Lee Hyun-joo (actress)

In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.

Lee Hyun-joo
Hyun-joo in March 2018
Born (1998-02-05) February 5, 1998 (age 26)
Seoul, South Korea
Other names
  • Hyunjoo
  • Lee Hyeon-ju
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active2015–present
AgentStudio 1592[1]
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Years active
  • 2015–2016
  • 2017–2018
Labels
Formerly of
Korean name
Hangul
이현주
Hanja
Revised RomanizationI Hyeon-ju
McCune–ReischauerI Hyŏnchu

Lee Hyun-joo (Korean: 이현주; born February 5, 1998), is a South Korean actress and former singer. She is a former member of girl group April. Following her departure from the group, she participated in the KBS2's survival show The Unit and finished in fifth place, making her debut as a member of project girl group Uni.T in 2018. She is known for her roles in Love Distance 2, The Witch Store and Love, Can You Deliver Today.[2]

Career

2015–2016: April and acting career

Main article: April (girl group)

Lee Hyun-joo debuted as a member of April with the debut album Dreaming. After their second album Spring, she went on hiatus to focus on her health, and by October, she had announced her withdrawal from her group to pursue an acting career while dealing with her health issues.

In 2016, she made her acting debut with the starring television series Momin’s Room as the role of Lee Moda.

2017–present: The Unit, UNI.T and return to acting

Main articles: The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project and Uni.T

In 2017, she joined the reality television survival series The Unit, and on May 18, 2018, she won 5th place, securing her spot in the temporary girl group, Uni.T with the group's debut EP Line.

On October 12, 2018, Uni.T disbanded after five months of promoting. Lee subsequently continued as an actress and returned to her agency.

Bullying allegations controversy

On February 28, 2021, a post was made to an online forum by someone claiming to be Hyunjoo's brother. In the post, he claimed that Hyunjoo's departure from April had not been because she wanted to study acting, but because she had been forced out due to being severely bullied by the other members, at one point even attempting suicide.[3][4][5] DSP Media has denied that any bullying took place, and announced they would be pursuing legal action against Hyunjoo and her family.[6][7] As a result, April faced heavy backlash, up to and including having members removed from endorsement deals and acting roles.[8][9] Hyunjoo then posted a statement on her personal Instagram on April 18, 2021, backing the claims of the two netizens who made the accusations. She also stated that the label, DSP Media, was not allowing her to terminate her exclusive contract with them.[10] The group April subsequently disbanded.

Endorsements

On July 29, 2021, Hyun-joo was selected as the new model for cosmetic brand LOAR.[11]

Discography

Main article: April (girl group) § Discography

Filmography

Television series

Year Title Role Ref.
2016 Momin's Room Lee Moda [12]
2017 My Father Is Strange Hyeon-ju [13]
2020 Hanging On Il Deung-yi [14]

Web series

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2018 Our Neighborhood Ki yun-ji [15]
2019 Love Distance 2 Ha-young [16]
The Witch Store Yoo Young-ji [17]
Love, Can You Deliver Today Yoon Hye-joo [18]
2020 Goedam Ji See-hee [19]
Legally, Dad Kim Ah-young [20]
Touch Me if You Can Yoon Ah-ri [21]
The Colors of Our Time Yu-ra [22]
2021 Exciting Broadcasting Accident Han Yu-ra [23]
College Life That Everyone Wants Green [24]
Summer Boys Hyun-ju Cameo (ep. 10) [25]
2023 It Was Spring Baek Il-rak [26]

Television shows

Year Title Role Ref.
2015 April's On Airpril: Season 1 Regular member [27]
2016 Fact iN Star Guest [28]
2017 The Unit Regular member [29]
2018 THE UNI+ Special Show [30]
Idol Room Guest [31]
UNI.TV Regular member [32]
2019 Creator Campus [33]

References

  1. ^ Kim, Min-soo (March 22, 2023). "에이프릴 출신 이현주, 스튜디오1592와 전속계약…연기 활동 재개" [Hyunjoo Lee from April, exclusive contract with Studio 1592... resumption of acting] (in Korean). Nocut News. Retrieved March 22, 2023 – via Naver.
  2. ^ "[별별TV]'더유닛' 이현주, 인형 미모+발랄 매력..만장일치 합격". StarNews. January 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Hyun Jung-min (March 1, 2021). "DSP "에이프릴, 이현주 왕따? 가해자·피해자 나눌 수 없는 상황" [공식]". Sports World (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  4. ^ Jo Yoon-sun (February 28, 2021). "이현주, 에이프릴 탈퇴 이유=팀 내 괴롭힘?…소속사 "확인 중" (전문)[종합]". Sports Chosun (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  5. ^ Yoo Soo-yeon (March 1, 2021). "前 에이프릴 이현주 동창 A씨 "멤버 전체가 가해자"…추가 폭로". Sports World (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  6. ^ Kwak Hyun-soo (March 3, 2021). "[전문] 에이프릴 측 "이현주 측과 대화 불가능…모두 법적 대응"". Sports Donga (in Korean). Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  7. ^ Gong Mi-na (March 3, 2021). ""에이프릴 인정하고 사과하라" 이현주 남동생 2차 폭로[전문]". MT Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  8. ^ Lee Ho-yeon (March 8, 2021). "'모범택시' 측 "이나은, 소속사 협의 거쳐 교체…출연 분량 전부 재촬영" [전문]". Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  9. ^ Heo Seol-hee (March 3, 2021). "'맛남의 광장' 측 "에이프릴 나은 출연 분량 최대한 편집" [공식]". My Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  10. ^ Yoon Sang-geun (April 18, 2021). "에이프릴 이현주, 입 열었다 "3년간 폭행 피해 .. 극단적 선택도"[전문]" [April Lee Hyun-joo, opened his mouth, "Three years of assault damage .. Extreme selectivity" [Full text]] (in Korean). MT Star News. Retrieved August 21, 2021 – via Naver.
  11. ^ Lee, Chang-gyu (July 29, 2021). ""여러분 덕분에"…이현주, '아옳이' 김민영과 만남 가진 사연?". Xports News (in Korean). Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  12. ^ "'신예' 에이프릴, 데뷔 후 첫 추석...'설레는 고향行'". OSEN. February 2, 2020.
  13. ^ "김다예, '의문의 일승' 합류..윤균상 짝사랑녀로 등장". Enews24. March 1, 2021.
  14. ^ "'놓지마 정신줄' 최지수 "대박순을 연기할 수 있어서 영광" 종영 소감". Korean Economy. April 28, 2021.
  15. ^ "[화보] 유니티 예빈·앤씨아·이현주 "'더유닛' 출연 후 팬수 24배 늘어"". OSEN. February 16, 2020.
  16. ^ "[Oh!쎈 컷]'더유닛' 이현주, 대표 큐티걸..엄마미소 유발자". OSEN. February 19, 2020.
  17. ^ "'더유닛' 이현주, 숨겨둔 개인기 대방출 "오늘을 위해 연습했다"". OSEN. February 22, 2020.
  18. ^ "'더유닛' 티아라 전멤버 아름, 주황팀 리더 선발..센터 이현주". OSEN. February 26, 2020.
  19. ^ "오마이걸 아린 측 "도시괴담2' 캐스팅 확정"(공식)". Newsen. February 23, 2021.
  20. ^ "에이프릴 출신 배우 이현주, 그룹 내 왕따로 탈퇴했다는 폭로 제기 '소속사 입장은?'". News Culture. January 12, 2021.
  21. ^ "'터치 미 이프 유 캔' 이현주, 특별한 소감 전달..."행복한 촬영"". International News. August 3, 2021.
  22. ^ "이현주, 웹드 '마침내 물들다'로 연기 변신 "작가 役 기분 새로워"". Hankook Ilbo. August 14, 2021.
  23. ^ Hyun Jung-min (July 13, 2021). "이현주, 웹드 '두근두근 방송사고' 출연…에이프릴 사태 후 첫 행보". sportsworldi (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  24. ^ "웹드라마 '모두가 바라는 대학생활' 서예은 역 배우는 누구?". Ten Asia. May 21, 2021.
  25. ^ "이정신·강미나·권현빈 '썸머가이즈', 3월 30일 첫 공개·전 세계 방영 확정". Hankook Ilbo. March 10, 2021.
  26. ^ Yoo Jung-min (March 29, 2023). "이현주, '시작은 키스' 출연 확정…김종현·차선우와 '청춘 케미'". MBC News.
  27. ^ "이현주, 에이프릴 탈퇴 후 연기 첫 행보 '모민의 방'". OSEN. March 7, 2020.
  28. ^ "지세희, 2월 초 컴백 확정..물오른 미모 눈길". News1. March 11, 2020.
  29. ^ "유니티 예빈 "섹시 첫 도전..모두 새롭고 재밌어"(인터뷰)". StarNews. March 14, 2020.
  30. ^ "[별별TV]'더유닛' 윤조, 0부트→14위→7위로 순위 상승 '반전'". StarNews. March 17, 2020.
  31. ^ "[★밤TView]'더유닛' 남녀 9人 순위 공개, 1위 유키스 준X의진". StarNews. March 20, 2020.
  32. ^ "'더유닛' 이현주, 카메라 감독까지 사로잡은 깜찍함". StarNews. March 22, 2020.
  33. ^ "[★리포트]양지원부터 설하윤, '더유닛' 한계 없는 리부팅③". StarNews. March 29, 2020.