History Shinhwa

1 history

1.1 1998–1999: formation , debut
1.2 2000–2001: 1 , hey, come on!
1.3 2002–2003: perfect man, wedding, , leaving sm entertainment
1.4 2004–2005: entertainment , daesang awards
1.5 2006: 8th album state of art , 1st asia tour
1.6 2007: solo activities, volume 9 , 10th anniversary
1.7 2008–2011: mandatory military service
1.8 2011–2012: shinhwa company , 10th album return
1.9 2013-2014: 15th , 16th anniversary concert , 11th album classic
1.10 2015-2016: 12th album , 13th album unchanging

history
1998–1999: formation , debut

sm entertainment recruited shin hye-sung through auditions in los angeles, california. company grouped him andy lee, not able join agency s previous boy band h.o.t. because of parent s objections based on young age. not long after, eric mun joined group upon returning korea after years in high school in california. sm entertainment scouts discovered lee min-woo @ student dance competition in won 1st place , kim dong-wan on street. kim dong-wan interested in acting joined band after seeing preview video of existing members. jun jin final member join after high school friend kangta of h.o.t recommended him agency. before release of first album, eric , andy first introduced in 1997 rappers in fellow sm-managed group s.e.s. s song m girl .

the six-member group named shinhwa , had first performance on march 24, 1998, singing 해결사 ( resolver ) on km music tank. debut album, included 해결사 ( resolver ), 으쌰! 으쌰! ( eusha! eusha! ), , 천일유혼 ( sharing forever ), released in following may. 으쌰! 으쌰! ( eusha! eusha! ), light-hearted track adopted cute image match concept of song, complete outfit in white , blue colors. 천일유혼 ( sharing forever ) charted not successful previous two. however, accused of being copy of h.o.t. , involved in controversy when tragic water accident occurred, , eusha! eusha!, fun trip @ beach, used reminder of accident. hence, debut album 해결사 (resolver) did not perform expected , band disbanded.

shinhwa s second album, t.o.p., released on 19 april 1999. garnered considerable success title song. album debuted @ #4 , peaked @ #3, selling 377,500 copies , charting 24 weeks on korean monthly chart. release of t.o.p, shinhwa began move away cute image edgier image concept. riding on success of second album, group received 1998 s best music video new male pop group award m.net, first major music award.

2000–2001: 1 , hey, come on!

shinhwa s third album, one, released on may 27, 2000. album successful shinhwa s previous 2 albums, selling approximately 423,873 copies. debuted @ number 1 , band s first number 1 album. contained 3 successful singles: 1 , dreams , , first love . album spent approximately 24 weeks on charts.

with success of one, shinhwa won 3 awards year: sbs gayo popularity award , kmtv song bonsang award , , popular singers award . revised dancing style garnered them popularity, took after likes of popular american boy bands n sync , backstreet boys. group once again underwent drastic change in appearance, taking on distinctly gothic image, of members bleaching hair. on january 13 , january 14 of year, shinhwa held 1 first concerts ever, entitled first mythology.

shinhwa s fourth album, hey, come on!, released on june 8, 2001, debuting @ #3 lead single hey, come on! rapidly climbing music charts. album s release coincided rise of korean wave, spreading group s popularity overseas. album strong seller , managed sell 430,706 copies. though success, shinhwa promoted album 1 single. in yet change in appearance, members took on cleaner look, moving away goth image in previous album. hey, come on! charted 28 weeks on korean monthly chart , ranked #11 on 2001 year-end chart.

while album stronger seller, shinhwa associated controversies @ time, giving group heavy publicity absence of group member andy , alleged copying of shinhwa s popular single, hey, come on! taiwanese boy band, energy.

on january 31, 2002, shinhwa released compilation album entitled, choice. album featured of members favorite songs , of popular tracks well. in contrast hey, come on! s strong sales, choice met moderate success, selling more 171,368 copies , debuted , peaked @ #4 before dropped korean monthly chart. however, when yearly chart released, choice ranked #31, selling total of 183,098 copies.

2002–2003: perfect man, wedding, , leaving sm entertainment

a few months after release of choice, shinhwa released fifth studio album, perfect man, on march 29, 2002. album marked return of member andy lee. album accompanied change in group s appearance moved away clean more preppy style sporting trendy clothing , styles. perfect man debuted @ #1 on korean monthly chart, becoming shinhwa s second #1 album. title track became popular among fans, letting shinhwa promote album second single, pray 4 u . album once again strong seller, selling 355,333 copies , #14 on year end chart top 100 albums in 2002 album sales 362,639 copies. charted approximately 23 weeks.

on august 25, 2003, shinhwa experienced 1 of first international breakthroughs in asia when perfect man ranked #10 on singapore-mandarin chart. recognition, chosen korea s representative in pop asia 2002 ceremony in japan , later invited korea s representative in japan s asia dream concert (abu award ceremony).

towards end of 2002, shinhwa made history in korean music industry becoming longest-running korean boy band release of sixth album, wedding, on december 6, 2002. became second artist in south korea release 2 albums in single year. wedding debuted , peaked @ #3 , sold 273,714 copies.

with expiration of group s contract, sm entertainment offered them second contract did not include 1 member, dong-wan. other shinhwa s members leader, eric, disagreed , took action reject , signed new company, entertainment. however, had go court retain use of name, won , duly moved sm entertainment entertainment. because contract entertainment did not begin until 2004, shinhwa members pursued solo activities in 2003.

shinhwa released compilation album entitled winter story 2003-2004 on december 30, 2003, sold on 100,000 copies. lead single young gunz requested @ radio stations. because success, shinhwa began releasing winter story every winter afterwards.

shinhwa had live concert april 18 april 20, 2003 named everlasting mythology. went on winter story tour, traveled 6 cities: seoul, pusan, daejeon, incheon, daegu, , kwangju going japan concert call shinhwa first live in tokyo, held japanese fan meeting called have fun shinhwa on m.net tour.

the members of shinhwa pursued solo activities in 2003. min-woo went solo under name m, releasing first album entitled un-touch-able, while hye-sung collaborated kangta , lee ji-hoon project group s. jun jin branched out acting drama forbidden love alongside actress kim tae-hee. andy , jun jin participated in korean sitcom nonstop 4 banjun drama. eric began acting in dramas after acting in several cfs.

2004–2005: entertainment , daesang awards

shinhwa s first album entertainment entitled brand new. debuted @ #3 , peaked @ #1 in november, selling 320,337 copies. unlike previous albums, brand new had different beat, transitioning bubblegum pop dance songs. group heavily promoted brand new 4 singles: angel , oh! , crazy , , title track. album ranked #4 on 2004 year-end chart.

on december 10, 2004, shinhwa awarded daesang best artist of year first time @ seoul gayo daesang awards. several weeks later, on december 29, shinhwa awarded second daesang @ 2004 sbs gayo daejun awards, winning 2 of possible 4 daesang in year rain , lee soo young receiving other two. in 2004, of musical artists , groups, shinhwa received awards, totaling thirteen or more, various places: m.net kmtv music video festival, seoul gayo daesang, golden disc awards , mbc, kbs, sbs gayo awards. awards other best artist of year included best male artist, best dance artist, , overseas choice award.

after success of brand new began touring. in august of year, held korea-china-japan summer camp called shinhwa summer story 2004. camp dedicated entirely non-korean fans. hundreds of non-korean fans flew korea on asia opportunity spend few days band. toured in japan , held concert, selling 13,000 tickets within week.

in yet change in appearance, shinhwa s image matured preppy style in perfect man more sophisticated look. began wearing black suits, rather uncommon among boy bands @ time. although dyed hair in various colors (from purple silver), in brand new stopped completely, leaving hair in either brown or black. trimmed hair neat style or cut short, uncommon among boy bands because shaggy hair in style.

though have written lyrics music before, shinhwa took more creative control on music , began writing majority of lyrics. eric wrote rap lyrics of songs while minwoo took charge , began writing full lyrics. songs had written are: of , oh , , u . later went on write song superstar group jewelry, became hit. other members co-wrote various other songs.

although, shinhwa on hiatus throughout 2005, released 2 popular singles, how , hey dude! , held tropical summer story festival concert. majority of 2005, shinhwa hosted reality show called let s coke play battle shinhwa!. show identical american reality show, american idol people audition , sing, hoping become singers. (see notable achievements below.) end year, shinhwa released second winter story album, winter story 2004-2005, selling in excess of 102,345 copies.

2006: 8th album state of art , 1st asia tour

on january 14, 2006, shinhwa renewed contract entertainment 3 years , on march 24, celebrated 8th anniversary. released eighth studio album, state of art, on may 11. album debuted @ #1 , sold approximately 215,641 copies domestically. brand new , state of art became first consecutive #1 albums. third best selling album in 2006, behind sg wannabe s 3rd masterpiece , tvxq s o -jung.ban.hap..

on 15 april, shinhwa performed @ m-countdown in japan concert @ tokyo s budokan hall celebrating founding of mnet japan. followed release of first japanese language album inspiration #1, lead track, sun in our hearts released on june 14. album released in japan on august 16 peaked @ #4 on oricon chart, selling in excess of 100,000 copies each.

then group embarked on first asia tour concerts in japan, china, singapore, hong kong, thailand , other countries. kicked off shinhwa 2006 tour: state of art 2 concerts @ olympic gymnastics arena, seoul on 13 , 14 may. performed @ budokan hall in tokyo, , osaka-jo hall on september 24 , 26, part of 2006 japan tour inspiration#1.

2007: solo activities, volume 9 , 10th anniversary

in 2007, shinhwa went on hiatus again. celebrated 9th anniversary on march 24, 2007. shinhwa on hiatus, members expanded solo activities further, including members leaving shinhwa s management company start own: m rising (min-woo), new dream entertainment (andy), jf story entertainment (jun jin), h2 entertainment (dong-wan), , top class entertainment (eric). dong-wan released first album entitled kim dongwan on july 5, 2007. min-woo released third album on july 10, 2007 , though had intended release third album in u.s., released in korea instead. hye-sung released second album on august 8, 2007. 3 solo artists successful , consider friendly rivals.

the other members managed pursue own solo activities well. eric finished drama que sera, sera , although member in shinhwa has not pursued solo singing career, reports have mentioned possibility in near future. jun jin, released first single previous year, finished promoting , supposedly preparing first album, of min-woo, released around september. however, did not release album or single. andy starred in musical, music in heart (season 3).

in midst of solo activities, shinhwa said working on ninth album. set released on october 2007 tours october december, ninth album pushed being released in december. however, due each of members having hectic schedules, album release date pushed march 2008. while shinhwa not expected release album in 2007, released compilation album winter story 2007 on december 6, 2007, debuted @ #1 on korean monthly chart.

shortly after release of winter story 2007, shinhwa staged asia concert two-day performance on 8th , 9 december in saitama, japan followed concert in shanghai. concert s theme forever shinhwa commemorate shinhwa s 9 years of activities , announce beginning of 10th year together.

celebrating anniversary, shinhwa staged 10th anniversary concert , released volume 9. because concert last concert before members left army, 22,000 seats available concert sold out.

after 10th anniversary , release of 9th album, members continued work on solo career. dong-wan released 2nd solo studio album , junjin released 1st solo studio album , joined infinity challenge 7th member. min-woo released 3rd solo studio album along hye-sung released own 3rd solo studio album. hyesung release part 2 of 3rd album on january 2009. eric go on star in drama, strongest chil woo. dong-wan released single album , jun jin released mini album. min-woo released mini album in summer of 2009 , andy continued career musical actor , released 2nd studio album.

2008–2011: mandatory military service

in october 2008 eric enlisted mandatory military service, dong-wan in november @ army training camp in gongju, chungcheongnam-do both served non-active duty, e.g. public service workers, after undergoing 4 weeks of basic training. jun jin enlisted on october 22, 2009 @ nonsan military camp in chungcheongnam-do province 4 weeks of basic training , continued public service worker. on january 11, 2010, andy enlisted mandatory military service , member serve 21 months of active duty. min-woo last of members enlist in february 2010. served non-active duty after undergoing 4 weeks of basic training. hye-sung exempt military service due serious , recurring injuries in knee sustained during concert in 2001.

on 30 october 2010, eric discharged military service. dong-wan discharged on december 17 after serving 24 months administrative worker @ seodaemun-gu district office. andy discharged active duty on october 31, 2011 ministry of national defense in yongsan-gu, seoul. jun jin discharged on 14 november 2011, after working @ gangnam management corporation, managing culture center’s fitness club , parking lot. followed min-woo on march 2, 2012, after serving public service officer in seoul station.

2011–2012: shinhwa company , 10th album return

shinhwa in 2012

on 1 august 2011, shinhwa became first k-pop group own own entertainment company, when established shinhwa company , joint venture agency members perform group. helmed eric , min-woo co-ceos, remaining members shareholders. company manages group whole, whilst members individual activities managed respective agencies.

open world entertainment ceo, seok-woo jang, holder of rights name of shinhwa, granted permission use name long perform group. open world held rights shinhwa s overseas concerts shinhwa company, , overseas licensing of group s albums. heads of top class entertainment , liveworks company, directors of shinhwa company, former in charge of promotion , management in general, , latter provides support regarding albums, concerts , promotions.

a press conference launch shinhwa s comeback held on 5 march 2012 @ cgv cinema in cheongdam-dong, streamed live mnet media. group released tenth studio album return on 23 march 2012, pop-electro lead track venus , composed andrew jackson , lyrics min-woo. music video directed kim kwang-suk modern vampire theme , high intensity choreography. followed comeback concerts 2012 shinhwa grand tour in seoul: return @ olympic gymnastics arena on 24 , 25 march 2012, marking 14th anniversary. asian tour continued onto japan, china, taiwan , singapore end of april , concluded in beijing in july, 10 shows in 8 cities , 5 countries.

as part of comeback group hosted first exclusive variety program, shinhwa broadcast, aired on cable channel jtbc. producers held public shoot , press conference on 15 march showcase programme, premiered on saturday 17 march 2012. featured in photospread , interview in may issue of cosmopolitan korea, photos shot @ gucci flagship store in seoul.

2013-2014: 15th , 16th anniversary concert , 11th album classic

in january 2013, announced group resume music activities group release of 11th studio album , 15th anniversary concert in march. on 30 january, further information announced, detailing comeback 2 concerts titled, 2013 shinhwa 15th anniversary concert: legend continues held on 16 , 17 march @ olympic gymnastics arena; , release of 11th studio album in may. on same day information on ticketing , teaser video released. tickets went on sale on 13 february @ 20:00, , 25,000 tickets 2 concerts sold out within 5 minutes of going on sale, on 300,000 people tried buy tickets.

on 1 may, company announced release of classic on 16 may. followed asian concert tour, 2013 shinhwa grand tour: classic in support of album. lead track album love , mv featuring japanese actress fujii mina. after 3 weeks of music programme appearances, track collected 8 first place wins, including triple crown on m! countdown, 2 each show champion , music core; , 1 music bank.

on february 13, 2014, group announced hold 16th anniversary concert on march 22–23, 2014 @ olympic park gymnastics stadium. concert titled here, referring first concert in 2001 held @ same venue. due gambling scandal happened in november 2013, andy absent shows. however, on march 23, 2014, second , last show, lee made surprise appearance , apologized audience. @ end of show, min-woo announced group release new album in october 2014. in concert, sold out 27,000 seats , ticketing website server crashed, making impossible enter site, proving fierceness of shinhwa concert ticketing. due of individual activity, shinhwa making comeback in next year.shinhwa member eric going star in kbs 2tv drama titled, discovery of love set air in august. shin hye-sung looking release solo album after winning popular asian award in china, while andy taking time off due recent illegal gambling charges. lee min-woo scheduled hold beijing , shanghai asian tour july , august. before going china, travel japan month , hold solo concert fans there. shin hye-sung, lee min-woo, , jun jin attending 2014 young future concert in beijing on july 12. meanwhile, kim dong-wan continuing study in canada improve english language skills.

2015-2016: 12th album , 13th album unchanging

shinhwa performing @ kcon jeju 2015

in january 2015, shinhwa announced appearing on seoul broadcasting system (sbs) s 800th inkigayo episode, including return of andy extended hiatus. appearance marked first time shinhwa returning inkigayo since promotions 8 years earlier. group announced releasing 12th full-length album on february 26, 2015, titled we.

upon release of track sniper produced ldn noise rose top of 5 real-time music charts, bugs, genie, olleh music, mnet, , cyworld, , music video single reached on million youtube views within 2 weeks of song s release. shinhwa won show champion song sniper on march 11, 2015.

in october 2016, shinhwa announced comeback plans 13th album, titled unchanging , stating album released in 2 parts: first part in november , second part in january. have scheduled domestic concerts december 17-18. shinhwa announced usual venue in hold concerts in, olympic gymnastics arena, undergoing renovations , instead holding december concerts @ kintex exhibition center in ilsan. comeback plans state broadcast promotion activities begin after album s part 2 release. on october 22, shinhwa digitally released surprise song titled said .

at 12:00am october 29, part of unchanging officially released, titled orange. music video album s title track, named orange , featured in second shinhwa v live broadcast, , later released on youtube via shinhwa s official youtube channel , through cjenmmusic official channel. title track orange song dedicated shinhwa changjo. title of album , title track acknowledges shinhwa s official fandom colour. prior official release of part i, shinhwa revealed limited edition of mini-album available pre-order. limited edition included optional limited poster, available during pre-order period.