Jung Eun-ji is a well-known singer, songwriter, and actress from South Korea. She is the lead vocalist for ‘Apink’, a girl band. She starred as one of the leads in the 2012 hit drama ‘Reply 1997.’ Since then, she has appeared in three films: ‘That Winter, the Wind Blows’, ‘Cheer Up!’, and ‘Trot Lovers’. She has sung numerous tracks both solo and with Apink and has amassed a sizable fan base since the band’s 2011 debut. Her most popular singles, including ‘Hopefully Sky,’ ‘The Space,’ and ‘The Spring,’ were smash hits that spent weeks in the local top ten. Numerous songs have been written by the multi-talented singer-songwriter. In April 2016, she self-released her debut album as a solo artist, titled ‘Dream’. Her duet with her ‘Reply 1997’ co-star Seo In-guk, ‘All for You,’ was an origin soundtrack and peaked at the top of the charts in 2012. Eun-ji is renowned for her extraordinary vocal range and endearing personality.
Childhood & Adolescence
Jung Eun-ji was born in Busan, South Korea, on August 18, 1993. Jung Hye-rim was her given name. Her father, Jung Won-gil, is believed to be working in another country. Kim Mi-jung is her mother’s name. Jung Min-ki is Eun-younger ji’s brother.
Eun-ji attended Hapdo Elementary School and Shinjae Elementary School. She later attended Jaesong Girls Middle School and Hyehwa Girls High School, where she graduated.
Jung initially desired a career as a detective or a vocal trainer before deciding to pursue a singing career.
Career of Jung
Jung began her career at the age of 11 when she won first place in the KBS Network’s ‘Exciting Day, Enjoyable Day’ contest. She later qualified for the ‘Apink’ auditions in 2010.
In 2011, she was announced as Apink’s fourth member and lead singer via a cover video of ‘Love You I Do’. She later became a member of the group for training and Apink News prior to their 2011 debut. Jung performed two songs on the band’s M Countdown debut, titled ‘Wishlist’ and ‘Mollayo’.
The following year, she concentrated on releasing several singles, collaborating with K-pop luminaries such as Yang Yo-seb and Seo In-guk. In 2012, Jung made her acting debut, starring in the first season of the wildly popular ‘Reply’ series.
Jung starred as one of the central characters in ‘Reply 1997,’ a dramedy that explored two parallel timelines for the same characters. It became the network’s highest-rated series and was praised by critics for perfectly recreating the atmosphere of the 1990s. Jung portrayed an 18-year-old diehard H.O.T fan who later became a television drama writer.
She also appeared in the stage production of ‘Legally Blonde,’ portraying Elle Woods. From November 2012 to March 2013, the play ran for five months.
In 2013, she performed the duet ‘Short hair’ with Huh Gak, and in 2014, she performed ‘Break Up to Make Up’. Her first solo track, titled ‘It’s You,’ was for the original soundtrack of ‘Three Days. Jung was cast as a supporting character in the 2013 melodrama ‘That Winter, the Wind Blows.’ She also provided the voice of ‘Shiny’ in the 2013 animated film Saving Santa’s Korean adaptation.
In 2014, she starred in the musical ‘Full House,’ a stage adaptation of the popular television series. Subsequently, she starred as the lead in the film ‘Trot Lovers,’ in which she assumed the role of a struggling trot singer.
In 2015, she portrayed an academically challenged young girl in the high-school drama ‘Cheer Up!,’ also known as ‘Sassy Go-Go.’ The 12-episode series emphasized the value of friendship, love, and loyalty.
Jung released her debut album, ‘Dream,’ in August 2016, and it immediately became a hit. Her most popular song, ‘Hopefully Sky,’ was written by her and was inspired by her memories of her father. The album sold 30,000 copies and the songs charted in the top ten of the local music charts.
In April 2017, she released her second mini-album, ‘The Space.’ The album’s lead track, ‘The Spring,’ received positive reviews, as did its music video. After that, Sung was cast in the upcoming drama ‘Untouchable.’
Significant Works of Jung
Jung Eun-ji first came to prominence as Apink’s lead vocalist. The girl group scored several chart-topping singles and amassed a sizable fan base.
Her next significant work was in ‘Reply 1997,’ which launched her to fame. She collaborated with her co-star Seo In-guk on two season-ending OSTs, namely ‘All For You’ and ‘Just the Way We Love’. From 2012 to 2014, she collaborated with a variety of artists on the song series ‘A Cube for Season.’
Jung wrote the lyrics for both of her albums and Apink’s ‘Pink Memory’ single ‘Promise U’. She performed her first solo concert in June 2017 as part of the album promotion.
Jung has appeared in a number of television series, including ‘Flower Crew: Season 1’, ‘Abnormal Summit: Season 1’, ‘Barefooted Friends’, and ‘Running Man’.
Awards and Accomplishments
Jung Eun-ji won the Rising Star Award at the 1st K-Drama Star Awards for her performance in ‘Reply 1997.’
Additionally, she and her co-star Seo In-guk won Best Couple, Best OST, and Top 10 Style Icon Awards in 2012.
She won the Best Performance Award at the 2nd APAN Star Awards for her performance in That Wind the Winter Blows and the SBS Drama Awards for Best New Actress for her role in That Wind the Winter Blows. Eun-ji was also named the 49th Baeksang Arts Awards’ Best New TV Actress in 2013.
In 2014, she was nominated for Best Original Score and won Best Actress for ‘Trot Lovers’ at the 16th Seoul International Youth Film Festival. Trot Lovers won her the KBS Drama Award in the Popularity Award Category.
Jung was nominated for the 18th Mnet Asian Music Awards in four categories: Best Female Artist, Best Vocal Performance, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year, for ‘Hopefully Sky’ from her album ‘Dream. At the 8th Melon Music Awards, she won the Best Ballad Award.
Jung’s Personal Life Eun-ji has generally kept her private life private in order to avoid her personal life stealing the spotlight from her work.
Although she has been linked to a number of her co-stars, she has previously admitted to dating Kim Bum. According to reports, she is currently single.
On the personal front, Eun-ji has frequently expressed her longing for her father, who is frequently away on business. She has frequently pleaded with him to return home.
Their close relationship served as the inspiration for Eun-well-known ji’s song ‘Hopefully Sky’.
Jung Eun-ji was given the nickname ‘Jung Kardashian’ by her Apink bandmate Chorong due to her large hips.
Estimated Net Worth
The net worth of Jung is about $60k.