Kim Ye-won (Korean: 김예원; born August 19, 1998), better known by her stage name Umji (엄지), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer. She is a member of the girl groups GFriend and Viviz.
Early life
Umji was born on August 19, 1998, in Yeonsu-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, South Korea[1] and is the youngest daughter of her family (one older brother and one older sister). Her father is dentist and chairman of a famous dental corporation in South Korea.[2]
Umji went to English preschool and graduated from Shinsong Middle School, Incheon. She graduated from the School of Performing Arts Seoul (SOPA - Theater Department) in February 2017, along with her groupmate, SinB.[3][4]
Career
Umji made her debut as a member of the group GFriend on January 15, 2015, with the release of the extended play Season of Glass, along with the single "Glass Bead".[5] The group first live performance took place on the KBS2's Music Bank on January 16.[6]
In September 2016, she released her first solo soundtrack for the South Korean drama Shopping King Louie, entitled "The Way".[7][8] In October 2016, the singer stopped activities with the group after being diagnosed with a twist in the sarus muscle.[9][10] She returned a month after recovering for the Melon Music Awards.[citation needed]
In 2018, along with member Sanha from the boys band Astro, the singer was chosen to host a talk show for the youth audience entitled Yogobara.[12][13]
In March 2020, the singer released her second soundtrack for the South Korean drama Welcome called "Welcome".[14][15] In April 2020, she replaced her fellow group member Eunha as a new DJ for Naver Now "Avenger Girls".[16]
In October 2020, Umji appeared with Eunha on the show Knowing Bros and showcased a tip of the single "Mago" from GFriend's studio album 回:Walpurgis Night released two weeks later on November 9.[17]
On October 6, 2021, it was announced that Umji, along with former GFriend members, Eunha and SinB, have signed a contract with BPM Entertainment to debut as a trio.[18] On October 8, 2021, it was announced their new group name would be Viviz.[19] Viviz debuted on February 9, 2022, with the extended play Beam of Prism.[20]
^"NAVER NOW". now.naver.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
^Ahn, Byung-gil (November 1, 2020). ‘아는 형님’ 여자친구, 베일 속 ‘MAGO’ 노출 ['Knowing Brother' GFriend exposes 'MAGO' in veil]. Sports trend (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020 – via Naver.
^Jang, Woo-young (October 6, 2021). 여자친구 은하x신비x엄지, BPM엔터 전속계약..3인조 그룹 예고 [전문] [GFriend Eunha x Sinbi x Umji, BPM Entertainment exclusive contract..3 member group notice]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2021 – via Naver.
^Hwang Chae-hyun (November 16, 2021). "엄지, 라디오 DJ 데뷔" [Umji debuts as a radio DJ] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021 – via Naver.
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