Lee Gi-kwang

Lee Gi-kwang
Gikwang in 2016
Native name	이기광
Born	(1990-03-30) March 30, 1990 Gwangju, South Korea
Occupation	Singer Actor Songwriter
Musical career
Genres	K-pop Dance Hip-hop
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Cube Entertainment (2009-2016)
Associated acts	Beast

Lee Gi-kwang (Korean: 이기광; born March 30, 1990), known professionally as Gikwang or Kikwang, is a South Korean singer, actor, and songwriter. He originally debuted as solo singer with the stage name AJ (Ace Junior), releasing his first mini album First Episode: A New Hero on April 4, 2009. In October 2009, he debuted as the main dancer, visual and a lead vocalist of boy group Beast.

He began his acting career with a supporting role in the popular television sitcom High Kick Through the Roof (2009–10) and had supporting roles in dramas My Princess (2011), Me Too, Flower! (2011), Mrs. Cop (2015) and Monster (2016). He also became an MC for various shows such as Hot Brothers and Inkigayo.

Early life and career

Lee Gi-kwang was born on March 30, 1990^[1] in Naju, South Korea. Gi-kwang found interest in hip hop and had particular liking to many classic hip hop acts. At first he was backed by his family to pursue a musical career but eventually he passed an audition and became a trainee. He was trained under JYP Entertainment for four years before being eliminated. He was asked by the former president of Cube Entertainment to join the agency without auditioning, making him the company's first trainee.

He was known as the solo singer AJ or Ace Junior when he debuted and released a mini-album First Episode: A New Hero on April 4, 2009. He made his debut on April 2, 2009 on Mnet M!Countdown.^[2] He was dubbed by Korean media as the next Rain.^[3] He met controversies when his name created dispute among netizens for having a similar name with Paran’s AJ(Later became a U-KISS member). He now goes with his original name when he redebuted with Beast.^[4] On June 17, 2009, AJ opened for Lady Gaga's Korean showcase.^[5] Yoon Doo-joon, Yong Jun-hyung, Jang Hyun-seung and Yang Yo-seob participated as backup dancers for AJ before debuting in Beast.^[6] AJ was the topic of a short-lived reality show, Diary of AJ, which was hosted by MTV. The show ran on two episodes on May 9, 2009 with a total of two episodes showcasing his Journey on his debut as AJ.

Debut with Beast and Acting Career

Six months after debuting as soloist, Gikwang was chosen to debut as member of Beast, originally known as B2ST, an acronym for "Boys 2 Search the Top". However, their name was changed to BEAST (acronym for "Boys of East Asia Standing Tall"). The group debuted in October 2009. Gikwang had an acting role as Kang Sae-ho on MBC's High Kick Through the Roof, which aired in 2009 and 2010.^[7]

Gikwang was featured in K.Will's music video for the song, "Present",^[8] and also appeared in Sunny Hill's "Midnight Circus" music video. He was selected as MC for MBC's Sunday Sunday Night segment Hot Brothers^[9] and the KBS show Win Win.^[10] He was also chosen as the model for the ‘Ice Tea Tio’ from DongSuh Foods.^[11] Gi-kwang was the featured rapper on Ahn Jinkyung’s "Love is Pathetic" from the mini album Be the Voice.^[12] Yoon Doojoon, Gi-kwang and IU appeared as special hosts on Music Core on August 21, 2010.^[13] On December 29, 2010, Gi-kwang was awarded with Popularity Award from the 2010 MBC Entertainment Awards.^[14]

Gi-kwang, together with IU, were selected to be new MCs of Inkigayo in replacement of CNBlue’s Jung Yonghwa from March 20, 2011. The two were paired with the existing MCs, 2AM’s Jo Kwon, and f(x)’s Sulli. He was also chosen as the leading man in A Pink's music video, "I Don't Know".^[15] Gikwang was featured on Brave Brothers' song "Break Up" alongside Electroboyz, as a part of Brave Brother's sixth project album on July 12, 2011.^[16] He was cast as the comical role in the drama My Princess starring Song Seung-hun and Kim Tae-hee in 2011.^[17] He also played Lee Ji-ah's patrol partner in 2011 drama Me Too, Flower!, where his character was Jo Ma-roo.

On February 8, 2012 Gikwang appeared in Ailee's debut music video, "Heaven". Gi-kwang, SNSD's Tiffany, and CNBlue's Yonghwa were also MC for SBS K-Pop Super Concert in America on November 10, 2012. He was an MC on December 14, 2012 along with Infinite's Woohyun, Moon Hee-jun, and Danny Ahn for 2012 Melon Music Awards. He had a role as Kyung Sook who is terminally ill with leukemia on KBS Drama Special My Friend is Still Alive in 2013. In 2014, he had an acting role as himself as the lead actor in 20's (Twenty Years Old). In August 2015, Gi-kwang returned to the small screen as Lee Se-won on SBS's Monday-Tuesday drama Mrs. Cop. His role was the youngest detective on the team along with Kim Hee-Ae as Choi Young-Jin, the captain of the team. In 2016, Gi-Kwang acted in Monster and Momin's Room.

Discography

Gikwang performing in Singapore at BEAST Ordinary Fanmeet 2015

Mini-albums

Filmography

Films

Dramas

Variety Shows

Hosting

Music video appearances

Awards

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lee Gi-kwang.

• Lee Gi-kwang on Twitter
  
• Lee Gi-kwang at the Internet Movie Database
• Lee Gi-kwang at HanCinema