Joon Park

Joon Park (Korean name: Park Joon-hyung, ; born July 20, 1969) is a South Korean-born American singer, actor and entertainer based in South Korea. As a singer, he is best known as the leader and rapper of the Korean pop group g.o.d. Early life Park was born in South Korea, the youngest of three siblings, and raised in the United States, later becoming an American citizen. His father died when he was young, leaving him and his older siblings to be raised by their single mother. He graduated from La Quinta High School in Westminster, California in 1987 and attended California State University, Long Beach. Prior to entering the entertainment industry, he worked at an advertising firm as a graphic designer. Career Early years and forming g.o.d In 1997 Park moved to Seoul, South Korea, where his older sister had been working, with the dream of creating a pop music group. He wanted to mix Korean music with a twist of western culture. The first member he recruited was his cousin Danny Ahn, followed by Danny's friend Son Ho-young, aspiring singer Yoon Kye-sang and rookie actress Kim Sun-a. However, their agency was forced to cut funding for trainees due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis and only relented due to Park and the other members' persistence. Singer-songwriter Park Jin-young was introduced to be their producer and the group was initially a six-piece mixed-gender group tentatively named "GOT6".