Choi Jung-hoon

Choi Jung-hoon (born March 10, 1992) is a South Korean musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer best known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the Korean indie rock band Jannabi.

Choi Jung-hoon was born on March 10, 1992, in Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

His family consists of his parents and an older brother.

He was raised a Buddhist and spent his childhood and school days in Bundang's academy district called "Dolmaro" (he would go on to write the lyrics of the song Dolmaro in Jannabi's Legend album).

He attended Bundang Elementary School, Seohyun Middle School, and Yatap High School.

Choi displayed interest and talent in music from an early age.

Since fifth grade, he has liked writing essays and lyrics.

Under the influence of his mother, he often listened to and performed songs by Sanulrim, Elton John, and The Beatles, which were different from the likes of his peers.

Although he was good at music, he dreamed of becoming a professional football player.

However, Elton John's concert in South Korea and his poster advertisement that said "the best singer-songwriter in the world" left a deep impression on Choi.

He thought that being a singer-songwriter was "the coolest job" after hearing his mother's explanation of the term, which inspired him to become such.

In his middle and high school years, Choi met his future Jannabi bandmates Jang Kyung-joon and Kim Do-hyung, and they would regularly perform at Bundang Central Park.

He also served as the student council's president and reportedly ranked 8th in the entire school.

Following graduation, he gained admission to Kyung Hee University, where he majored in business administration, but decided to take a year off from college to pursue music.

He trained at FNC Entertainment, nearly debuting as a member of N.Flying, but decided to leave after realizing his creativity was restricted by the agency and he had a different musical style from the group.

In 2012, Jannabi was formed under an independent record label, Peponi Music, established and headed by Choi Jung-hoon's older brother, Choi Jung-joon.

The band started from scratch, performing on clubs and busking on the streets of Hongdae and Insa-dong.

In August 2013, Jannabi auditioned for the fifth season of the survival audition show Superstar K to make their band known.

While Kim Do-hyung and Yoo Young-hyun were eliminated, Choi continued to participate as a member of the newly created vocalist group Plan B. Plan B was later eliminated, reaching the Top 7 Qualifying Round.

On April 28, 2014, Choi officially made his debut as a member of Jannabi with the release of the single Rocket.

In the same year, the band has continued to release digital singles November Rain and Pole Dance, its first extended play (EP), See Your Eyes, and several original sound tracks for Korean television dramas.

On August 4, 2016, Jannabi released its first studio album, Monkey Hotel.

About a year after the band's debut, he wrote the lyrics to the songs with Kim and Yoo.

For the following years, Choi performed as the sole lyricist and producer of the band's songs.

He has hands-on involvement in the pre-production work of their albums, merchandise, and shows.

In 2018, Choi Jung-hoon participated in the song "Lilac" from Changmo's EP The Moment of Contact.

In December 2018, Choi competed on King of Mask Singer under the name "Ginger Man," appearing in episodes 183 and 184.

In 2019, Jannabi has created an unprecedented sensation after releasing their second studio album Legend with the title track "For Lovers Who Hesitate."

Aside from the songs in the album, their past songs simultaneously charted on the Circle Digital Chart and Billboard K-Pop Hot 100.

In 2019, following Jannabi's rise to fame, Choi appeared on various television shows, including KBS' In Sync, where vocalists try to find their perfect match to do a duet, the social commentary talk show Hello Counselor, and MBC's I Live Alone, where he particularly gained attention by revealing his daily life.

On November 6, 2020, Choi and Kim continued to record as a duo and released Jannabi's second EP, Jannabi's Small Pieces I, with the title song "A thought on an autumn night."

The title track ranked first on various music charts in South Korea, such as Bugs, Genie, and Vibe.

On July 18, 2021, despite Kim and Jang Kyung-joon being on a hiatus due to military service, Choi continued to promote the band with session musicians, releasing their third studio album, The Land of Fantasy.

On May 10, 2022, Choi released Jannabi's third EP, Jannabi's Small Pieces II: Grippin'TheGreen, with all tracks written and produced by him.

He revealed that the album was filled with "songs made at home, in the afternoon, mostly while looking out the window," with Choi hoping that listeners would listen to the EP like that as well.

The EP's lead single "Grippin'TheGreen," ranked first on the Bugs! and quickly entered the Top 100 of the Genie and Melon music charts.

In 2020, Choi participated in the 28th anniversary project of the fashion magazine Elle Korea called "RECONNECT."

It features the song "For the Gone," written and composed by him alongside Code Kunst and Simon Dominic.

In March 2021, Choi appeared on Hangout with Yoo.

In July 2021, he participated in the song "Next Episode" from AKMU's EP of the same title.