Full Profile
When Jay Park was a child, he was extremely interested in music, rap especially. When his mother realized that her son would sooner become an artist than a scientist, she decided to find a way. The only chance to get accepted for training and promotion was offered by the company JYP Entertainment. Jay lived and studied in Korea for several years until he became a member of 2PM. Later, he developed his solo career and became a performer, singer, and actor. You may check out his full profile below to know him better!
Stage Name: Jay Park Birth Name: Park Jae Beom (박재범) Chinese Name: 朴載範 Nickname: Jay Occupation: Singer, Songwriter, Rapper, Producer, Dancer, Model, Choreographer, Entrepreneur, Actor Agency: JYP Entertainment (past), SidusHQ (past), AOMG, H1GHR MUSIC, Roc Nation, Stone Music Entertainment Nationality: American Hometown: Seattle, Washington, U.S Date of Birth: April 25, 1987 Place of Birth: Edmonds, Washington, U.S Chinese Zodiac Sign: Rabbit Western Zodiac Sign: Taurus Blood Type: A Height: 170 cm (5’7″) Weight: 60 kg (132 lbs) Religion: Protestant Family: Father Park Yongjoon, Mother Choi Mi Jung, Younger brother Park Jae Han Education: Edmonds Woodway High School, Apgujung High School, Dankook University – Business Administration Department (dropout)
Social Media / Website Links
Official Website: jaypark.com Official AOMG Website: jaypark Twitter: @jaybumaom Facebook: jaypaom Instagram: @jparkitrighthere Tumblr: jayparkofficial YouTube: jaybumaom0425 VEVO: JayParkVEVO
Facts and Trivia
He is now fluent in English and Korean, but when he first went to Korea, he didn’t know any Korean. Jay stated that when he first went to Korea, he couldn’t converse with all the new people he met due to not being able to speak the language very well, and he didn’t know what to eat. He says he cried every day for the first two weeks but decided to work hard even though he wanted to leave so he would not disappoint his parents. He has been learning Chinese. He dreams in both Korean and English depending on who appears in his dream. He started dancing after middle school, and his grades fluctuated because he didn’t care much for school. When he was younger, his dream was to study animals and become a scientist. He wanted to go to Africa and Australia and hide to take pictures of animals. His parents wanted him to be a doctor or lawyer. He had a huge crush on Beyoncé in high school. He respects Big Bang a lot because they’re really talented. His favorite artists are Eminem, Usher, Musiq Soulchild, Drake, and Method Man. Usher, Michael Jackson, and Chris Brown influence him and are an inspiration to him. His favorite performer is Justin Timberlake. His favorite Korean male and female artists are Crush and Tasha. His favorite group was 2NE1. He loves drawings that fans give him. He visits fancafes and reads what fans say about him. He wears clothes that fans give him as gifts. His brother Jehan looks after Cafe Dudart. His favorite season of the year is summer. His favorite color is blue. His favorite cereal is Lucky Charms. His first kiss was with a Vietnamese girl. He doesn’t wear cologne. He cried when he watched Toy Story 3. If he could be a superhero, he would be Iron Man. He loves buying things for the people he loves. He would like to spend his honeymoon in Hawaii. He drools while sleeping. He doesn’t like playing loud music when driving, and he gets nervous when his friends are noisy. After posting or tweeting something, he always reads the comments. His favorite alcoholic beverage is champagne. When he is drunk, he’s unable to reject a person and tends to become very friendly. He can’t drink tequila because he gets drunk very fast. He is scared of heights. He has two dachshunds called Pj (whose name stands for Peatry Jr) and Oscar. He has no house or car in his name but has been seen posing around a white Bentley which could have cost him around $200,000, but maybe it’s just for a music video. He likes basketball and has a lot of skills. He enjoys sports and bowling. Although he was the oldest in 2PM, he is the shortest member. He considered signing with YG, but he decided to create his own label. Even though he rose to the highest echelons of Asia’s urban music scene, he stayed humble and never let negative things get him down. Having grown up listening to music of American artists, he admits his music sounds more American than K-pop, saying it is the style of music he wants to make while still being recognized as K-pop. He described AOMG as a household name. He said that it started off with Loco, Gray, and Simon Dominic. Now, they have Woo Won-jae, Hoody, Elo, Ugly Duck, and Code Kunst. It has really established its name and its flavor. Right now, it is very mainstream because everybody knows who AOMG is. Meanwhile, the different thing about H1GHR MUSIC is that they have Korean and U.S. artists. He feels like H1GHR MUSIC is a little edgier and very innovative. He was also named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Asia. Jay Park has been involved in a lot of scandals such as mocking Korean when he was pre-debut, throwing shades at BTS, etc. Jay Park was rumored to impregnate Jessi the Korean singer/rapper.
Tattoos
In Korean culture, tattoos are considered taboo and are associated with negative connotations. Thus, Jay Park was forced to cover up his tattoos during his initial years in the K-pop industry. But as his popularity grew with time, the rapper soon saw his tattoos as a way to help break open K-pop’s heavily-scrutinized ‘safe image’ that had been ingrained into the industry. Now, he is known for his numerous tattoos all over his body. Jay Park said that he is too lazy to count the number of tattoos he has. He thinks he got his first tattoo in 2010 when he was around 23. His whole left arm is filled, and he has been doing a lot of retouching work on his left arm and trying to get it sleeved up. Though his family really dislikes it, there are also tattoos which are tributes to his family who mostly live abroad in the States. Here are some of his tattoos:
“19 55 60 87 89”, the numbers are a tribute to the birth years of his family members. He has a tattoo of his b-boy team AOM as well as the name of his fanbase on his body. One tattoo that holds special significance to him is his tattoo of the phrase, “Always come proper”, which he says is a reminder to always act properly. As a way to express his gratitude and thanks to his fans, he engraved his fandom name on the back of his neck, Jaywalkerz. He has a compass on his neck just a little above his star tattoo. He has a guardian angel tattoo on the back of his head. The tattoo was done by tattoo artist San Lee, who is Jay’s favorite and had already worked with him before.
2PM & Solo Career
While it’s true that there are many celebrities who seem to have the luck of the draw in life, there are those who suffered and had to go through painful experiences before they got to where they are now. Here is the summary of Jay Park’s long career history:
He initially rose to fame as Park Jaebum of 2PM, formed by JYP Entertainment in 2008, after having previously been a trainee for four years. After his debut and successful days as 2PM’s leader for a few years, it was then revealed he had caused a lot of controversy with some comments found on his Myspace dating back to 2005 when he first became a trainee. The comments Jay Park made caused outrage among netizens. In September 2009, after the controversy, he returned home to Seattle and officially apologized to the public. On a flight from Incheon Airport to Seattle, 500 fans showed up at the airport literally kicking, screaming, and crying. All six remaining members are said to have cried, and Woo-young fainted and had to be hospitalized. Although he and the agency each posted apologies, the controversy did not go away. A petition was even created on Daum’s portal site Agora titled ‘Jaebum Should Commit Suicide’ and was signed by over 3000 people, so he eventually left the group in early 2010 after JYP announced the termination of the exclusive contract with Jay Park. In March 2010, Jay Park uploaded his own video that covered BoB ‘s “Nothin’ on You” and expressed his gratitude for his fans’ support. In two days, more than 2 million views were on the video, attracting attention from the U.S. and domestic media, making Jay Park a successful Asian singer in the U.S. After the successful comeback, he continued his solo career, taking off the label of being an idol group, and created music in a variety of genres. But, he eventually found his own color and got a good response from experts and the public. He is now a Korean-American singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, record producer, model, choreographer, entrepreneur, actor, member of the Seattle-based b-boy crew Art of Movement (AOM), and founder and CEO of the independent hip-hop record label AOMG and his new global label H1GHR Music. He also signed with the record label Roc Nation, becoming the first Asian American to do so.
