Eugene

Kim Yoo-jin (김유진) (born March 3, 1981), professionally known in English as Eugene, is a South Korean singer and actress, known mostly for her musical career as part of the hit K-pop group S.E.S..

Birth name: Kim Yoo Jin (김유진)
Also known as: Eugene, Yoo Jin, Gloria
Born: March 3, 1981 (1981-03-03)
Origin: Seoul, South Korea and Guam
Occupation(s): Singer, Actress
Years active: 1997-2002 (group), 2002-present (solo)

Early Life

Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea, but spent her childhood in Guam (going under the name "Gloria"), moving there after finishing elementary school. She returned to Korea with her parents and younger sister sometime in high school, and eventually graduated from Korea Kent Foreign School. She is fluent in English, and her native Korean. She is a Christian.

Career Start

By way of an audition tape, Eugene was able to be part of a music group for SM Entertainment in South Korea, even though she was still in Guam. Debuting in 1997, S.E.S. became one of the biggest Korean groups of all time, having the record for biggest selling album by a female group in Korea. While in S.E.S., Eugene became known for her beauty and was part of the reason why S.E.S. had many advertising contracts. In fact, for certain print campaigns (like for Korean cosmetics company Etude), Eugene had the leading role, being the focus of the advertisements. Although vocally weaker than the other member Shoo, Eugene was able to get herself noticed.

Solo Career

After the split of S.E.S. in 2002, Kim has appeared in four Korean dramas: Loving You, Save The Last Dance, Wonderful Life, and I Really, Really Like You. She has also appeared in commercials and advertisements, most notably for Korean cosmetics company Cathy Cat. In addition, she has released two solo albums. My True Style, her first album, has sold nearly 65,000 records and had one hit ballad, The Best. Her second album 810303 sold a disappointing 19,000 copies. Although sales were low, Eugene still had a very successful single with Windy, mostly due to her new "sexy" image (compared to her previous girl next door image). This song was performed on all the music video programs in Korea for many months, in addition to her second single. Promotions were stopped near the end of the year. Eugene did some promotional work in the Philippines in mid-2006.

As of 2007, she is one of the co-hosts of KBS's Happy Together: Friends, taking over from Lee Hyori. Also, she has become part of the musical version of the film Innocent Steps.

Personal Life

Rumours had spread that Kim has been dating Park Yong-ha, with whom she had acted in the KBS drama Loving You. A witness claimed to saw Kim sitting on Park's lap snuggled tightly in his arms at the house party put up by Ryu Shi-won. However, both of them have flatly denied the liaison.

Her co-star in Wonderful Life, Lee Ji Hoon, played Min Do-hyun, the ex-boyfriend. They had a 5-year relationship (from 1997 to 2002).

Singles

• The Best
• Cha Cha
• Windy
• Wuthering Heights

Filmography

• 2002: Loving You
• 2004 SBS: Save the Last Dance for Me
• 2005 MBC: Wonderful Life
• 2006 MBC: I Really Really Like You
• 2007 Unstoppable Marriage