Park Gyu-ri (; born May 21, 1988), better known by the mononym Gyuri, is a South Korean singer, actress, and radio personality. She is a member of South Korean girl group

Kara Kara or KARA may refer to: Geography Localities * Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture * Kára, Hungary, a village * Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township * Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province * Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in ...

Life and career

1988–2002: Early life and career beginnings

Park Gyu-ri was born on May 21, 1988, in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. She became a child actress with her first television appearance in the 1995 series ''Today is a Nice Day'', in which she played the girlfriend of

Kang Ho-dong Kang Ho-dong (born July 14, 1970) is a South Korean television host and comedian, who first became known to Koreans as one of the top Korean traditional wrestlers. In 2008, Kang became the first comedian in history to win the Baeksang Arts ...

's brother. In 2001, Park appeared as the teenage version of

Kim Jung-eun Kim Jung-eun (; born March 4, 1974) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series ''Lovers in Paris'' (2004), '' Lovers'' (2006), '' I Am Legend'' (2010), ''Make a Woman Cry'' (2015), and '' Strong Girl N ...

's character in ''Ladies of the Palace''.

2007–2010: Breakthrough with Kara

She debuted as part of the four-member girl group

on March 29, 2007. As the leader of the group, Park came up with its name, which comes from the Greek word ''chara'' (, lit. "joy"). Kara underwent a number of lineup changes, but gained commercial success. In 2009, she became a permanent guest on the reality television show ''

Star Golden Bell ''Star Golden Bell'' () was a South Korean variety show broadcast on KBS. A popular show, it occasionally entered the Korean top 20 chart. The show consisted of mini-games, which have certain prize amounts. The winning celebrity is given the o ...

''. Park featured in a duet with

Hong Kyung-min Hong Kyung-min (; born February 9, 1976) is a South Korean singer and actor. As a singer, Hong has released 10 albums and is best known for his 2000 hit song "Shaky Friendship" (). Music career 1997–2000 He made his debut as a rock-balla ...

titled "Day After" on his tenth album ''Special Edition'', released on February 4, 2010. On April 21 that year, it was announced that she would become a radio DJ alongside

Shindong Shin Dong-hee (; born September 28, 1985), known professionally as Shindong (lit. meaning: "prodigy"), is a South Korean rapper, singer, dancer, host, radio personality, and video director. He is best known as a member of Super Junior and its s ...

on the MBC talk show ''ShimShimTapa'' after

Kim Shin-young Kim Shin-young (; born December 20, 1983) is a South Korean comedian, MC and DJ. She debuted in 2004 on the SBS show ''People Looking For Laughter'' and won 'Best Variety Performer' at the 42nd Baeksang Arts Awards in 2006. She has hosted nu ...

left. Their first broadcast aired on May 5, 2010. On September 26, 2011, Park announced that she would no longer DJ the show due to her busy schedule. Her last broadcast was on October 2, 2011.

2011–present: Solo activities and rising popularity

On January 19, 2011, Park was the only member of Kara to remain with their label

DSP Media DSP Media () is a South Korean entertainment company established in 1991 by Lee Ho-yeon. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and music publishing hous ...

during a contract dispute in which the other members released a statement announcing they were terminating their contract with their label. The contract dispute was later resolved. She was the voice of Kate in the Korean dub of '' Alpha and Omega'', released in February 2011. On May 7, Park gave a lecture on her career in the entertainment industry at Seo Woon High School in

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

, and on July 13, she hosted the "Music Bank in Tokyo K-Pop Festival". On July 15, she joined the cast of ''200 Pounds Beauty Musical'', which was shown in Japanese theaters. In November, Park was diagnosed with

vocal fold nodule Vocal cord nodules are bilaterally symmetrical benign white masses ( nodules) that form at the midpoint of the vocal folds. Although diagnosis involves a physical examination of the head and neck, as well as perceptual voice measures, visualizat ...

s, but nevertheless continued to rehearse for the musical. She also hosted the "Seoul-Tokyo Music Festival 2011" on November 9. The musical ran for six performances in Korea from December 6–17. According to the show's production company, Show Note, the musical brought in significantly higher numbers of male audience members than average. Following the musical's successful run, Park underwent vocal cord surgery on February 21, 2012. In 2012, she co-hosted the 26th

Golden Disc Awards The Golden Disc Awards (, formerly spelled the Golden Disk Awards before 2015) is an annual South Korean major music awards ceremony that honors achievements in the local music industry. The awards ceremony was founded with the purpose to prom ...

at the

Osaka Dome The (official name: ) is a baseball stadium located in Osaka, Osaka, Japan. Opened in 1997, the stadium was the home field of the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. In 2005, the stadium became one of the homes of the Orix Buffaloes, a result of the merg ...

in Japan. On February 23, 2013, she hosted the Yang Yang K-Pop Festival at Naksan Beach. On June 2, Park hosted SGC Super Live 2013 in Tokyo. Park Gyu-ri in August 2014 02

In 2014, she was cast in the film ''Two Rooms, Two Nights''. On January 15, 2016, Park's contract with DSP Media expired. However, she stated that Kara had not disbanded even though its members were now under separate agencies, and that they hoped to collaborate on an album when the opportunity arose in the future. She then joined Motion Media to pursue a career in acting. The same year, Park was cast in the historical drama ''

Jang Yeong-sil Jang Yeong-sil (; ; ? – after 1442) was a Korean mechanical engineer, scientist, and inventor during the Joseon dynasty. He was born to a mother who was a government-registered courtesan () and a father of Yuan dynasty descent. Although Jang ...

''. In 2018, she was cast in the film ''Miyak''.

Discography

As a featured artist

Soundtrack appearances

Charted singles

Filmography

Film

Television

Drama

Reality

Theatre and radio

Musical theatre

Radio shows

Ambassadorship

* 7th Ulju Mountain Film Festival Ambassador (2022) with

Um Hong-gil Um Hong-gil (; born September 14, 1960) is a South Korean mountaineer. Climbing career He has led many South Korean summer expeditions to Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, where he has climbed South America's highest mountain several times. In 20 ...

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Park Gyu-ri
at Creative Kkot * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Gyu-ri 1988 births Living people Actresses from Seoul Dongduk Women's University alumni Japanese-language singers of South Korea Kara (South Korean group) members Singers from Seoul South Korean child actresses South Korean dance musicians South Korean female idols South Korean rhythm and blues singers South Korean women pop singers South Korean film actresses South Korean musical theatre actresses South Korean radio presenters South Korean sopranos South Korean television actresses South Korean women television presenters South Korean voice actresses DSP Media artists 20th-century South Korean women singers 21st-century South Korean women singers 21st-century South Korean actresses South Korean women radio presenters Anyang Arts High School alumni