But throughout the journey of K-pop era, there is one group who have been running from their original debut in the 90s until now. Yup, we’re talking about Shinhwa. The sunbae-nim of all boy groups currently in Korea. Despite of their inactive period in the middle, they came back as a united group in 2012 and are still catching many hearts both in South Korea, and internationally. Shinhwa’s leader, Eric Mun is also known as a Korean actor. He took many roles in dramas and movies. One of his dramas, MBC’s series ‘Super Rookie’ came to Eric in 2005 and the series became one of the best-ranked TV series that year. The series became all the rage in South Korea, and the Fuji Films telecast the show in Japan as well, which made the show a super success there. The intensity of his fan following in Japan can be understood by the very fact that when Eric went to Japan to promote the show, he was welcomed by a large crowd at the airport. His successful roles lead him to earn various awards and nominations. In recent news, Eric got married to his girlfriend, actress, and model Na Hye-mi, in late 2017 after dating for more than 4 years.
Eric Mun’s Profile and Facts
English name: Eric Mun Full name: Mun Jung-hyuk / Korean: 문정혁, Hanja: 文晸赫 Nickname: Gon, Moohim Profession: Korean actor, model, Leader & Rapper of Korean boy group named Shinhwa Birthday: Friday, 16 February 1979 Constellation: Aquarius Height: 180 cm Weight: 71 kg. Blood Type: B Religion: Christian Family: Parents, two older sisters, and himself (the youngest & only boy) Education: 1985-1991 Daechi Elementary School (Seoul, Korea) 1991-1993 John Burroughs Middle School, Los Angeles, California 1993-1997 Sunny Hills High School, Fullerton, California Dongguk University, major in Theatre and Cinema (Seoul, Korea)] Motto: Be strong in front of a strong man, and weak in front of a weak man Miscellaneous Facts
Favorite music genres: Hip-hop, R&B Favorite Artists: Method Man, Puff Daddy Music Instruments: Clarinet, Saxophone Favorite Song: ‘Don’t Wanna Try’ by Fankie J, Friend (chingu), The Name and A Story you Can’t Give Eric loves basketball and his favorite athlete is Michael Jordan His favorite Actor: Choi Min-sik, Song Kang-ho Eric’s favorite Food: All foods, especially Korean foods Favorite Book: Dragon Ball (Japanese manga) Favorite Movie: Brave Heart He went to Korea after high school, and ended up joining SM Entertainment as a trainer. That was where he met the rest of the members of Shinhwa. Eric first started as a rapper for different bands, and eventually formed his very own group named Shinhwa and became its leader and lead singer. When Shinhwa released their debut album ‘Resolver’ in May 1998, it tanked in the music charts, and the band was named a failure right from the get go. It made Eric consider moving back to USA, but something told him to stay. Eric also started acting, making his acting debut in the 2002 film ‘Emergency 19 Act’, which also featured his Shinhwa band members. The first real acting break of his life was in form of MBC’s series ‘Breathless’ in 2003 and in the next couple of years, he took part in a few other TV dramas. In 2005, Eric played in MBC’s series ‘Super Rookie’ and the series became one of the best ranked TV series that year. The series became all the rage in South Korea and Fuji Films telecast the show in Japan as well, which made the show a super success there. When he visited Japan, he was welcomed by numerous fans in the airport. In 2006, an accident took place during a stunt performance for the show ‘Wolf’, during a scene in which Eric had to save an actress from getting run over by a car. The car’s driver read the wrong signals, and rammed into Eric. After two years of military service, Eric made a comeback with ‘Poseidon’ in 2011 and in the mean time, their band Shinhwa formed a company and Eric became its CEO. Since then, the company manages the activities of the band, while their respective agents manage the acting careers of the band members. Shinhwa was a hit in 2012. The group embarked on an Asian tour in 2012, which was named‘Shinhwa Grand Tour: The Return’. The next year, they came back with the album ‘The Classic’, which became a major hit nationally and internationally. Shinhwa ended up winning awards such as Mwave Global Star Award among other big and small music awards that year. Eric’s awards are: KBS Drama Awards, Netizen Award, Excellence Award, and a Best Couple Award, he also won honours at MBS Drama Awards and Paeksang Arts Awards for his performance in ‘Breathless’. He has also faced controversy due to the naming rights of their band Shinhwa. The band started their operations under SM Entertainment in 1998, and when their contract expired in 2003, the band joined ‘Good Entertainment’ which started a long, legal battle for the rights of the name.
