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Park Jaebeom (Hangul: 박재범, born April 25, 1987), also known as Jay Park, is an American b-boy, dancer, singer, rapper and actor. He is a former member and leader of South Korean boyband 2PM, and is part of Seattle-based b-boy crew Art of Movement.
A 3rd generation Korean American born and raised in Edmonds, Washington, Jaebeom originally auditioned in the US for JYP Entertainment as a rapper and b-boy. Park Jin-young himself watched Jaebeom's audition and brought him to Korea where he trained for four years to improve his singing and Korean, initially to debut as a solo artist.[citation needed]
Jaebeom first appeared through MNET's Hot Blood, a program that showed the intense physical training that 13 male trainees had to go through for the opportunity to debut in either 4-member ballad group 2AM or 7-member dance group 2PM under JYP Entertainment.[1] After getting through the eliminations and finished at the top spot with the most fan votes, Jaebeom was given the position of 2PM's leader and debuted with the song "10점 만점에 10점" ("10 Points out of 10 Points") on September 4, 2008. However, it wasn't until their "Again & Again" promotions that the group's popularity skyrocketed, winning their first Mutizen award on M!Countdown on May 9, 2009,[citation needed] as well as their second award on SBS Inkigayo in the same week.[citation needed]
Jaebeom did a solo self-composed rap during 2PM's joint stage performance with 2AM for their song "친구의 고백" ("A Friend's Confession") on May 16, 2009,[2] as well as rapping for "Lost" with Taecyeon for 2AM's Goodbye Stage the next day on Inkigayo.[3] Aside from 2PM's music activities, Jaebeom featured in "正" ("Jeong") with Yeeun of Wonder Girls for the Han Sung Byul Gok OST, and V.O.S's track "To Luv...".[4] He also participated in special stage performances such as Navi's "마음이 다쳐서" ("Heart Damage") on May 3, 2009,[5] and K.Will's "1초에 한방울" ("One Drop per Second") on June 20, 2009.[6]
With his playful and popular image, Jaebeom was a regular cast member on several variety programs, including Star King and Introducing Star's Friend.[7] In August 2009, he and KARA member Nicole became the new MCs for historical culture variety show Nodaji, replacing Choi Min Yong and Kim Tae Hyun.[8]
On September 4, 2009, articles surfaced on the internet regarding Jaebeom's anti-patriotic posts from 2005 on his personal Myspace account, in which he expressed his dislike for his life in Korea while still a trainee.[9] This caused an explosion of rage from netizens, including demands for him to be forced out of the country as well as a suicide petition that gained up to 3,000 signatures before it was closed down.[citation needed] Jaebeom issued an apology regarding this matter.[10] Although outraged protesters demanded that Jaebeom should be stripped of his status as a member of 2PM, JYP Entertainment CEO Park Jin-young stated on September 7 that he was going to continue to remain part of the group.[11] The following day, Jaebeom announced on his official fancafe that he would be leaving the group for a while and returning to the United States. He also apologized to the other 2PM members for not being a good leader and older brother to the group.[12] Park Jin-young confirmed that 2PM would continue as a 6-member group.[13] Additionally, due to the sensitive topic of Jaebeom's departure, all 2PM members were withdrawn from their regular appearances on variety shows,[14] and the final episode of their reality show "Wild Bunny" was postponed indefinitely.[15] Forced to continue with their preparations, the 6 members re-filmed their music video for "Heartbeat" without Jaebeom on October 31, 2009. During a press conference, it was revealed that Jaebeom's vocals would not be removed from the older songs he promoted with 2PM, but he would be completely absent from the newer tracks.[16]
2PM's first official album was titled "1:59PM", which the members stated in an interview was to represent Jaebeom's absence.[17] Through their acceptance speeches at end-of-year award shows for "Again & Again", the members gave special thanks to Jaebeom, emphasizing their wish for his return. At the M.net Asian Music Awards, the group paid homage to him during their performance of "Again & Again" with a spotlight shown over Jaebeom's usual position in the dance formation and his lines left unsung.[18] In further support of Jaebeom's place in the group, the six 2PM members also decided to distribute their income from their 1st album with him, sending him an equally divided amount of the earnings.[19]
In December 2009, there were talks of a possible reality show for Jaebeom in a similar format to Ivy's "IVY BACK" if the decision for his return was confirmed.[20] Information on a press conference planned for January 24, 2010 regarding Jaebeom's situation was leaked by the press,[21] but this was shortly denied by JYP Entertainment.[22]
After Jaebeom returned to the United States, shocked fans changed their perspective on the matter when they discovered that Jaebeom's MySpace messages had been mistranslated and some words has been taken out of context. Several protests and projects were immediately put into action, designed to inform JYP Entertainment and the general public about the huge support for Jaebeom's return to 2PM.
Boycotts on 2PM-endorsed products and protests for Jaebeom's return to the group began to take place, not only nationwide in South Korea, but internationally as well.[23] Various forums and fan cafes all over the world founded, organized, carried out, and then publicized silent protests and flash dance mobs to 2PM songs.[citation needed] International fans also raised money for the Jay Sky Banner project, flying a banner across the Seattle sky at 2:00PM with the message "J, WHAT TIME IS IT NOW?". Seattle's local broadcasting news station, KOMO News, did a brief segment about the event.[24]
Several 2PM fan communities also contributed generous donations to charities in Jaebeom's name. A major Korean fanclub Underground donated a total of $10,000 USD to the children's foundation in Haiti under the name "People Waiting For 2PM Leadja Park Jaebeom".[25] International fansites also organized charity drives, with North American-based 2AM and 2PM fan community donating $1,000 USD to send books to international Korean adoptees.[26] In May 2010, it was reported that Underground had further donated up to $64,000 through 10 different donations to international adoptees and the Children's Foundation.[27]
On several instances, Jaebeom was the number one trending topic on Twitter, even topping the Oscars on March 8, 2010.[28] Jaebeom's fanbase revealed that they plan to release a self-produced album in his honor on March 27, 2010, commemorating 200 days since his departure from Korea.[29] However, because the album had been prepared since January, during the time where public opinion on 2PM had changed, the fans decided it would be in the best interest to not release the CDs, instead mailing 10-20 copies to Jaebeom's hometown in Seattle.[30]