Nicole Jung

Nicole Jung
File:Nicole.jpg
Background information
Birth name	Nicole Yong-Joo Jung
Born	October 7, 1991 (1991-10-07) (age 20) Los Angeles, California, US
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	K-pop, dance-pop
Occupations	Singer, dancer, rapper
Instruments	Vocals, violin
Years active	2007–present
Labels	DSP Entertainment
Associated acts	Kara

Nicole Jung
Hangul	정니콜
Revised Romanization	Jeong Nikol
McCune–Reischauer	Chŏng Nik'ol
Korean name
Hangul	정용주
Hanja	鄭龍珠
Revised Romanization	Jeong Yong-Ju
McCune–Reischauer	Chŏng Yongju

Nicole Jung (Korean name: Jung Yong-Joo), better known mononymously as Nicole, born on October 7, 1991, is an Korean-American idol singer, and rapper. She was raised in Glendale, California but she moved to Seoul, South Korea.^[1] She is a member of the girl group Kara formed by DSP Entertainment in 2007.

Biography

Nicole was born on October 7, 1991 in Los Angeles, California to Korean parents. She attended Mark Keppel Elementary School and Toll Middle School in Glendale, California. Nicole was into the visual and performing arts while in school. She participated in choir, drill team, played the violin for 4 years and took dance classes. She auditioned for DSP by sending a video of her singing an Ivy and Black Eyed Peas song. Her mom was very supportive and told her that it was her decision and whatever decision, she would fully support her. Nicole made the decision to go to Korea and experienced hardships such as adjusting to the culture and missing her friends terribly.^[2] She accepted DSP's offer, her mom moved with her to Korea and has opened up a successful Korean BBQ restaurant called "Aura The Grill"^[3] that is often frequented by Nicole and KARA fans alike.

She was on a show called "KAIST" (portrayed a celebrity's life as a college student) which was renamed to "Nicole The Entertainer's Introduction to Veterinary Science" in Konkuk University since Nicole would not be attending KAIST.^[4] The first episode aired on November 12, 2009. She "graduated" from college in January 2010.^[5]

She is known to be close to the '91 Line which contains people from popular groups such as 2AM's Jin Woon, FT Island's JaeJin, BEAST's Dong Woon, MBLAQ's Mir and SHINee's Key. In April 2010, Nicole and Key were spotted walking in Apgujeong-dong. It was assumed that Nicole was in the middle of a study session with Key as a textbook was in her hands. It was later revealed by DSP Media that "Nicole is currently studying for the high school exit exam. However, she is not studying for the national Korean exam but is prepping for the American high school exit exam." While SM Entertainment added “Key and Nicole are so close that they fool around even on camera. To our knowledge, the two meet often to talk and drink tea.”^[6][7] Nicole was seen holding a stack of books, one of which was "ACROPREP" on June 16, 2011 at the Gimpo International Airport.^[8] A further investigation found that Acroprep was a prep course for College.

Career

Kara

Main article: Kara (band)

Kara debuted on March 29, 2007 with "Break It" on M! Countdown as a 4 member group. Nicole was one of the four along with Park Gyuri, Han Seungyeon, and Kim Sunghee. Kara was often compared to Fin.K.L because of their concept and the fact that they are from the same company(DSP Entertainment). In March 2008, Sunghee left the group due to parental pressure. Sunghee had failed her college exams. On July 24, 2008, Kara came back with two new members, Goo Hara and Kang Jiyoung. Their new concept was "cute" and "playful".

On December 4, 2008, Kara released their 2nd mini-album "Pretty Girl" and had their comeback starting on M! Countdown with "Pretty Girl".In February 2009, Kara followed up with their album "Honey". "Honey" became the group's first #1 single when it topped the M! Countdown and The Music Trend.^[9]

In late July 2009, Kara revealed their second album named "Revolution".^[10] Due to the popularity of the song, Wanna and Mister, Kara's overall popularity increased. Kara currently started promotions with their third mini-album "Lupin".^[11] Lupin was a success, it won KBS Music Bank K-Chart on March 12, March 19, and March 26, 2010.

In August 2010, Kara officially debuted in Japan with "Mister". After this, Kara released their fourth mini-album Jumping in November 2010.

On January 19, 2011, Kang Jiyoung, Han Seung-yeon, and Nicole Jung, announced that they were terminating their contract with DSP.

On April 28, 2011, the dispute between DSP Entertainment and Kara's 3 members was officially announced as resolved.

Solo activities

Nicole joined Star Golden Bell on December 20, 2008, hosting a segment called "Level With Me (Season 2)" in which the guests have to guess a term or title from her clues; the challenge comes due to her comparative lack of skill and experience with the Korean language. The segment ended on October 17, 2009.^[12]

In April 2009, she sang a duet with former Noel member Kang Kyun-seong called "Happy and".^[13]

In August 2009, she and 2PM ex member Jaebeom became part of historical culture variety show Nodaji, replacing Choi Min Yong and Kim Tae Hyun. But the show was cancelled due to low ratings on October 2009.

In November 2009, she joined Nicole The Entertainer's Introduction to Veterinary Science.

In July 2010, she joined Good Sunday - Yeongung Hogeol (영웅호걸, "Heroes").

Nicole received her first solo endorsement for the Vocamastar VM-100 in November 2010. The VM-100 is a very versatile device that can be used as a mp3 player, movie player, e-book reader, and more.^[14]

In August 2011, Nicole launched her own cookie line called "Kuki Six" that are sold at Mango Six cafes in Korea. Nicole’s “KUKI SIX” boasts a new line-up of six bakery goods, including the ‘Choco Cookie’, ‘Chocolate Chip Cookie’, ‘Coconut Cookie’, ‘Earl Grey White Choco Muffin’, ‘Orange Cream Cheese Muffin’, and the ‘Choco Brownie’. It was reported that Nicole was directly involved with the planning and development of the recipes, as well as marketing and promotional methods. As such, Nicole became the first celebrity to engage in the food service industry by providing input into a particular recipe. Plans for expansion into Japan and China are in the works for 2012.^[15]

Discography

Kara

Main article: Kara discography

Singles

• "Kkeun" - Sunha (Rap. Nicole) (2008)
• "Happy And" - Kang Kyun-seong (Duet. Nicole) (2009)
• "Gorae" ("Whale") - Park Myeong-su (Duet. Nicole) (2010)

Filmography

Broadcasts	Informations	Dates
KBS 2TV	Star Golden Bell 《Level With Me (Season 2)》	December 20, 2008 - October 24, 2009
MBC	Sunday Sunday Night 《Nodaji》	August 30, 2009 - October 25, 2009
Mnet	Nicole The Entertainer's Introduction to Veterinary Science	November 12, 2009 - January 28, 2010
SBS	Good Sunday 《Yeongwunghogeol》	July 18, 2010 -

Awards

Main article: Kara (band)#Awards

References

1. ^ (Korean) 카라, "효리-아이비 언니 보며 포스 배워"
2. ^ (Korean) "Nicole was lonely in Korea"
3. ^ (Korean) "Aura The Grill"
4. ^ (Korean) 니콜, 건국대 수의학과 합격…중간고사에 `눈물범벅`
5. ^ (Korean) "Nicole graduates from College"
6. ^ (Korean) "Nicole and Key sighted Together
7. ^ (Korean) "KARA's Nicole was studying for the High School Exit Exam
8. ^ (Korean) "Acroprep"
9. ^ (Korean) 카라 “소녀시대 게 섯거라” 데뷔 2년만에 TV 첫 1위 눈물 울먹울먹. Joins.com. March 9, 2009. Retrieved March 9, 2009.
10. ^ (Korean) 걸그룹 대란속 ‘조용한’ 카라 뭐할까 “업그레이드 카라 온다” (What is "silent" Kara doing during the girl group uproar - "An Upgraded Kara is coming."). Newsen. June 16, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
11. ^ (Korean) 카라, '루팡'-비상구 춤으로 컴백!
12. ^ (Korean) `스타골든벨` 개편, `눈높이를 맞춰요` 니콜도 하차
13. ^ (Korean) 군입대 앞둔 강균성, 니콜과 듀엣음반 발매
14. ^ (Korean) "KARA's Nicole for Vocamastar"
15. ^ (Korean) "KARA's Nicole partners up with Mango Six for her new bakery line Kuki Six"

External links

• Kara Official website

Persondata
Name	Jung, Nicole
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 7, 1991
Place of birth	Los Angeles, California, US
Date of death
Place of death