Yunho

Yunho was born and raised in Gwangju, South Korea. He has one younger sister. Several members of Yunho's family worked in the legal industry, and Yunho's own childhood dream was to be a prosecutor.[2]

When he was in middle school, he and a few other friends formed the dance team A+, and they competed in various dance competitions around the country. After winning a prize at the 1st Annual SM Best Competition in 1999, Yunho signed with S.M. Entertainment and officially started his training in 2001.

His family, who suffered greatly from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, were initially against his decision to become a singer. To provide for himself while he trained in Seoul, Yunho took up various part-time jobs in the city, such as doing snow removal in the morning and working as a waiter at night. He spent most of his high school vacations in Seoul training and only returned to Gwangju for school. Sometime later, Yunho suffered a hormonal imbalance in his throat and underwent surgery, which affected his vocal cords. After losing his voice, Yunho considered giving up his training.[3]

Throughout his years as a trainee, Yunho was put in four temporary groups - all of which later disbanded. In late 2001, at the age of fifteen, Yunho was featured as a rapper and backup dancer in Dana's debut single "Diamond", and briefly toured with her.[4]

In 2002, Yunho was selected to be a backup dancer for Shinhwa and was chosen to be part of the project boy band Four Seasons, which consisted of fellow trainees Kim Jae-joong, Kim Hee-chul, and Kangin. The project group was dropped when Yunho and Jaejoong joined TVXQ in early 2003.

Yunho's stage name "U-Know", a nickname he has been using since high school, reflected Yunho's position as the leader, who was always trying to understand others.[5]

Yunho had brief acting cameos on the first few years of his career. He appeared in the MBC sitcom Nonstop 4, and participated in the television drama Vacation and movie Dating on Earth starring all of the members of TVXQ.[11]

Yunho made his official acting debut in 2009, playing the male lead in romantic comedy series Heading to the Ground.[12][13] However, the series was a commercial flop and sparked criticism from netizens for his lack of acting skills.[11]

From September to December 2010, Yunho starred in his first musical, a remake of the South Korean television drama Goong.[14] From November 2012 to January 2013, Yunho starred in his second musical Gwanghwamun Sonata, a story set in South Korea during the democratic movement in the 1980s.[15]

In 2012, Yunho starred in melodrama King of Ambition, playing a wealthy heir with ice hockey skills.[16] His performance earned him a People's Choice award at the 2013 Seoul International Drama Awards.[17]

In 2014, Yunho starred in the historical action drama Diary of a Night Watchman, playing a swordsman.[18][19] Yunho was widely praised for his acting, managing fierce action scenes and effectively portraying the delicate emotions of his character.[20]

For his last project before enlistment, Yunho chose to star in the web series I Order You, playing a chef.[21] The series premiered on Naver TVcast in July 2015.[22]

In May 2017, Yunho was confirmed to star in Orion Cinema Network's upcoming romantic mystery drama, Meloholic.[23]

Yunho has been given the name "K-pop's dancing king" by critics.[24] He was also the only Asian performer invited to Michael Jackson's tribute concert This Is It, and performed in the Korean leg. He trained in Los Angeles and Las Vegas with Genevieve Gleary, Morris Pleasure, and others who once worked closely with Jackson.[25]

In 2014, Yunho was named honorary ambassador of National Assembly Library.[26]

Besides his native Korean, Yunho is fluent in Japanese. He graduated from Myongji University in 2011.[27] He has pursued a master's degree at Chungwoon University.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to U-Know Yunho.

• Yunho at HanCinema