Kangta
Kangta in February 2012
Background information
Birth name	Ahn Chil-hyun
Born	(1979-10-10) 10 October 1979 (age 33) Seoul, South Korea
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	K-pop, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, record producer, actor
Years active	1996-present
Labels	SM Entertainment
Associated acts	SM Town H.O.T. Group S Kangta & Vanness
Website	Official Site

Ahn Chil-hyun (Hangul: 안칠현; Hanja: 安七炫) was born on 10 October 1979, mononymouly credited by his stage name Kangta (Hangul: 강타). He is a South Korean pop, R&B singer, first known as the lead singer the boy band H.O.T. and as a solo singer since their disbandment in 2001.

Biography [edit]

Pre-debut and H.O.T. [edit]

Kangta was discovered at Lotte World, a theme park, when he was only 13 years old. He debuted as a back-up dancer together with future band member Moon Hee Jun for singer Yoo Young-jin. Kangta eventually decided to become a singer with Moon Hee Jun and three others, Jang Woo Hyuk, Tony An, and Lee Jae Won to form H.O.T. in 1996.

He is an experienced songwriter and composer, having written over 100 songs^[1] for H.O.T.'s albums as well as for other groups and singers like NRG and Fly to the Sky. When H.O.T. disbanded in March 2001, Kangta was the first member to debut solo. He released his first solo album "Polaris", which became a huge hit; it was followed by his second album "Pinetree" in 2002. His first solo concert took place in the summer of 2003.

In 2006, Kangta was chosen as a runner up for Best Korean Singer overseas, according to Arirang International Broadcasting. A poll was issued over the internet, allowing only people outside of Korea to vote. Shinhwa's song "Once In A Lifetime" won by 60% of the vote, beating Kangta, who came in second with 20.3 percent.^{[citation needed]}

2004-2010: Acting and military service [edit]

Kangta received several offers and has accepted a drama offer in China. In 2004, he starred in a drama called Magic Touch of Fate together with Taiwanese actors and actresses, Ruby Lin and Alec Su. Kangta portrayed the role of the evil magician Jin-Xiu

Soon afterwards, Kangta returned to Korea and released his much-awaited third album. In 2005, Kangta released "Persona", which included tracks that were very different from his previous two albums. The main single of the album, "Persona" had a similar melody to Babyface's "The Loneliness". Kangta surprised his fans when he said he wanted to become an actor. A month later, he starred in a KBS drama, Loveholic.

Kangta also acted in his second Chinese drama,^[2] Love In The City 2. In Love In The City 2 Kangta portrayed the life of a successful CEO with a dull life. In March Kangta was announced to be starring in JTBC's 2012 drama Happy Ending as Kim So Eun's love interest.^[3]

In 2007, he filmed two dramas and Love in the city 2 aired on October 1, 2007. In January 2007, Kangta took part in the Hallyu Festival in Osaka which also featured Jun Jin and Lee Min-woo of Shinhwa, SG Wannabe and actor Song Seung-heon at the Osaka Dome.^[4]

Kangta enlisted for mandatory military service in April 2008 for 21 months of active duty. During which time he starred in military musical, Mine with rapper Yang Dong-geun. It is about the true life story of Lieutenant Lee Jong-myung, who lost his legs in a land mine explosion near the demilitarized zone, in June 2000, when he saved fellow soldier, Sul Dong-seob from the minefield.^[5]

2010-present; Comeback and Chinese debut [edit]

After two years and five months of hiatus from the entertainment industry due to Korean military service, Kangta comes back with his first Chinese mini album entitiled "静享七乐 (Rest in the Seven Tunes)", with its lead single, Love, Frequency (Breaka Shaka).^[6] The digital single was released online on September 13, 2010. The mini-album marked Kangta's entrance to the Chinese market. Meanwhile, the teaser for the single, as well as the digital mini-album, was released through SM Entertainment's official YouTube page on September 9, 2010.^[7] The mini album and the music video was released September 13, 2010.^[8]

Group projects [edit]

S (Supreme) [edit]

After planning for years, Kangta worked with his celebrity friends Shin Hye Sung from Shinhwa and Lee Ji Hoon to form the project group "S", standing for "Supreme". They released their first solo project album called "Fr. In. Cl." or Friends in Classic. They have won several awards since then. Their title track, "I Swear" was written, composed, and arranged by Kangta while Shin Hye Sung wrote the English lyrics.

Kangta & Vanness [edit]

Early 2006, Kangta collaborated with Vanness Wu of F4 from Taiwan, and formed Kangta & Vanness. Their first debut was in Thailand ending the ceremony for the 2006 MTV Asia Awards. They released their single "Scandal" and have been busy promoting their single all over Asia. "Scandal" was a success over Asia and a repackaged version was released in mid-July. On September 12, they held a showcase in Malaysia, Berjaya Times Square.

On Arirang TV's talk-show "Heart to Heart", Kangta announced that he would be entering the Army in early 2008, so activities have been put on hold.

Filmography [edit]

Film [edit]

• 2002: Emergency Act 19 (Cameo)
• 2002: Resurrection of the Little Match Girl
• 2012: I AM. (Himself)

Television dramas [edit]

• 2005: Magic Touch of Fate
• 2005: Loveholic (KBS)
• 2007: Love In The City 2 (CCTV)
• 2011: Pepper and Kimchi (辣椒与泡菜)
• 2011: Di Jin (帝锦)
• 2012: Happy Ending (jTBC)^[9]
• 2012: Secret Garden (Chinese Version)

Discography [edit]

Composition [edit]

• That Winter, The Wind Blows OST Part 1: "Gray Paper" by Yesung of Super Junior - released on 13 February 2013^[10]

• That Winter, The Wind Blows OST Part 5: "And One" by Taeyeon of Girls' Generation - released on 13 March 2013

References [edit]

1. ^ KBS Artist Search - Kangta
2. ^ Kangta Lands Role in 2nd Chinese Drama
3. ^ http://thestar.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/03/27/2012032701114.html
4. ^ Lee Yong-sung "Osaka concert features Korean Wave stars" Korea Herald. 25 January 2007. Retrieved 2012-04-10
5. ^ Lee, Eun-joo (2 October 2008). "Military musical mines true story of loyalty and sacrifice". Joongang Daily. Retrieved 1 December 2012. 
6. ^ http://community.livejournal.com/omonatheydidnt/4440799.html
7. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7pSQjrsJe4
8. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7zvOa0pvJQ
9. ^ Hong, Lucia (5 April 2012). "Kangta confirms role in jTBC's upcoming TV series". 10 Asia. Retrieved 2 February 2013. 
10. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi (16 February 2013). "Super Junior’s Yesung to Perform ‘Gray Paper’ on Inkigayo". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 18 February 2013. 

External links [edit]

• (Korean) SM Entertainment's Official Site
• (Korean) H.O.T.'s Official Site