Today SM Entertainment is home to some of K-Pop’s most popular girl groups and boy groups, but this successful agency got off to a rocky start.
In 1989, Lee Soo Man founded SM Entertainment, then known as SM Studio, in Gangnam after he graduated from California State University in the United States and returned to South Korea. The first artist he ever signed was Hyun Jin Young.
Hyun, the son of a jazz pianist, grew up surrounded by music. He began singing, dancing, and rapping at a young age, and by the age of 14, he was recruited by Korea’s first breakdance group, Spark. After dropping out of school to pursue hip-hop full time, Hyun met Lee Soo Man, passed an audition, and began training with Lee Soo Man to prepare for his debut.
After his debut, Hyun Jin Young gained popularity as a hip-hop artist despite his initial mediocre album sales, finding success with the hit song “Sexy Woman” and more.
Unfortunately, Hyun’s career took a nosedive following a series of drug convictions. He was imprisoned for marijuana use in 1991 and methamphetamines in 1993. After being released from prison, Hyun was arrested again for drug use in 1995 and 1998.
Once you become hooked on drugs, there is no easy way to quit. It’s just like being constantly haunted by a ghost that drives you to a dead end. Every single thing about reality bothers you. You always need something more and more stimulating, and in the end, you’re confusing reality with illusions.
— Hyun Jin Young
Amid his addiction struggles, Hyun attempted to return to the entertainment industry several times in the late 1990s and early 2000s, forming the hip-hop duo I.W.B.H. with Lee Tak and releasing new albums. Unfortunately, his career never fully recovered.
Where is SM Entertainment’s first artist now? After releasing his fifth album, Street Jazz In My Soul, in 2006, he left the entertainment industry to begin teaching at RAUM, a music academy in Gangnam. He has also worked as a producer for SidusHQ.
Watch Hyun Jin Young perform “Sexy Woman” here:
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