In this article, Channel-Korea will provide you with everything you need to know about Gummy, starting from her personal profile and fun facts, through her debut and breakthrough, the list of her discography and awards and nominations, the changes of her label and continuous success as a soundtrack singer, her love story, her Instagram Feed, to her latest news. So, stay tuned!
Gummy’s Full Profile
Birth Name: Park Ji Yeon Stage Name: Gummy Place and Date of Birth: Seoul, South Korea, April 8th, 1981 Age: 39 (Korean age)/38 (International age) Zodiac Sign: Aries Chinese Astrology: Rooster Spouse: Jo Jung-suk (2018 – present) Official Website: gummy.co.kr Talent Agency: YG Entertainment (2003 – 2013), C-JeS Entertainment (2013 – present)
Fun Facts About Gummy You Have to Know
Gummy has inherited her singing skills from her mother. Many people think that Gummy resembles Ahn Moon Sook. IU named Gummy as her reason to be a singer. She sang one of Gummy’s songs, “We Should’ve Been Friends,” at a school festival when she was in middle school. Coincidentally, she met Gummy when she went to audition at her current label. Gummy listened to IU’s performance and said that the judge should pick IU. According to Wheesung, Gummy used to be a scary vocal trainer. Gummy was once asked out in public by Fly to the Sky’s Brian when she had already revealed her relationship with Jo Jung-suk. It turned out that Brian did not know about Gummy’s relationship. Gummy is one of the few Korean celebrities to have admitted doing plastic surgery. Gummy received a luxurious handbag from Song Joong-ki. During her appearance on Date at 2 PM, Gummy said that she wanted to erase the footage of her debut days in all karaoke room screens.
Gummy’s Debut and Breakthrough in the Music Industry
Prior to her massive success as one of the OST queens, Gummy debuted under YG Entertainment in 2003 with the song “Memory Loss.” The song is included in her album Like Them and made her name recognized by the general public. As a result, Gummy won her first Bonsang award at the 19th Golden Disk Awards, as well as the Mobile Popularity Award at Mnet KM Music Festival in 2004. Below, you can watch the music video of “Memory Loss.”
Though she became relatively popular with her debut song, it was only in 2008 that Gummy experienced her breakthrough with the release of her fourth album Comfort. Its main track, “I’m Sorry,” features Big Bang’s rapper T.O.P and has peaked in the top five rankings on various music charts. In addition, Gummy was also nominated in the category Best Female Artist at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. Below, you can watch the music video of “I’m Sorry” that features Big Bang’s T.O.P and Sandara Park!
List of Gummy’s Discography
Gummy is pretty active in the music industry, and she does this not just by releasing her own albums and singles, but also by lending her voice for the soundtracks of movies and dramas. After her debut in 2003, Gummy sang four songs on two movies, one of them is the all-time favorite A Moment to Remember starring Son Ye-jin and Jung Woo-sung. In the present time, Gummy is again in the spotlight for her involvement in the soundtrack of many popular dramas, such as Descendants of the Sun, Love in the Moonlight, and 100 Days My Prince. In this section, Channel-Korea has compiled a list of songs and albums by Gummy that you might want to listen! 2003 – Like Them (full album) 2004 – It’s Different (full album) 2004 – What Can I Say (original soundtrack of New Human Market) 2004 – Still (original soundtrack of New Human Market) 2004 – Please Forget Me (original soundtrack of A Moment to Remember) 2004 – Fairy Tale (original soundtrack of A Moment to Remember) 2005 – For The Bloom (full album) 2006 – Gummy Unplugged (compilation album) 2007 – Pain (original soundtrack of H.I.T) 2008 – My Dear is Faraway (original soundtrack of Sunny) 2008 – Compassion (original soundtrack of The Scale of Providence) 2008 – Comfort (full album) 2009 – Farewell Follows Love (original soundtrack of Triangle) 2009 – Because It’s You (original soundtrack of Will It Snow for Christmas?) 2010 – I Love You Even If I Die (original soundtrack of Big Thing) 2010 – Loveless (mini-album) 2010 – Around the Valley (digital singles featuring Jin Bora) 2010 – Love Recipe (digital singles featuring Bobby Kim) 2011 – Loveless (Japanese mini album) 2011 – I Want to Wait (original soundtrack of Midas) 2012 – Love Recipe II – People These Days (digital singles featuring Bobby Kim) 2013 – Only One (digital singles featuring Big Brother) 2013 – Special Love (digital singles featuring Wheesung) 2013 – Fate(s) (Japanese mini-album) 2013 – Snowflake (original soundtrack of That Winter, the Wind Blows) 2013 – Day and Night (original soundtrack of Master’s Sun0 2014 – You’re Calling Me (original soundtrack of Three Days) 2014 – Get Lost (For Spy) (original soundtrack of Spy) 2014 – I Loved.. Have No Regrets (mini-album) 2014 – You Will Think of Me (digital singles) 2014 – Get Lost (digital singles) 2015 – No Reply (digital singles featuring Sunny Hill’s Jubi) 2015 – Without You (digital singles featuring Jung Key and Sisqo) 2015 – Fall in Memory (full album) 2015 – Can’t Have You (Two Yoo Project Sugar Man) 2016 – You Are My Everything (original soundtrack of Descendant of the Sun) 2016 – Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (original soundtrack of Love in the Moonlight) 2017 – Stroke (full album) 2017 – A Knowing (digital singles featuring Boi B) 2017 – Because I Love You (original soundtrack of My Sassy Girl) 2017 – Angel (original soundtrack of The Most Beautiful Goodbye) 2018 – Erase It (original soundtrack of 100 Days My Prince) 2018 – I Love You (Two Yoo Project Sugar Man 2) 2018 – Jealousy (digital singles featuring Ailee) 2018 – Fade Away (digital singles)
Gummy’s Awards and Nominations
Throughout her career in the music industry, Gummy has won lots of awards in her home country South Korea and Japan. One of the music award shows that often nominate her is the Mnet Asian Music Awards, followed by the Golden Disc Awards, Melon Music Awards, and many more. Below, you can check out the complete list of Gummy’s achievements as a musician! 2004 – Main Prize (Bonsang) at the Golden Disc Awards (Winner) 2004 – Mobile Popularity Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards (Winner) 2004 – Best Female Artist at the Mnet Asian Music Awards (Nomination) 2005 – Best R&B Performance at the Mnet Asian Music Awards (Nomination) 2005 – Best R&B & Soul Album at the Korean Music Awards (Winner) 2008 – Best Female Artist at the Mnet Asian Music Awards (Nomination) 2010 – Best Vocal Performance at the Mnet Asian Music Awards (Winner) 2010 – Best R&B Song at the Melon Music Awards (Winner) 2010 – Best Female Artist at the Mnet Asian Music Awards (Nomination) 2011 – Best New K-Pop Artist at the Billboard Japan Music Awards (Winner) 2011 – Soundtrack Award at the Asia Artist Awards (Winner) 2016 – Soundtrack Award at the Seoul Music Awards (Winner) 2016 – Outstanding Korean Drama OST at the Seoul International Drama Awards (Winner) 2017 – Soundtrack Award at the Golden Disc Awards (Winner)
Gummy’s Label Changes
In October 2013, Gummy was reported to have signed with C-JeS Entertainment. After her contract with YG Entertainment ended, Gummy has been talking to many agencies and eventually decided to pick C-JeS as her second agency. In addition, Gummy became the first singer the agency signed since JYJ in 2011. In an interview with Newsen, Gummy revealed the reason she did not renew the contract with her old agency, “I think my old company has that certain tendency that does not release albums that often. They are the type to release an album when there is good music. The artists agree to that and each singer also has a lot of greed in wanting to perform with good music. When I was in YG, there were times when I made an album and then it was turned down once or twice. After some contemplating, I decided to move agencies.” Despite the different opinions regarding the music release, Gummy departed from YG Entertainment in good terms, “The president (Yang Hyun-suk) was the one who was apologetic. He told me that if there is a place that could take better care of me than what YG was already doing, I should comfortably go there. YG Entertainment still feels like home to me now but there are a lot of singers under the agency and I wish to do the music I like even more freely.” As a result of her label changes, Gummy’s popularity got even more stable as she kept releasing new songs in a year. Her name became more and more recognized as she sang the soundtrack of many popular dramas. One of her most popular soundtracks is “You Are My Everything” that features Song Hye-kyo and Song Joong-ki’s drama Descendants of the Sun. Reportedly, the song topped the iTunes K-Pop charts in eight countries, such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Canada, and New Zealand, whereas it ranked at 8th place in the USA and 4th in Vietnam.
Due to the popularity of the song, Gummy expressed her gratitude to Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo and the public for loving the song greatly. Not only Descendants of the Sun, but Gummy also sang the soundtrack of Love in the Moonlight. This is marked as Gummy’s second project with Gaemi as both of them have worked on Descendants of the Sun soundtrack. Reportedly, “Moonlight Drawn By Clouds” placed first on various music charts as soon as it was released.
Gummy’s Love Life
In early February 2015, Gummy was reported of dating actor Jo Jung-suk for two years. The two of them met after being introduced by a friend and built love and trust along with their common interest in music. Before the public announcement, Gummy and Jo Jung-suk’s relationship had already been known by the entertainment insiders and close friends. Although the singer and actor couldn’t go out like the regular couple, Gummy and Jo Jung-suk spent time together when they were not busy. In addition, Gummy has been supporting Jo Jung-suk by coming to most of the VIP previews of his movies. During the promo of her song “Things I Can’t Do For You,” Gummy stated that she imagined what it would feel like to break up with Jo Jung-suk while singing her song, “It is not like all singers who sing sad songs are sad. Singers are not always breaking up or always in love, but once I got to my level of experience, I was able to do all of that with technique. However, the technique only gets you so far. It would be a lie to say that I only thought about my breakups in the past.” Not only in an interview, but Gummy also talked about her relationship on variety shows. The solo artist revealed on Yoo Hee Yeol’s Sketchbook that she and Jo Jung-suk often discuss music and that he even monitors her songs. On the other hand, Gummy said on Happy Together that she would go public with her relationship even if she were able to go back in time and had another chance. During the appearance, Gummy’s mother was called through the on-the-spot phone call and asked about Jo Jung-suk, “He has a perfect score as a potential son-in-law. Gummy is already past the age of marriage, so I hope she will get married soon.” Gummy and Jo Jung-suk also displayed their relationship on the screen when Gummy called him during her guest appearance in I Live Alone. Despite the sweet nature that Gummy and Jo Jung-suk had with their public relationship, in 2017 they were rumored to have broken up. In mid-2017, Gummy released her song “The Quintessential Man” which people thought that its lyrics referred to a breakup of the lovers. The song “The Quintessential Man” tells the story of men who act pretentiously and think that women would be impressed by their acts. In addition, the Korean word for ‘quintessential’ is ’jung suk’ which coincides with Jo Jung-suk. Regarding the rumor, the representative agency of Gummy stated that Gummy’s new song does not relate to Jo Jung-suk, “The two are still in a good relationship. We hope there will be no more misunderstandings.” Prior to the release, the song actually had a different title but eventually ended up with “The Quintessential Man” because the phrase had been mentioned in the rap lyrics. In June 2018, surprising yet joyous news was shared by Gummy and Jo Jung-suk as they revealed the news about tying the knot in the latter half of 2018. Both Gummy’s agency and Jo Jung-suk’s agency confirmed the news, saying that nothing has been decided to hold a formal meeting between the families. In addition, Gummy and Jo Jung-suk also wrote a letter to their respective fans, asking and thanking for their support and blessing. In early October 2018, it was reported that Gummy and Jo Jung-suk had held a private wedding ceremony. Gummy informed her fans and the general public through her agency’s official Instagram, “Thank you for congratulating us! We will respect and care for each other throughout our lives. I’ll come back with great music!” https://www.instagram.com/p/BoqAD3wnGsa In mid-December 2018, Gummy appeared as a guest cast of jTBC’s Ask Us Anything. During her appearance, Gummy was praised by Kang Ho-dong for having a glow ever since her marriage. Gummy shared the anecdote regarding her husband, “This is what he (Jo Jung-suk) said, ‘I am the first student to enroll at (Gummy’) Once You Fall For Me You Can’t Get Out High School, and I have not been able to graduate.’ That’s it.” On the other hand, Jo Jung-suk talked about his married life with Gummy during his interview to promote his movie Hit-and-Run Squad, “We are living well together after getting officially married. I think the best part about being married is having a stable life.” Though they have not gone on a honeymoon due to their busy schedule, the couple already has plans to do it. Regarding their simple ceremony, Jo Jung-suk explained the reason, “The two of us wanted to do it this way. We wanted to do it together with both our parents. We did it this way since this is what we decided when we were dating.” Well, best of luck for Gummy and Jo Jung-suk!
