised that the gayo world was not a place where they could do as they pleased. They were given a harsh dose of reality when their first album, which included songs like Hae Gyul Sah and Eusha Eusha (songs that they still perform at their concerts), did not do as well as expected.
But Shinhwa members persevered. After the failure of the first album, they told themselves, "If the 2nd album fails too, we'll quit the business". Bearing that in mind, they put in even more effort into vocal and dance practice, and it paid off well. The main track from their 2nd album T.O.P was a hit, and they rose up the ranks to become the next idol group to watch out for.
However, the 3rd album in 2000, the 4th album in 2001, the 5th and 6th albums in 2003 - which churned out hits like "Hey Come On", "Perfect Man", "Wedding" - still didn't launch them into idol group superstardom to become the No. 1 idol group, as they still had groups like H.O.T and G.O.D to contend with.
Through their solo activities, Eric and Dongwan gained recognition as actors, while Junjin, Minwoo, Hyesung, Andy proved themselves as multi-entertainers on different variety shows. After they've all gained more popularity for themselves, they released their 7th album in the summer of 2004, and finally reached the summit of the gayo world.
"Brand New", "Shooting Star", "Oh!", "Angel", "Crazy" from the 7th album all became hits, and with that Shinhwa won the Daesang at the 2004 SBS Gayo Awards - the unforgettable and emotional moment when they hugged in tears, holding the precious award.
After this, members Eric, Dongwan, Minwoo, Junjin and Andy delved further into the world of acting, as well as musicals, while Hyesung, Dongwan, Minwoo, Junjin and Andy went on to release their solo albums, in their own preferred musical styles and genres. As solo artists they continued to enjoy popularity in their own right.
Shinhwa continues to dominate the gayo world with the strategy of "independent yet united", which has proven to be more effective and efficient than any other group. The power of each individual member, together with the combined strength of the Shinhwa group, seems to produce the effect of "1+1>2", and with that they are recognized as representatives of the Hallyu wave.
In the midst of their rising popularity, each member has had his fair share of scandals with other female celebrities, and there were also times when the members have also had to make public apologies on their official fansite. But whenever they meet with situations like this, Shinhwa would always stand up after the fall. The strong bonds of friendship among the 6 Shinhwa members play a very large part in this.
Just like what the members have said before, "Being guys we had our share of fights when we were younger, but we'd resolve it soon after. But it's because of things like this that we've become as close as brothers. The members exist only because Shinhwa exists. To each other, we can't exist separately."
▶The Story of Shinhwa continues
Starting from this year, members are all due to enlist into the army one after another (Eric and Dongwan being first on the list), and it will be difficult to see all 6 members altogether in the near future.
But whenever they have the chance to do so, Shinhwa members will always emphasize that "Shinhwa is forever". Fans have also held on to this belief for the past 10 years.
In the past 10 years, Shinhwa members have expanded their fanbase, through their appearances in dramas, movies, variety shows, and through that they have shown their personable charm and charisma in every way.
Shinhwa is no longer just an idol group now, they've been recognized as the "national idol group". As a result, the members are able to stay active not only in the gayo world, but in other fields as well. This will definitely help Shinhwa to become even longer-running than they are now.
To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Shinhwa will be releasing their 9th album, and also at the same time, hold a large-scale concert, to thank the fans for their love and support for the past 10 years.
The 22,000 tickets for the 10th anniversary concert were all sold out within one hour from the start of the presale.
Source: starnews&oceans
Chi trans: jojoyu7@shinhwachina
Eng trans: midnightgirl13@shinhwabiz
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