Ok Taec-yeon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ok Taec-yeon
Taec-yeon in July 2023
Born	(1988-12-27) December 27, 1988 (age 36) Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea
Education	Dankook University (BS) Korea University Graduate School of International Studies (MS)
Occupation	Rapper singer songwriter actor entrepreneur
Years active	2008–present
Agent	51K (South Korea) WME (USA)
Musical career
Also known as	TY
Genres	K-pop hip hop
Labels	51K JYP
Korean name
Hangul	옥택연
Hanja	玉澤演
RR	Ok Taekyeon
MR	Ok T'aegyŏn
Signature

Ok Taec-yeon (Hangul: 옥택연; born December 27, 1988), often called Taecyeon, is a famous South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and business owner. He is best known as the rapper for the popular South Korean boy band 2PM.

Taecyeon started acting in 2010 in the Korean drama Cinderella's Stepsister. Since then, he has starred in many TV shows like Dream High (2011), Vincenzo (2021), and Heartbeat (2023). He has also appeared in movies such as Marriage Blue (2013) and Hansan: Rising Dragon (2022).

Early Life and Education

Ok Taecyeon was born in Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea. When he was 10 years old, he moved with his parents and older sister, Jihyen, to Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States.

His sister saw an advertisement for a JYP Entertainment audition online. She convinced him to try out, even though he wasn't sure at first. On his 17th birthday, they traveled to New York City for the audition. A week later, he was chosen as one of 35 finalists. He then went to South Korea to continue in the competition.

Taecyeon first wanted to be a model. However, the judges suggested he try dancing and singing. He became one of the final twelve contestants in a show called Superstar Survival. He was the first person to leave the show.

Taecyeon lived in Massachusetts for seven years. He went to Bedford High School. There, he was part of the Chess Club, Jazz Band, and the National Honor Society. He also played on the junior varsity soccer team. After high school, he returned to Korea to start his career.

He later studied Business Administration at Dankook University. He also attended Korea University Graduate School of International Studies.

Taecyeon is very good at languages. He speaks English, Korean, and Japanese fluently. He also knows the Busan dialect, which he used in the drama Wonderful Days.

Music Career

Starting with 2PM

In 2008, Taecyeon was part of a show called Hot Blood Men on Mnet. This show followed 13 trainees as they trained to become part of a boy band called One Day.

One Day eventually split into two boy bands: 2AM and 2PM. Taecyeon became a member of 2PM. Six months after Hot Blood aired, 2PM debuted with their first song, "10 Points out of 10 Points." This song was from their first album, Hottest Time of the Day. Their popularity grew quickly with their second album, 2:00PM Time For Change.

Solo Music

In 2009, Taecyeon was featured in Baek Ji-young's popular song "My Ear's Candy." Baek Ji-young said she asked him to join the song after hearing his rap in 2PM's "10 Points out of 10 Points."

In 2012, Taecyeon worked with other students from Dankook University. They created a digital album called Blue Bears with Taecyeon. They performed the album live at the university. Taecyeon wrote the rap lyrics for the main song, "Wings." He also wrote an original rap for a remake of "A Night Like Tonight." The album was sold in February 2012, and all the money went back to the university.

Taecyeon released his first solo Japanese album, Taecyeon Special: Winter Hitori, in 2017. As part of this solo project, he held his first solo concert. It was called "Taecyeon (From 2PM) Premium Concert." The concert took place at the Tokyo Dome City Hall in Japan on January 2 and 3.

In July 2018, Taecyeon signed a special contract with 51K. This is an agency started by actor So Ji-sub. This happened after his contract with JYP Entertainment ended. His old agency said that he would still be a member of 2PM even with this change.

Acting and Hosting Career

Taecyeon used to host SBS' music show Inkigayo with Wooyoung. He was also a regular cast member on Family Outing 2.

In 2010, he started his acting career in the KBS drama series Cinderella's Sister. He acted alongside Moon Geun-young and Chun Jung-myung. After that, he starred in the high school drama Dream High. This show was very popular in Korea and around the world.

In September 2011, FujiTV announced that Taecyeon would be a regular on their Sunday drama Boku to Star no 99 Nichi. He acted with Japanese actor Nishijima Hidetoshi and South Korean actress Kim Tae-hee. This was his first regular role in a Japanese drama.

In February 2013, it was announced that Taecyeon would be an on-screen couple with Taiwanese actress Emma Wu. They appeared in the Global Edition of the reality show We Got Married. In the same year, he made his movie debut in the romantic comedy Marriage Blue. He wrote two songs for the movie's soundtrack.

In 2014, he starred in KBS' weekend drama Wonderful Days. He played a strong bodyguard in the show. That same year, he joined tvN's cooking show Three Meals a Day. He returned for a second season in 2015. People praised Taecyeon for his hard work and friendly personality on the show.

In 2015, Taecyeon was cast in KBS' political drama Assembly. He played a character who wanted to become a police officer. He studied at the library during the day and worked as a driver at night.

In 2016, he starred in the horror comedy Hey Ghost, Let's Fight with Kim So-hyun. He also appeared in the web-drama 7 First Kisses.

In 2017, he starred in the mystery thriller House of the Disappeared with actress Kim Yunjin. He then starred in OCN's thriller drama Save Me alongside Seo Ye-ji.

In 2020, he starred in the mystery drama The Game: Towards Zero. He reunited with Lee Yeon-hee, who he had worked with in the 2013 film Marriage Blue. This was his first acting role after finishing his military service.

In 2021, he played the main bad guy in the tvN drama Vincenzo. This was his first major role as a villain. In the same year, Taecyeon also starred in the historical drama Secret Royal Inspector & Joy. This show premiered on both tvN and iQiyi in November 2021.

In 2022, he played Lim Jun-young. This character was a spy from the Joseon era who went into a Japanese army camp. This was for the war action film Hansan: Rising Dragon. This movie was the second part of Kim Han-min's Yi Sun-sin trilogy.

Military Service

On December 9, 2010, a JYP spokesperson announced that Taecyeon wanted to give up his American permanent residence visa. On December 1, he officially confirmed that his permanent residence was canceled.

Taecyeon had a physical exam for military service. However, he was only cleared for public service because of his poor eyesight and a dislocated shoulder from 2008. In 2012 and 2013, he had surgery to fix his back and remove pins from his arm after a serious break. He was cleared for active duty in December 2013 but waited to enlist because he was very busy with work.

On September 4, 2017, Taecyeon began his mandatory military service as an active-duty soldier. On October 18, he finished his basic military training. He was then placed in the 9th Infantry Division in Gyeonggi Province as a military instruction assistant.

In February 2018, Taecyeon volunteered at various 2018 Winter Olympics events. He worked under the command of the Ministry of National Defense. He hosted many cultural shows and concerts. He also performed as a member of 2PM at the Olympic Headliner Show.

On June 20, 2018, the Prime Minister at the time, Lee Nak-yon, praised Taecyeon. He recognized Taecyeon's efforts to join active duty during his speech at the 15th Exemplary Military Servicemen Awards. Taecyeon was hosting the event.

On October 1, 2018, Taecyeon led a demonstration of a future combat system. This was at the 70th Armed Forces Day Celebration. The demonstration showed the Warrior Platform program, which includes new and better combat gear. An official at the event said that Taecyeon gave up his American residency. He set a great example by having surgery for his back and choosing active duty. This was even though he could have done alternative service. They said he was faithfully doing his military duties. They recommended him for the event because they thought it would be meaningful.

Taecyeon also became very popular online when he led the final salute to President Moon Jae-in.

In February 2019, Taecyeon was promoted early to Sergeant. This was because of his excellent behavior while serving as a military instruction assistant.

Because of his great records and performance, Taecyeon was named a 'Special Class Warrior' by his division commander. He also received a 'Model Soldier' award from the Ministry of National Defense. People online gave him the nickname "Captain Korea." This was because his strong body looked like the Marvel superhero, Captain America. This nickname has been used in many news headlines. In an interview, Taecyeon said the nickname put some pressure on him. But it also made him want to work even harder. He said he would continue to work hard to live up to the nickname.

Taecyeon finished his military service on May 16, 2019.

Other Activities

OKCAT

In 2013, Taecyeon held a press conference online to introduce "Okcat." This is a green cat character he created. Before this, Okcat emoticons were released on the chat app KakaoTalk. During the conference, Taecyeon shared how he developed the character. He also showed his original sketches to the public. The "Okcat" shop opened on the same day. It sold many products with the Okcat image.

Filmography

Film

Television Series

Web Series

Variety and Reality Shows

Discography

Studio Albums

Singles

Soundtrack Appearances

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Ok Taec-yeon para niños