Moon Hee-joon (Korean: 문희준; born March 14, 1978), also spelled Moon Hee-jun, is a South Korean pop rock singer-songwriter and dancer signed under SidusHQ. He initially rose to fame as the leader of former boy band H.O.T. under SM Entertainment.

Biography

1996–2001: H.O.T.

Being the second member to join H.O.T. after auditioning, Moon made his debut as a singer as the leader of the boy group. The group debuted with their first album, We Hate All Kinds of Violence in September 1996, which was accused of being plagiarized and lawsuits were placed against them. Despite their controversial debut, the group eventually rose to fame with their first hit, Candy and We Are the Future, which the latter won them a MTV award for Best International Video. During his time as part of the group, Moon composed and wrote music for the group and with fellow member, Jang Woo-hyuk, he often choreographed the group's dance routine.[unreliable source?] Despite H.O.T.'s success, after releasing their last album, Outside Castle in September 2000, the group disbanded in May 2001.

2001–2005: Solo artist and leaving S.M. Entertainment

After the disbandment of the group, Moon stayed on in SM Entertainment with Kangta, who was also part of H.O.T., and debuted as a solo artist. Moon attempted to establish a rock music career with his first album, Alone, but received criticism from the public. His second album, Messiah, was tinted with controversy as one of the songs, Media, was banned from all 3 major broadcasting stations in South Korea, for attacking mass media. After the release of his third album, Legend, in 2003, Moon released The Best: Soaring for a Dream, his last album under S.M. Entertainment and created his own company, PS Entertainment. After Moon released his fourth album, Triple X, he enlisted in the army in 2005.

2006–2009: Military service, SidusHQ and comeback

Before entering the army, Moon had signed a contract with SidusHQ and during his time in the army, he hosted the KFN Korean Army Broadcast "Music Talk Show", which received recognition from various Korean artistes. In 2008, Moon released his fifth album, Special Album, which included songs from H.O.T. previous albums. Moon released his first mini album, Last Cry, in 2009. In the same year, Moon appeared in sitcom Taehee, Hyegyo, Jihyun and took a break from the music scene.

2010–present: Other activities, Begins , HotSechgodRG

Despite being absent from the music scene, Moon took up hosting in several variety programs such as, Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend, Mnet's 'Wide Celebrity News' and other programs.[unreliable source?] In 2013, Moon released his second mini album, Begins, after being away from the music scene from 3 years. It was released on January 18, 2013.

Moon, his H.O.T. bandmate Tony An and three members of disbanded or inactive fellow first-generation idol groups Eun Ji-won of Sechs Kies, Danny Ahn of g.o.d and Chun Myung-hoon of NRG starred in their own variety-reality television show Handsome Boys of the 20th Century. He had conceived the idea following the success of Reply 1997 and invited the four other entertainers, all of whom were born in the same year (1978), to star in a reality version of the show. They called their "group" HOTSechgodRG, which is made up of each of their idol group names.[unreliable source?][unreliable source?] They have since appeared on shows such as KBS's Happy Together SBS's Running Man. Due to the reuniting of Eun's group Sechs Kies and Danny Ahn's group g.o.d, they have not appeared as a five-some since the 2014 show Where is My Superhero?, which aired on OnStyle, due to busy schedules but remain close friends. The group, except Eun, most recently met at Moon's bachelor party which was shown on My Little Old Boy, the reality show that Tony An was participating in.

In 2015, Moon signed an exclusive contract with KOEN Stars.

Personal life

Park and Moon at the press conference of their wedding

On November 25, 2016, Moon announced that he would be marrying fellow entertainer Park Hye-Kyeong, also known as Soyul of Crayon Pop, who is 13 years his junior. The wedding was held on February 12, 2017, in Seoul. The pair then welcomed their first child, daughter Moon Hee-yul, on May 12, 2017.[unreliable source?] On February 5, 2022 the couple announced of their second pregnancy. Their second child, son Moon Heewoo was born on September 7, 2022.

Discography

Studio albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsSales
KOR RIAK
AloneReleased: October 5, 2001 Label: SM Entertainment Formats: CD, cassette1KOR: 317,237
MessiahReleased: July 18, 2002 Label: SM Entertainment Formats: CD, cassette3KOR: 171,652
LegendReleased: July 28, 2003 Label: SM Entertainment Formats: CD, cassette3KOR: 58,835
Triple XReleased: September 20, 2005 Label: PS Entertainment Formats: CD, cassette10KOR: 27,656

Other albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsSales
KOR RIAKKOR Gaon
Live RevolutionReleased: December 9, 2002 Label: SM Entertainment Formats: CD, cassette—N/a
Best: A Soaring For DreamReleased: April 28, 2004 Label: SM Entertainment Formats: CD21KOR:13,316
Special AlbumReleased: March 18, 2008 Label: IHQ Formats: CD7KOR: 8,790
20th AnniversaryReleased: November 12, 2016 Label: Interpark Formats: CD, digital download—N/a15KOR: 2,331

Extended plays

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsSales
KOR RIAKKOR Gaon
Last CryReleased: June 18, 2009 Label: IHQ Formats: CD, digital download—N/a—N/a
BeginsReleased: January 18, 2013 Label: Line Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download8KOR: 4,593

Singles

TitleYearPeak chart positionsSalesAlbum
KOR Gaon
"Alone"2001Alone
"Generous" (아낌없이 주는 나무)2002Messiah
"Silent Conflict" (G.선상의 아리아)2003Legend
"Love Letter"2004KOR (Physical): 8,037Winter Letter (single)
"A Small Village Called Memory" (기억이란 작은 마을)2005Triple X
"Obsession"2008Special Album
"Toy"2009Last Cry
"Scandal" (스캔들)2013Begins
"I'm Not OK"68KOR (Digital): 32,302

Filmography

Television series

YearTitleRole
2009Hilarious HousewivesMoon Hee-joon

Variety Shows

YearTitleEpisode
2011–2020Immortal Songs: Singing the LegendCo-host (Waiting Room)
2013Handsome Boys of the 20th CenturyMain cast
2014Where is My Superhero?Main cast
2016–2017SingderellaCo-host
2019–2020The Return of SupermanFather of JamJam
2023Oh Eun-young Gamejudge

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination
Award ceremonyYearCategoryNominated workResultRef.
KBS Entertainment Awards2018Top Excellence Award – Talk/Show CategoryImmortal Songs: Singing the LegendWon
2019Grand Prize (Daesang)The Return of SupermanWon
KMTV Korean Music Awards2001BonsangMoon Hee-joonWon
IF AwardWon
2002BonsangWon
Nate AwardWon
2003BonsangWon
Audience Popularity AwardWon
Mnet Asian Music Awards2001Best Male Artist"Alone"Nominated
2002"Generous" (아낌없이 주는 나무)Nominated
Netizen Popularity AwardWon
2003Best Rock Performance"My Silent Conflict" (G 선상의 아리아)Nominated
2004Best Rock Video"Paper Airplane"Nominated
Blue AwardWon
2005Best Rock Performance"A Small Village Called Memories"Nominated
Gmarket Netizen Popularity AwardWon
2008Best Rock Performance"Obsession"Nominated

External links

  • (in Korean)