Kim Dong-jun

Kim Dong-jun (hangul: 김동준; hanja: 金桐俊; born February 11, 1992) is a South Korean singer and actor. He is member of the South Korean boyband ZE:A and its sub-group ZE:A Five and ZE:A J.

Biography

Kim Dong-jun was born in Busan, South Korea on 11 February 1992. His older brother is named Kim DongHyeon. DongHyeon as kid was gentle while it was hard to raise DongJun. He had to change three times a day because he was so active. Although they were not wealthy, his mother bought him branded clothes for his kindergarten. When he attended a sports festival, he slid down the railing of stairs and kept on running, so his clothes were a mess afterwards. His mother remarked that DongJun used to be odd for he is a really active child. DongJun was also mischievous as a child. His mother used to speak in a gentle voice but it got louder and louder because of his reprimands of him as an active child. ^[1]

Regarding the distribution of genes, his father said that although DongJun inherited his mother's features, he inherited the size of his face. His athleticism runs in the family. His mother was a track and field player and his uncle was a basketball player. When DongJun was a child, his mother did not allow him to be a gymnast. So when DongJun was in high school, he played soccer instead. ^[2]

DongJun initially dreamt of becoming a pilot but his dream turned out to become a singer. DongJun was only 17 years old when he debuted under StarEmpire in January 2010 with ZE:A. DongJun trained under the label at a young age and separated from his family in Busan to achieve his dream. Although he displays a strong front as youngest of the group, he always cries when it's about his family. He cried when he got a surprise video from his family, and he also cried when his mother surprised him at a dinner with his groupmates.

He has been praised for his pretty face. 2am Jokwon who confessed that he sees DongJun as rival in terms of prettiness as man. He is known as male Han Ga-In. As such, he did Han Ga-In cosplays which gained attention and laughter from fans.

Standing 5'9", he is relatively not that gifted in the height department. His mother commented that he is small compared to others. Although such is the case, Dongjun just humors off his height issue. He even humored that he won't be interviewing anybody who's taller than him.

Despite his height, Dongjun remains to be an ace in almost every physical activity that he has ever done. He is dubbed as one of the aces of Dream Team. On Cool Kiz on the Block, he surprised badminton club members of his above average skill that was done only by a 7-day practice. In the Kpop Industry, he is known as a dark horse in terms of his athletic abilities.

DongJun has a strong proclivity towards winning. He is very competitive and does not take losing that easily. His motto has always been: "Impossible is nothing" which reflects his mantra in life to keep on breaking his own limits.

Dongjun has taken on the leading role in “Climbing the Sky Wall” (working title), a special short drama created to help raise awareness for disabled people. He sang the title OST track, “Hold My Hand,” and will be donating all the proceedings earned through its sales to The Practice of Disabled People First Movement Headquarters. The Production team remarked: “We found an actor with a friendly impression that would be able to portray the role of Tae Ho, who is rebellious, but also good-natured at heart. Climbing is not an easy sport, but he worked hard without any sign of fatigue.”

In an interview with KBS2 'Lee So Ra's Music Plaza', he was asked to share his obsession with tiger prints and he admitted that his obsession was a bit too much. He was praised for having a very pretty appearance including his resemblance to Han Ga In. However, he pointed out that his pretty face does not match his personality at all which pushed him to start exercising.

Dongjun was appointed as the torch bearers on behalf of the '17th Asian Incheon Games 2014' ('2014 Incheon Asian Games') He is nicknamed as an 'athletic-idol' so AIG thought he was the most suitable person to be 'Tissot's representative torch relay bearer for the 'Asian Games'." Dongjun ran an estimated 277m around Bupyeonggu, Incheon on the 19th of September, 2014.

Career

ZE:A

Dongjun entered a nine-membered group called "Children of Empire". In 2009, they started in Mnet "Children of Empire" and "Children of Empire Returns", where they tour the country doing guerilla performances.^[3] Later the group faced controversy in December following the similarities of the group's name to Brown Eyed Girls' Jea. The group later changed the pronunciation of the name to avoid implications.^[4] On January 7, 2010, the group debuted with their EP, Nativity under the name ZE:A.^[5]

ZE:A J solo project has released solo track for Kevin, Heechul and Dongjun. Dongjun was the last member to release solo track "Healing" on May 3. The track was composed and written by himself.^[6][7]

Other activities

Kim Dong-jun made many appearances in Let's Go Dream Team Season 2 as a Dream Team member.

Kim Dong-jun won 2 gold medals in the Idol Athletes Chuseok Special on August 27, 2011 in Men's 100 meter and 110 meter Hurdles against other idols.

During his appearances on Dream Team 2, ZE:A Member KwangHee also joined the variety life to gain popularity to ZE:A.

Discography

Filmography

Films

Dramas

Variety shows

Musical

Awards

Annual Daegu International Musical Festival

References