Introduction
Kim Yu-bin (Hangul: 김유빈; born October 4, 1988), professionally known as Yubin, is a South Korean singer and actress. She was a member of the South Korean girl group Wonder Girls.
Biography
Yubin was born in Gwangju, on October 4, 1988. She attended JungAm Elementary School and Anyang High School for a while before moving to San Jose, California, where she studied at Leland High School. She currently attends Myongji University. She is fluent in Korean and English.
Career
Predebut
Prior to her debut with the Wonder Girls, Yubin was originally set to debut as a member of Five Girls under Good Entertainment, along with G.NA, After School's Uee, Secret's Hyoseong and Spica's Yang Jiwon. However, the group disbanded shortly before their scheduled debut in 2007 due to Good Entertainment's financial troubles and the members all left for separate Korean entertainment companies.
2007–12: Career Begginings
Yubin made her debut as a new member of the Wonder Girls on September 7, 2007. Yubin was introduced as the main rapper of the group replacing Hyuna.
In 2008, Yubin made a short cameo in MBC's popular sitcom, Here He Comes. Although Yubin is known mainly as the rapper of the group, she occasionally acts as an additional vocalist to the group. Examples of which include, "This Time" and "Wishing on a Star". Aside from performing with Wonder Girls, she has appeared in several music videos including labelmate 2PM's debut music video, "10 Jeom Manjeome 10 Jeom" and Shinhwa's "Once in a Life Time". She has also featured in several different artists' singles, i.e. Shinhwa's Andy Lee, Lee Min-woo, Kim Bum-soo, and Chun G.
Yubin showcased her written lyrics for the first time in Kim Bum-soo's song "Do You Know That?". Since then, she has written her own raps for several other songs.In 2011, she wrote the lyrics for "Girls Girls", "Me, In", and "Sweet Dreams" from the Wonder Girls' second studio album Wonder World. Yubin also wrote the song, "Hey Boy" for the Wonder Girls' mini album Wonder Party released in June 3, 2012.
2013–present: Solo activities
In 2013, She made her official acting debut in OCN's drama, The Virus, where she played the role of Lee Joo-yeong, a genius hacker and an IT specialist.
On June 24, 2015 It was announced that Wonder Girls will be making comeback after two-year hiatus as a band.
On August 17, 2015, Yubin was confirmed to join Unpretty Rapstar's second season. Her popularity exploded, causing the phenomenon "Girl Crush". As a consequence, her makeup and hairstyle became popular in South Korea.
On January 26, 2017, it was announced that Wonder Girls were to disband after their contracts had expired. Yubin remained her career with JYP Entertainment after deciding renew her contract. The group will release their final single, Thank You For Being So Wonderful, on February 10.
Discography
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales (DL) | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR Gaon | ||||||
| As featured artist | ||||||
| "Irrelevant Imagination" (Andy Lee feat. Yubin) | 2007 | — | N/A | Non album-singles | ||
| "Honey" (Lee Min-woo feat. Yubin) | 2008 | — | N/A | Non album-singles | ||
| "Do You Know That?" (Kim Bum Soo feat. Yubin) | — | N/A | Non album-singles | |||
| "Weak Man" (Chun G feat. Yubin) | 2009 | — | N/A | Non album-singles | ||
| "It's Time" (Taecyeon and San E feat. Yubin) | 2013 | — | N/A | Non album-singles | ||
| "I Dance" (Ivy feat. Yubin) | — | N/A | Non album-singles | |||
| "Who Am I?" (Sunmi feat. Yubin) | 2014 | — | N/A | Non album-singles | ||
| "The Heartbroken" (Justin Thorne feat. Yubin) | 2015 | — | N/A | Non album-singles | ||
| "(Sakda)싹 다" (The Quiett feat. Yubin) | — | N/A | Non album-singles | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | ||||||
Songwriting and Composing credits
| Year | Album | Artist | Song | Lyrics | Music | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credited | With | Credited | With | ||||
| 2011 | Wonder World | Wonder Girls | "Girls Girls" | Yes | Shim Eun-ji | No | N/A |
| "Me, In" | Yes | Yeeun and Shim Jung-hyeon | No | N/A | |||
| "Sweet Dreams" | Yes | Billion Dollar Baby Noday | No | N/A | |||
| 2012 | Wonder Party | "Hey Boy" | Yes | N/A | No | N/A | |
| 2015 | Reboot | "I Feel You" | Yes | J.Y. Park "The Asiansoul" | No | N/A | |
| "Rewind" | Yes | Lee Sunmi, Ju Hyo and Lee Toyo | No | N/A | |||
| "Loved" | Yes | Shim Eun-ji | Yes | Shim Eun-ji | |||
| "John Doe" | Yes | Hong ji-sang and Ju Hyo | Yes | Hong ji-sang and Ju Hyo | |||
| "Back" | Yes | Woo Hyerim and Lee Sunmi | Yes | Woo Hyerim and Lee Sunmi | |||
| "없어" (GONE) | Yes | Shim Eun-ji | Yes | Shim Eun-ji | |||
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Last Godfather | Herself | Cameo |
| 2012 | The Wonder Girls | Herself |
Television dramas
| Year | Title | Network | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Here He Comes | MBC | Herself | Cameo |
| 2013 | The Virus | OCN | Lee Joo Yeong |
TV shows
| Year | Title | Network | Roles | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Show! Music Core | MBC | Co-Host | with Sunye & CN Blue Jung Yong-hwa |
| 2011 | Music Bank | KBS | Co-Host | with Sohee Shindong & Minho |
| 2012 | Running Man | SBS | Guest | Episode 117 |
| 2015 | Unpretty Rapstar 2 | Mnet | Contestant | Semi-Finalist |
| You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook | KBS2 | Guest | Episode 285 with Wonder Girls members |
Music video appearances
| Year | Song title | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Cry With Us | Various Artist | Herself |
| I Love Asia/ Smile Again | Various Artist | Herself | |
| Once in a Lifetime | Shinhwa | Herself | |
| 10 Out of 10 | 2PM | Herself | |
| 2010 | This Christmas | JYP Nation | Herself |
| 2013 | I Dance | Ivy | Herself |
| 2014 | Ain't Nobody | HA:TFELT | Herself |
| 2015 | Don′t Stop | Unpretty Rapstar2 Contestants | Herself |