Jung Yong-hwa (정용화)

The “Emotional” leader of the rock band CNBLUE (an acronym for “Code Name: Burning, Lovely, Untouchable, Emotional”), k-drama actor Jung Yong-hwa is also a respected singer-songwriter with a big heart.

Photo from HanCinema

Birthday: June 22, 1989 Instagram: @jyheffect0622

But before CNBLUE introduced its music to South Korea, Jung debuted as an actor, starring as a bassist in the SBS romance dramedy You’re Beautiful (2009). He also got a band member role in the MBC youth melo Heartstrings (2011), and this time, he won an APAN Hallyu Star Award. His popularity further soared in Japan with the help of both Park Shin-hye k-dramas.

He surprisingly declined the SBS teen series The Heirs (2013) despite knowing Kim Eun-sook’s drama would be a huge hit and finding the role of Choi Young-do (later made iconic by Kim Woo-bin) fascinating. His decision turned out to be not surprising at all as he explained that the audience might be bored of him in a third pairing with Park Shin-hye. He instead starred as a camera operator in disguise in the KBS2 time-travel romance Marry Him If You Dare (2013) with Yoon Eun-hye.

He wowed critics and Chinese fans as an aspiring soldier in the tvN sageuk (historical show) The Three Musketeers (2014). In 2017, he took on the role of a Michelin-starred chef in the Chinese culinary film Cook Up a Storm and a broken-hearted man in the JTBC travel romance The Package. Post-military service, he portrayed a con-artist who teams up with Jang Na-ra’s character in the KBS2 supernatural drama Sell Your Haunted House (2021). He recently starred with Cha Tae-hyun in the science-themed comedy series Brain Works (2023).

Beyond acting and band activities, he was part the variety show We Got Married with Seohyun of Girls’ Generation (2010-11), an Inkigayo co-host (2010-11), and a K-Trot in Town co-emcee (2020). He wrote and sang the hit track “Because I Miss You” for Heartstrings and incorporated diverse styles in his 2015 debut solo studio album One Fine Day, topping both the Billboard World Album and the Gaon Charts (now Circle Chart). Fresh from his Taipei and Seoul concerts, he will tour Hong Kong and Bangkok for his solo concert 2023 JUNG YONG HWA LIVE 'ALL ROUNDER' ASIA TOUR.

Aside from CNBLUE’s group donations, he has personally contributed to persons with disabilities, forest fire victims, and other causes.