Kang Jun-kyu (; born August 9, 1993), better known by his stage name Jun.Q (), is a South Korean rapper, singer, actor, and model. Signed to H2 Media, he made his debut with

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...

quintet

Myname Myname (; stylized as MYNAME) is a South Korean boy group created by Fly to the Sky's Hwanhee under H2 Media. The group is composed of five members: Gunwoo, Insoo, Seyong, Jun.Q, and Chaejin. The group debuted on October 27, 2011 with their ...

in 2011. His acting debut took place two years later in the film ''Shinokubo Story'' along with his bandmates. He appeared on the web series ''beautiology101'' in his home country and starred in the film ''Saihate Restaurant'' in Japan. He released his debut solo single "Firenze" in November 2019.

Life and career

1993–2010: Early life and career beginnings

Jun.Q was born Kang Jun-kyu on August 9, 1993, in

Uijeongbu Uijeongbu (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It is the tenth-most populous city in the province and a suburb of Seoul within the greater Seoul Metropolitan Area. History Uijeongbu was estab ...

, the younger of two children and first son to his parents. As a middle school student, he played the guitar in his school band. He was encouraged by his

homeroom A homeroom, tutor group, form class, or form is a brief administrative period that occurs in a classroom assigned to a student in primary school and in secondary school. Within a homeroom period or classroom, administrative documents are distri ...

teacher to pursue a career as a singer and Jun.Q persuaded his parents to enroll him into a performance

hagwon (; ) is a Korean term for a for-profit private educational institution. They are commonly likened to cram schools. Some consider ''hagwons'' as private language centers or academies operated like businesses apart from the South Korean public sch ...

. He moved to the

Guro District Guro District () is one of the List of districts of Seoul, 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea, which was separated from Yeongdeungpo District on April 1, 1980. Located in the southwestern part of the city, where besides Yangcheon District and ...

upon entering high school and lived alone. During his first year as a high school student, he was a model for school science and social studies textbooks. Due to the strain of being a student and trainee, Jun.Q briefly cut off communication with his agency. After hearing trainee stories of his friends, he decided to apologize to the CEO and returned to the company. He graduated from the

School of Performing Arts Seoul School of Performing Arts Seoul (SOPA; / ) is an arts high school located in Gung-dong, Guro District, in Seoul, South Korea. History SOPA was founded on March 6, 1966 as Jeonghui High School (). On February 28, 2002, Park Jae-ryeon was app ...

in 2012.

2011–present: Music and acting career

Jun.Q debuted as a rapper in the idol group

in 2011. The group released its debut single "

Message A message is a unit of communication that conveys information from a sender to a receiver. It can be transmitted through various forms, such as spoken or written words, signals, or electronic data, and can range from simple instructions to co ...

" on October 28. After learning of his debut as a singer, the publisher of the school textbooks sought to renew their contract with Jun.Q; they received a conditional agreement from H2 Media to publish photography taken by the company. A Japanese-language version of Myname's debut song was released the following July, which served as their introductory single in the country. The group was simultaneously active in the music industry of both countries. Having expressed interest in acting in 2012, he starred in the film ''Shinokubo Story'' (2013) along with

, where he played one of five characters seeking to become "stars". Beginning in 2015, Myname's promotional activities in South Korea waned. Jun.Q went on to compete on the survival competition series '' The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project'' along with bandmates Seyong, Chaejin, and Gunwoo. It was their first domestic promotional activities in two years. The participants competed to become a member of the all-male unit UNB. Jun.Q was eliminated and was listed at number 24 on the program's rankings. He was cast on OnStyle's web drama ''beautiology101'' (2016) as Du Yi. The series centers around

cosmetics Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...

and takes place at the fictional K-Beauty School. He also played the role of Eiji in the 2016 Japanese drama '' Kyabasuka Gakuen''. He starred in the film ''Saihate Restaurant'' (2019) alongside

Ryouta Murai is a Japanese actor best known for his roles as Kojirō in '' Fūma no Kojirō'', Kazuya Suzuki in '' Kamen Rider Den-O & Kiva: Climax Deka'', Takuya Yano in '' Osananajimi'' and Yusuke Onodera in ''Kamen Rider Decade''. Filmography TV seri ...

. He released his debut solo single "Firenze" on November 8, 2019. Jun.Q enlisted in

mandatory military service Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

on June 22, 2020. He received military training at the

Korea Army Training Center The Korea Army Training Center (abbreviated KATC; ) is a South Korean military training institution for the Republic of Korea Army basic training. It is also commonly known as Nonsan Training Center or Yeonmudae. It is one of the subordinate e ...

Nonsan Nonsan (; ) is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It is located at . The origin of Nonsan's geographical names is said to have come from the small garden " Nolmoe, " which rises in the middle of farming fields, where rice paddie ...

South Chungcheong Province South Chungcheong Province (), informally called Chungnam, is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, province of South Korea in the Hoseo region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. South Chungcheong borders the provinces of Gyeonggi to ...

. On August 22, 2023, it was announced that he has signed a contract with YY Entertainment.

Musical style

Jun.Q has cited

Dynamic Duo Dynamic duo may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Dúo Dinámico (Spanish for Dynamic Duo), a Spanish musical duo formed in 1958 and one of the main precursors of pop music in Spain *Dynamic Duo (South Korean duo) Dynamic Duo (; ...

and

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

as his role models.

Discography

Singles

Filmography

Television series

Films

Web/BL Series

References

{{The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project 1993 births 21st-century South Korean male actors 21st-century South Korean rappers Japanese-language singers of South Korea K-pop singers Living people People from Uijeongbu Male actors from Gyeonggi Province Singers from Gyeonggi Province Myname members School of Performing Arts Seoul alumni South Korean contemporary R&B singers South Korean dance musicians South Korean J-pop singers South Korean male rappers South Korean male film actors South Korean male idols South Korean male models South Korean male television actors South Korean male pop singers The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project contestants