Park Gyu-ri
Park Gyu-ri
Background information
Birth name	Park Gyu-ri (박규리)
Born	(1988-05-21) May 21, 1988 (age 24) Seoul, Republic of Korea
Genres	K-pop, Ballad, R&B
Occupations	Singer, DJ, actress, MC, television host, model
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	1995–present
Labels	DSP Media (South Korea) Universal Sigma (Japan) Warner Music (Taiwan, Hong Kong)
Associated acts	Kara
Notable instruments
Piano

Park Gyu-ri (born on May 21, 1988 in Seoul) is a South Korean idol singer, known for being the leader of girl group Kara, formed by DSP Entertainment in 2007.

Biography [link]

Prior to her singing career, she was a child actress. Her first appearance was on Today is a Nice Day in 1995 where she played the girlfriend of Kang Ho Dong's brother. She later appeared as the teenage version of Kim Jung Eun's character in Ladies of the Palace in 2001. She is the only daughter of popular voice dubber Park Sohyun. She's the one who came up with the name Kara which comes from the Greek Word "chara" (χαρά, lit. "joy"), which interpreted to mean "sweet melody".^[1] She is often described by the Korean media and many fans as a 'Goddess' due to her exotic and beautiful looks.^[2]

Career [link]

Kara [link]

Kara debuted on March 29, 2007 with "Break It" on M! Countdown as a 4 membered 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 both from the same company(DSP Media). Later on Sunghee left the group in March 2008 due to parental pressure, just when Kara intended their comeback. Sunghee failed her college exams and left the group. On July 24 of 2008, Kara came back with two new members, Goo Ha-ra and Kang Jiyoung. Their new concept was "cute" and "playful".

On December 4, 2008, Kara had their comeback on M! Countdown with "Pretty Girl".In February 2009, Kara released their second mini-album "Honey". "Honey" became the group's first #1 single when it topped the M! Countdown and The Music Trend.^[3]

In late July 2009, Kara revealed their second album named "Revolution".^[4] June 16, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009. Due to the popularity of the song, Wanna and Mister, Kara's overall popularity increased. Originally having auditioned as a rapper, she rapped for the first time in the song "Mabeob" (Korean: "마법", "Magic") with Nicole on Kara's 2nd album Revolution.

Kara started promotions with their third mini-album "Lupin".^[5] 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 debut in Japan with "Mister". After their successful debut in Japan, Kara released their fourth mini-album Jumping in November 2010.

On January 19, 2011, Three Kara members, Kang Jiyoung, Han Seung-yeon, and Nicole Jung, announced a statement that they terminating their contract with DSP Entertainment. Park Gyuri was the only one remaining with the management company. Later that day, Goo Hara would discontinue her involvement with the suit and has rejoined the company.

Solo activities [link]

Upon Nicole's segment ending on Star Golden Bell, she was appointed as a permanent guest;^[6] she was planned to have her own segment on the show, but the producers did not follow through.

She featured in a duet titled "Day After" with Hong Kyung Min on his 10th album Special Edition, released on February 4, 2010.

On April 21, 2010, it was announced that Park would take over the position of DJ alongside Shindong on "ShimShimTapa" after Kim Shinyoung left. Their first broadcast aired on May 6, 2010.^{[citation needed]} She will have her last broadcast at October 2, 2011.^[7]

Park was the voice of "Kate" in the Korean dubbed version of Alpha and Omega, released in February 2011.^[8]

On May 7th, she gave an hour-long lecture at Seo Woon High School in Incheon. Park was invited to speak because of a survey which asked Seo Woon High School’s students to name their #1 career choice; overwhelmingly, they all replied that they hoped to become celebrities. As a senior in the industry, Park will be giving a lecture and answering any questions they may have before jumping into it. Park commented, “I was first recommended for the lecture through my professor, and I rejected it because I didn’t think I was someone worthy to give a lecture on the topic. I decided to change my mind when I realized that I had my mother to ask for advice while I was contemplating the career, but that these students probably didn’t. It must be so daunting for them, so I changed my mind. I hope that I’ll be able to help them in some way.”^[9]

On September 26, Park announced that she will no longer DJ the hit radio show "ShimShimTapa" due to her busy schedule.^[10]

Musical [link]

On July 15, 2011, Park joined the cast of 200 Pounds Beauty Musical which will be shown in Japan theaters.^[11] On October 12th, DSP Media revealed that KARA‘s Park Gyuri's achieved smashing success with her first musical performance of '200 Pound Beauty'!

From the 8th to the 10th, Park kicked off the musical as the leading female, selling out all three performances in Osaka. Audience members of all ages, from teens to the elderly, filled the hall and responded enthusiastically to the show, requesting for an encore after it was all over.^[12]

She has been diagnosed with vocal cord nodules as all the performances and rehearsals for the musical that started back in August seems to have finally taken a toll on Park's throat. Although the hospital called for absolute rest, Park is regulating her condition while still practicing for her musical. However, she has refused and has not stopped practicing.^[13]

The musical kicked off in Korea on December 6th and will run through the 17th for a total of six performances. Park has made a history as according to its production company, Show Note, Park has managed to bring in over a 50% rate of male audience members. The average audience for musicals is said to be made up of 25% to 40% males, making '200 Pounds Beauty' significantly higher in male audience members than most.^[14]

Show host [link]

Park has been offered various hosting jobs in Japan. She co-hosted the 26th “Golden Disc Awards in Osaka” with Super Junior’s LeeTeuk. She also co-hosted “Korean, Japanese Fashion Event KISS” with the famous Japanese model Uri Ebihara.

In Hallyu events she hosted the “Music Bank in Tokyo, K-Pop Festival” on July 13, 2011 and “Seoul-Tokyo Music Festival 2011” on November 9.

She is often approached by numerous Japanese companies to serve as a host for events because of her fluency in Japanese, her fluid way of hosting, and also her skill at talking.^[15]

Personal life [link]

Vocal Cord Surgery [link]

On February 20th, KARA’s agency DSP Media reported, "Park Gyuri will be undergoing surgery on February 21st to remove nodules and polyps that have been found in her vocal cords." In her situation, she needs to get surgery or else it will be difficult for her to be working as a singer. Park has been working hard and the situation has piled up. Park has been active promoting domestic and overseas. Although Park knew about her condition, she postponed her surgery in order to perform in musical '200 Pound Beauty' in which she played a leading role, and to perform at KARA’s first independent concert 'KARASIA'. She has been flying to and from Korea and Japan and now are having their first ever Asian Tour, with their very busy schedule, a surgery needs to be done. DSP Media continued, "Gyuri's priority is to focus on rehab to ensure a speedy recovery. KARA has an Asia Tour that kicks off in Japan this April, so we are going with a special rehab program that will allow Gyuri to fully recover before then."^[16][17]

Discography [link]

Other [link]

Filmography [link]

Film [link]

Television drama [link]

Variety/Reality shows [link]

Radio shows [link]

Awards [link]

References [link]

External links [link]

• (Korean) Park Gyuri's Microblogging on Cyworld
• (Korean) Park Gyuri on Twitter