Han Seung-yeon (born July 24, 1988), better known mononymously as Seungyeon, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as the main vocalist of the South Korean

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

Kara and for her role in '' Hello, My Twenties!''.

Early life and career beginnings

Han Seung-yeon was born on July 24, 1988, in

Yeongdeungpo District Yeongdeungpo District () is an administrative district in southwest Seoul, South Korea. Although the origin of the name is uncertain, the first two syllables are thought to be from "''yeongdeung''" (靈登) or "divine ascent", a shamanic rite. T ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. She made her acting debut as a child actress in a bit part in ''Dear Ends'' (1993), ''Summer Showers'' (1995) and '' Star in My Heart'' (1997). She later left South Korea to study at

Tenafly High School Tenafly High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school in Tenafly in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Tenafly Public Schools ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. However, she withdrew from high school mid-course in order to pursue a singing career. After returning to South Korea, she debuted as a member of

Kara on March 29, 2007. During her time with the group, she passed a high school qualification exam, the

College Scholastic Ability Test The College Scholastic Ability Test or CSAT ( ko, , ), also abbreviated Suneung ( ko, , ), is a standardized test which is recognized by South Korean universities. The Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) administers the annual ...

, and was accepted by

Kyung Hee University Kyung Hee University (abbreviated to KHU) (Hangul: 경희대학교; Hanja: 慶熙大學校) is a private research university in South Korea with campuses in Seoul and Suwon. Founded in 1949, it is widely regarded as one of the best universities ...

, majoring in theater and film.

Career

2007–08: Debut and solo activities

Seungyeon debuted as main vocalist of Kara on ''

M! Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. ...

'' on March 29, 2007. She was the VJ for ''MSL Break'' from 2007 to 2008. She replaced

Tiffany Tiffany may refer to: People * Tiffany (given name), list of people with this name * Tiffany (surname), list of people with this surname Known mononymously as "Tiffany": * Tiffany Darwish, (born 1971), an American singer, songwriter, actress kn ...

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece e ...

as co-host of '' Boys and Girls Music Countdown'' in June 2008 with Kim Hye-sung, and later with actor

Kim Soo-hyun Kim Soo-hyun (; born February 16, 1988) is a South Korean actor. One of the highest-paid actors in South Korea, his accolades include four Baeksang Arts Awards, two Grand Bell Awards and one Blue Dragon Film Award. From 2012 to 2016 and in 2 ...

. Their segment ended on May 8, 2009. From October to December 2008, she was part of the cast of the MBC Every 1

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

''I Need a Family – Season 2'', where a group of celebrities would live life as a family, consisting of a father, mother, son and daughter. She also became part of MBC's entertainment news show ''Section TV'' as a "pop correspondent," debuting on November 21, 2008.

2009–present: Continued solo activities, Kara disbandment and label changes

Han was featured on rapper Nassun's single "Come to Play", which was released in March 2009, and was featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

for the movie ''Why Did You Come to My House?'' (2009), releasing her first solo song entitled "Miracle". In October 2009, she became part of the "Dream Team Girl Group" named 4Tomorrow for

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

's campaign ''

Samsung Anycall Anycall () was a South Korean mobile phone brand established by Samsung Electronics in 1993. Like other mobile phone brands in South Korea, they provide technology such as cameras, internet access, and digital TV through Digital Multimedia Bro ...

''. Their digital single "Tomorrow" was released on October 6, and the official music video for their single was released on the October 12, starring actor Lee Dong-gun. 150528 코엑스 팬사인회 한승연

In 2010, she recorded the song "Super Star" for the soundtrack of the

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, ...

drama '' Mary Stayed Out All Night''. The same year, she became a host of MBC Every1's ''I Love Pet'' alongside fellow member Kang Ji-young. In 2011, she recorded the song "Because of Love" for the soundtrack of the SBS drama ''

Warrior Baek Dong-soo ''Warrior Baek Dong-soo'' () is a 2011 South Korean fusion historical/action television series starring Ji Chang-wook in the title role, with Yoo Seung-ho, Yoon So-yi, Shin Hyun-bin, Choi Min-soo and Jun Kwang-ryul. It aired on SBS from J ...

''. In July 2011, she became a co-host of SBS's ''Animal Farm''. Han released her first solo single "Guilty" on November 30, 2012, along with its music video. She had performance of the single on MBC's ''

Music Core Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

'' on December 15. In 2013, Han appeared as the protagonist's younger counterpart in the daily drama ''Pure Love'' (2013). Then in her first major supporting role, Han portrayed Choi Suk-bin in the

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

'' Jang Ok-jung, Living by Love'' (2013). In 2014, starred in the weekend drama ''

Jang Bo-ri is Here! ''Jang Bo-ri Is Here!'' () is a 2014 South Korean weekend television drama series broadcast by MBC starring Oh Yeon-seo, Kim Ji-hoon, Lee Yoo-ri and Oh Chang-seok. It premiered on April 5, 2014, airing every Saturday and Sunday at 20:40 for ...

''. The same year, she played her first leading role in the cable series ''Her Lovely Heels''. Also from 2013 to 2014, Han and fellow member Park Gyu-ri served as hosts of the music program '' The Show''. In January 2016, Kara was disbanded after Seungyeon, Park Gyuri and Goo Hara decided not to renew their contract. She later signed a contract with J Wide Company in the same year. In May, Han was cast in the omnibus web film ''Bugs Attack''. In July 2016, Han starred in the coming-of-age youth drama '' Hello, My Twenties!''. In October 2016, Han was cast in a short film titled ''Frame in Love''. In 2017, Han starred in JTBC's web drama ''Last Minute Romance''. She also reprised her role in the sequel of ''Hello, My Twenties''. In 2018, Han switched over to Inyeon Entertainment and was cast in the fantasy romance drama '' About Time''. She then took on the leading role in travel romance drama ''

Twelve Nights ''Twelve Nights'' () is a 2018 South Korean television series starring Han Seung-yeon and Shin Hyun-soo. It is produced by and aired on Channel A's Fridays at 23:00 KST time slot from October 12 to December 28, 2018. Synopsis It tells the st ...

''. In April 2020, Han signed with new agency YGX Entertainment. In 2021, Han appeared in comedy horror film '' Show Me the Ghost'' as Ye-ji. She won Fantastic Actor Jury's Special Mention Award for her performance at 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.

Discography

EPs

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Filmography

Film

Television series

Hosting

Audiobook

* ''Victor the fool'' by Joachim de Posada, voice of Laura

Awards

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Han, Seung-yeon 1988 births DSP Media artists Kara (South Korean band) members Living people People from Seoul Japanese-language singers South Korean female idols South Korean dance musicians South Korean rhythm and blues singers South Korean sopranos South Korean women pop singers South Korean child actresses South Korean film actresses South Korean television actresses South Korean television presenters South Korean women television presenters South Korean radio presenters Kyung Hee University alumni 21st-century South Korean actresses 21st-century South Korean women singers Singers from Seoul Tenafly High School alumni South Korean women radio presenters YG Entertainment artists