Eunhyuk is a songwriter, singer, actor, choreographer, and rapper from South Korea who rose to prominence after winning the Goyang Citywide Dance Competition. As a member of the 12-member band ‘Super Junior,’ he finally made it huge. One of his early achievements was his solo number ‘One Love’ on Super Junior’s concert ‘Super Show.’ He then moved on to perform alongside co-artist Donghae, focusing on writing songs and choreography for Super Junior and other artists. He has starred in several South Korean films, including the box office smashes ‘Super Show 3D’ and ‘SM Town The Stage.’ In addition, he appeared in popular prime-time television series like as ‘Rainbow Romance’ and ‘Dream High.’ He has appeared on a number of Korean variety shows and has hosted and MCed major events such as the ‘SBS Entertainment Awards’ and the ‘Seoul Music Awards.’ With ‘Fame,’ Eunhyuk had his stage debut, and he also appeared on the ‘Super Junior Kiss the Radio’ show. For his role in ‘Strong Heart,’ he received the Best Newcomer Award, as well as the Gaon Weibo Chart Individual Award for his contribution to South Korean show business.
Childhood and Adolescence
On April 4, 1986, Eunhyuk was born Lee Hyuk-jae into a middle-class family in Neunggok, Goyang, Gyeonggi, South Korea. Lee So-ra, his older sister, grew raised with him in Seoul. Early artists like Michael Jackson and Yoo Seung-jun motivated him to begin performing on the street at a young age.
He formed a group called Song Rap and Dance (SRD) with his pals when he was in elementary school, which grew in popularity among the young and was featured in local news. He auditioned for SM Entertainment at the age of 13 but was not selected. He didn’t lose up, though, and auditioned the following year to be chosen as a trainee in singing, dancing, and acting. He also took Mandarin language training to prepare for a career in Chinese show business.
While studying with SM Entertainment, he won the Goyang Citywide Dance Competition in 2000, establishing himself as a potential star of South Korea. Soon after, he began making cameo appearances on shows like ‘Pop against Rock,’ which featured contrasting singing and dance styles.
Career of Eunhyuk
In November 2005, he made his professional debut as part of the 12-member group ‘Super Junior 05’ on the SBS music program ‘Popular Songs.’ Following that, their debut album, ‘Super Junior 05 (Twins),’ debuted at number three on the monthly K-pop album rankings.
Super Junior 05 was renamed simply ‘Super Junior’ after SM Entertainment decided to cease airing further seasons of the show in 2006. Eunhyuk stayed with the group and wrote the majority of their songs, including the lyrics for the smash hit “Show Me Your Love.” On Super Junior’s debut concert, ‘Super Show,’ he also penned and sung the solo number ‘One Love.’
As he acquired experience, he worked as a radio DJ for KBS’s ‘Super Junior’s Kiss The Radio’ show, alongside co-host Leeteuk. He was also the host of the Mnet television channel’s music show ‘M! Countdown.’ In 2009, his single “Rokkugo” and studio album “Sorry Sorry” with Super Junior were both huge hits. Around the same time, he appeared on the variety shows ‘Star King’ and ‘Strong Heart.’ He became a member of the KBS ‘Dream Team’ sports variety program as his popularity soared.
Eunhyuk has dabbled in choreography in addition to singing and dancing. He was the principal choreographer for Super Junior’s fourth album and the follow-up song, “Boom Boom,” which became a social media sensation. He also wrote the majority of the songs, rapped, choreographed, and produced Super Junior’s fifth studio album, ‘Mr Simple,’ which received several honors.
He made his musical theatre debut in late 2011 when he played Tyrone Jackson in the show ‘Fame,’ which ran at the Woori Financial Art Hall from November 2011 to January 2012. He also released the single ‘Oppa Oppa’ on Super Junior’s ‘Super Show 4’ at this time, which reached number two on the Oricon Daily Chart in Japan and sold over 42,114 copies in a week. ‘Sexy, Free & Single,’ their sixth studio album, features Eunhyuk in a lead role with his band mates. He also served as the MC for their live events to promote the album, and he appeared blindfolded in their promotional films.
Eunhyuk took a sabbatical from Super Junior in 2013 to appear on the variety shows “Come to Play” and “Barefooted Friends.” He had to drop out of both programs, however, to join the Super Junior world tour, which included 28 gigs across North and South America, Europe, and Asia.
Despite his hectic schedule, he made time to record his studio album “Ride Me” and the single “I Wanna Dance” with Donghae, which charted at number three in Japan on the Gaon and Oricon charts. In 2013, his follow-up hit, ‘Still You,’ was equally as popular.
The following year, he visited Japan with Donghae and took part in the ‘Beat Burger Project x Eunhyuk’ dance project, which was published as a video choreographed to Yoo Young Jin’s song ‘Mo Jazzy.’ In August 2014, he was also a part of Super Junior’s seventh album, ‘Mamacita,’ which was released online.
In 2015, Eunhyuk continued to play with Donghae, and their Korean album, ‘The Beat Goes On,’ was released. He’s also a key member of Super Junior, where he focuses on songwriting and choreography. He composed the words for the song ‘Alright,’ which appeared on the band’s tenth anniversary album, ‘Devil.’
Major Projects of Eunhyuk
He has written lyrics for Super Junior, TVXQ, Donghae, Siwon, Leeteuk, and Kang Seul-gi, among others. ‘Attack on the Pin-up Boys’ (2007), ‘Super Show 3D’ (2011), ‘SMTOWN Live in Tokyo’ (2012), and ‘SM Town The Stage’ (2013) are among his film credits (2015). ‘Nonstop 6’ (2005), ‘Mnet Super Junior Mini-drama’ (2006), ‘Rainbow Romance’ (2006), and ‘Dream High’ (2006) are some of his television series (2011).
He has appeared in a number of reality shows, including ‘Battle of the Century: Pop vs Rock’ (2002), ‘KM Super Junior Show’ (2005–2006), ‘MBC Every 1 Idol Show’ (2008), ‘KBS2 Let’s Go Dream Team’ (2009–2011), ‘SBS Star King’ (2009–2011), ‘Running Man’ (2012 & 2015), ‘SBS Strong Heart’ (2009–2013), ‘Bare (2017). ‘M! Countdown’ (2007-2008), ‘SBS Entertainment Awards’ (2010), ‘Super Junior’s Foresight’ (2010-2011), ‘Show Champion’ (2012), and ’23rd Seoul Music Awards’ were among the shows he hosted and MC’d (2014).
From November 2011 to January 2012, he had his stage debut in ‘Fame,’ which was performed at the Woori Financial Art Hall. From 2006 until 2011, he was a regular on the ‘Super Junior Kiss the Radio’ show.
Achievements & Awards
In 2009, he won the SBS Entertainment Awards’ Best Newcomer Award for his role in ‘Strong Heart.’
He got the Gaon Weibo Chart Individual Award in 2014.
Personal Experiences of Eunhyuk
In February 2010, he was diagnosed with H1N1 influenza and had to take time off to recover.
From October 2015 to July 2017, Eunhyuk completed his mandatory military service.
Estimated Net Worth
Eunhyuk is one of the wealthiest pop singers and one of the most popular. Eunhyuk’s net worth is estimated to be at $21 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.
Trivia
He was in a car accident in 2007 while returning from a recording session for the radio show “Super Junior Kiss the Radio.” He escaped with minor injuries, thankfully. He sings and plays the piano in addition to singing. He changed his stage name to Eunhyuk, which means Silver, to prevent confusion with the famed comedian Lee Hyeok-jae. BEJEWELED is another name for him.