Singer/Model turned Actor or Actor who tries to sing

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We have a short list of models/singers turned good actors, and a shorter list of actors turned good singers… no matter the voice or the musical talent.

Go Hyun Jung  was the runner-up in the Miss Korea pageant in 1989

Lee Honey – Miss Korea 2006, 3rd runner-up at Miss Universe 2007, Kim Sa-Rang Miss Korea 2000, her second runner-up was …drums Park Si-Yeon

Cha Seung Won started as a model in 1988

Daniel Henney – model turned actor( with roles in USA productions and kdramas, winner at Newport beach film festival of the Best actor award)

Park Shi Hu – model turned actor

Lee Seung Ki – this guy is ratings magnet yet he is a singer

Rain 

Uhm Jung-hwa began her career as a chorus member of MBC and officially debuted as a singer in 1993 with her first album Sorrowful Secret

Yoon Kye-sang was in g.o.d yet now is better known for his roles

Sung Yuri – she ain’t on my fave list, yet she is an accomplished actress and ex-member of Fin.K.L,the same goes for S.E.S’s Eugene, Baby VOX’s Yoon Eun-hye, Sugar’s Hwang Jung Eum or Park Soo Jin, SuJu’s Choi Siwon

Big Bang’s TOP – I think he has a Baeksang and a Blue Dragon award under his belt

Alex of  Clazziquai is doing so and so

UEE  I love this girl as actress, as singer-I don’t even listen After School

JYJ = two kdrama actors : Micky YooChun and JaeJoong, and a musical actor Junsu

My favorite actor-singer : No Min Woo was in TRAX, now known for Park DongJoo or the ill bro from Midas

Go Ah Ra

Han Ye Seul won a supermodel competition

Actors struggling with their indie bands:

Kim Jae Wook modeled at 17 , he is a good actor , yet his band Walrus isn’t that well known

Ji Hyun Woo (Queen InHyun’s Man) has a band too – do you know its name? because I don’t… wiki says it’s “The Nuts”

Lee Hyun Jae was the drummer in Shut Up Flower Boy Band, yet in real life he is a drummer himself for indie band “Mate”-

Gu Hye-sun ( Boys Over Flowers ) composed a mini album: Breath ( she was advised by her own agency that acting is better for her rather than singing)

And now the short list of actors who really made it as singers after modelling or acting

Lee Jun Ki is in a grey area: started as a model but in the same time tried minor roles in dramas, and debuted as a singer in the year he won recognition as a talented actor My Jun, My Style (2006) was his first album (wikipedia) – he has a considerable fanbase for his singing abilities and not his dramas

Jang Na-Ra – SMEnt wanted for her a singing career yet she made it as actress too(she debuted in 2001 as a singer and actress)

Jang Geun Seok –  he really made it in Japan – I think he was twice number one on Oricon chart – which is huge considering the competition already existent in Japan

Yoo InNa is a peculiar case :  she was trained for 10 years to be a singer yet she is an actress.

Who says you MUST have a pretty voice? ask Lee Min Ho – he can do “Everything” except singing

However all the Korean actors sing and dance at their fan-meetings  … c’mon nobody would buy pretty expensive  tickets if the host doesn’t entertain the viewers for at least 2 hours. Therefore we can see amazing fanmeetings shows – see Kim Nam Gil singing to break your heart, Moon Geun Young dancing like she owns the stage, Diva … ops Jang Geun Suk sings, dance, mixes like a pro DJ, of course makes tons of silly things and obviously outrageous fashion, Jung Il Woo would play the piano, No Min Woo drums and plays the piano, Kim Hyun Joong even had such an expensive ticket for his fan meeting that his agency almost marketed it as concert – or it was a concert marketed as fan-meeting? – but he is rather singer than actor with all his wishes to be a popular actor too.

Actors usually don’t launch albums and if they launch one they don’t make promotions, therefore hardly we can see an actor turned popular singer, even though in theory it is possible, in practice there is a handful of actors who really can say that they have a singing career.

Usually Korean entertainers try the singing > acting route because it is easier to get some popularity and after that roles with a lot of screen presence rather than acting in tons of dramas as “extra” until one casting director or PD notices the guy/girl in cause.