PROFILE
Name: TaecYeon / Ok Taek-Yeon
Hangul: 옥택연
Born: December 27, 1988
Birthplace: South Korea
Height: 185 cm.
Blood Type: AB
Twitter: @taeccool
BIOGRAPHY
Taecyeon was born in Busan, South Korea, but emigrated with his family to Bedford, Massachusetts, where his parents and older sister (Jihyen) still currently reside. Taecyeon himself lived there for seven years, attending Bedford High School where he was an active member of the Chess Club, Jazz Band, JV Soccer Team and the National Honor Society before returning to pursue his career in Korea. Taecyeon was educated at Gel In High School in Seoul and studied Business Administration at Dankook University. He speaks fluent English and Korean.
PREDEBUT
It was his sister Jihyen, who persuaded him to participate in a JYP Entertainment-audition, whose promotion she had noticed when surfing on the internet. After his reluctant agreement to participate, both headed for New York City on his 17th birthday. A week later, he was chosen for the final 35 and finally got the call-back to go to Korea for the further competition. At first, Taecyeon applied to become a model, but the judges suggested him to try to do dancing and singing. He eventually was named one of the dozen finalists (including his future bandmates Lee Junho and Chansung) to compete in the show Superstar Survival, but was the first contestant to leave the show.
MUSIC CAREER
In 2008, he took part in Mnet's Hot Blood Men which follows the extreme training of 13 trainees in order to become a member of the boy band One Day. One Day spawned two boy bands, 2AM and 2PM, of which the latter one Taecyeon became a member of. Six months after Hot Blood was aired on TV, 2PM debuted with their first single "10 Points out of 10 Points" ("10점 만점에 10점") from their first EP Hottest Time of the Day, but it wasn't until their second EP 2:00PM Time For Change which skyrocketed their success in the Korean music industry. So far, 2PM has released two studio albums and three EPs.
SOLO ACTIVITIES
Taecyeon is featured in "Yes I'm In Love" by Bada on her fourth album and Baek Ji-Young's 2009 song "내 귀에 캔디" (My Ear's Candy). He formerly hosted SBS's music show Inkigayo with Wooyoung, and was a permanent cast member on Family Outing 2 before it got canceled.
In 2010, he saw his debut as an actor in the 2010 KBS drama series Cinderella's Sister alongside Moon Geun Young and Chun Jung-myung. His second drama is Dream High, in which he played the role of Jinguk. The drama premiered on January 3, 2011.
On September, 2011 FujiTV announced that Taecyeon was going to become a regular on their Sunday drama “Boku to Star no 99 Nichi“, along with Japanese actor Nishijima Hidetoshi and South Korean actress Kim Tae Hee as the two main characters. This is his first regular role on a Japanese drama. The producer of the drama commented, “We needed someone who can by mysterious and make his presence felt by others at the same time. Outside of his role, Taecyeon is a very polite and bright person, who always manages to create a cheerful atmosphere at the set. He is going to bring a breath of fresh air to the Japanese drama scene.” Taecyeon commented, “It’s my first role in a Japanese drama and I’m really happy to be able to work together with such a wonderful cast and such an amazing staff. I will exert myself to the best of my abilities in order to polish my acting as much as I can.”
MOVIES
Marriage Blue | Gyeolhonjeonya (2013) - Won-Cheol
DRAMA SERIES
Wonderful Days | Cham Joheun Shijul (KBS2 / 2014) - Kang Dong-Hee (Dong-Suk's younger brother)
Who Are You | Hooayoo (tvN / 2013) - Detective Cha Gun-Woo
99 days with the Superstar | Boku to Star no 99 Nichi]] (Fuji TV / 2011) - Tae-Sung
Dream High (KBS2 / 2011) - Jin Gook
Cinderella's Stepsister | Sinderella Eonni (KBS2 / 2010) - Han Jeong-Woo