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Yong Hwa is the Featured Idol of November 2022
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Hwang Youngsook (황영숙), monomously known as Yong Hwa, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, composer, television personality, and content creator signed under STRIGIDAE. She debuted as a solo artist under Galaxia Entertainment on October 8, 2014, with the single "Fool". She has gained recognition from many audiences due to her wide vocal range and pop & ballad discography that currently spans four extended plays (EPs) and seven digital singles. Her accolades include one Seoul Music Performance Awards win and five Hangang Artistry Awards nominations.
ABOUT 황영숙[]
Youngsook when she was younger
Hwang Young-sook was born in Won-ju, Gangwon-do, South Korea, on January 1, 1994. Her mother was a classical musician while her father was a historian for a national musician. Hwang's early life would be complicated by a condition that occurred during her birth and would suffer from extrahepatic ductopenia which would lead to several surgeries. In an interview, she admitted growing up that she grew a sickly child but has since recovered most of her health.[1]
Hwang stated that during her middle school days, she grew a strong passion for music after being exposed to globally recognized Western artists such as Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Paramore. She even contributed in the creation of an original song for her school's graduation ceremony [2]. After rising popstar IU broke into the mainstream with her collaboration single "Nagging", Hwang realized her dreams of becoming a singer. She would begin applying for different record labels and talent agencies to little or no success. Finally, in late 2012, she was accepted by company Galaxia Entertainment after auditioning with a cover of Sara's "Legal Soul".
From 2013 to 2014, Hwang trained to become a member of Galaxia Entertainment's next idol girl group, Lunette. Unfortunately, as she struggled in the field of dancing, she did not make it to the final lineup of the group. Nonetheless, the company offered to debut her as a solo artist due to her massive potential as a vocalist, which the trainers considered to be "too valuable" for a smaller agency like Galaxia to let go. Hwang was later announced to have adopted the stage name for Yong Hwa for her solo activities. She was introduced to the public for the first time on the company's YouTube channel, where she performed a cover of The Black Eyed Peas' 2003 hit single "Where is the Love?".
On August 18, 2014, Hwang released her debut digital single "Fool", with lyrics entirely written by her. She performed the song live for the first time in KBS Music Bank on October 10, 2014. Following the end of her first promotions, she announced her official fandom name as Souls, with the explanation:
All of us are wandering souls looking for their place in the land of the living, and I would like to use my music to liven up my listeners regardless of where they come from.
In early October 2014, Yong Hwa participated in MBS' singing competition Underdog Voice: The War. In the Screening Round, she performed a modernized R&B rendition of Girls Time's 1989 hit song "Sour Candy", instantly making her one of the 15 successful contestants to move on to the main show. In the First Round, she performed a cover of Fergie's 2007 song "Big Girls Don't Cry". In the Second Round, she performed BDNTZ's 2003 song "Leave The Past Behind". In the Third Round, she performed Black Pearl's 2007 song "Finally, It's You (결국…너잖아)". Hwang was eliminated in the semi-finals after losing in a vocal performance battle of Jaurim's "Twenty-Five, Twenty-One". Prior to her elimination, she was hailed by the veteran judges as one of the best singers on the show, though just needed more work on her star power and to leave her comfort zone. In a later interview, Yong Hwa revealed that the comment was one of the main moments that drove her to shift towards making more pop music than limiting herself to what she now considers to be "safe and derivative" ballads.
On March 2, 2015, Yong Hwa released digital ballad single "February (이월)", which she completely produced and wrote by herself with a D.I.Y music video that she filmed and edited by herself. She described it as a "journal of her emotions during the past months". On June 3, 2015, Yong Hwa released her first extended play (EP) Eye, which she wrote and produced alongside veteran singer and Cloud Nine member Park Miah. On August 10, 2016, Yong Hwa released an uptempo ballad single "Wishing Flower" and its 1990s R&B inspired promotional B-side "Blank Space & Blank Mind". This time, she was able to promote her comeback through busking performances and numerous music show stages. Unfortunately, something tragic and turbulent had come in the way of her career.
MBS Rankdown controversies[]
However, her first time performing on music shows was not without a sudden turbulent event in the way. Galaxia Entertainment's official YouTube channel released numerous behind-the-scenes content, in which one clip showed Yong Hwa laughing in amusement as she watched boy group Alliance was performing at MBS Rankdown. This was not received well by both Korean and international fans of Alliance, who thought that the singer was making fun of their boys' emotions. Due to this, the group's cult-like fanbase began sending a wave of harassment and misogynistic comments against the singer. Her Instagram and Twitter posts' comments were flooded with insults making fun of her appearance and low amount of success. While Alliance's fans claimed that they were just defending their boys from mockery, the amount of unwarranted hate that Hwang received had taken a severe toll on her; She was forced to write a personal letter of apology to end the situation, but her reputation had been ruined by that point. As a result, the singer disappeared from the public eye for the following months, occasionally updating her fans to ensure that she was okay and just pursuing arts and music studies at an undisclosed university.
Change in label, new peak in career[]
In April 2017, she announced she terminated her contract with Galaxia Entertainment, attributing disputes in management over salary distribution and her worsening mental health issues. Despite this, she affirmed that she will never give up in pursuing her dream of music as it is her "first love". She later revealed that she did not voluntarily leave the company, but was rather dropped by the label for not being profitable and also being confrontational to her management. In November 2017, she released special power ballad single "Falling Old Leaves", which had a grandiose and bolder theme of fighting for what you stand for despite feeling weak as time progresses. The song was perceived by her small but supportive fanbase as a poetic response to her undeserved backlash, and received generally positive reviews from music critics for the raw emotions that her voice conveyed.
In January 2018, it was announced that she had signed with 24D Arts for her group activities. Around this time, she also began taking lessons in producing, in hopes of shifting her musical style towards a more experimental and diverse direction. In December 2018, Yong Hwa earned her first nomination at the Hangang Artistry Awards, with "Falling Old Leaves" being nominated for Best Ballad/Folk Recording. She had her first major award show performance at the ceremony, where she performed a tribute to her former mentor and late singer Chun Jihye as part of the In Memoriam segment.
In February 2021, Yong Hwa confirmed her return to the K-pop industry on Instagram with a new single album titled Fake Friends, featuring the titular A-side and a self-composed B-side named "Rhadamanthus". The entire record revolves around themes of accountability, self-empowerment, revenge, and standing brave amidst adversity. In May, "Fake Friends" became a sleeper hit on streaming platforms. As a result of her funny and energetic demeanor during an appearance on web variety show The Drinking Shack, she received more demand for television and radio gigs, eventually securing a permanent cast position on the MBS variety program Sisters Class. In October, her cover of Cloud Nine's 2000 song "Chocolate" was praised by netizens, and the live performance clip had reached 20 million views as of 2024.
Yong Hwa during Troublesome! era
In January 2022, Yong Hwa officially announced that she had signed with 24D Arts as a K-pop artist. In early August, she and HARAM collaborated to release "Call Your Name", an official soundtrack to the television series Love, Waverly. It became one of the most popular OSTs of 2022. On August 23, 2022, she officially became a new MC for the third season of music charts program K-Pop On Top alongside INFIN81's Wooseong and 7pm's Dongwoon. In September 2022, she teased the release of an upcoming EP titled Troublesome!, featuring the lead single of the same name. It was also her first ever physical release since 2015, selling over 3,000 copies. The visual appearance of the album, despite being on a tight budget, was praised on social media for its 2000s aesthetic that involved parodies of classic Korean teen films and journal-style cut-outs that was reminiscent of the rise of Y2K in the K-pop industry.
Continued success[]
On May 1, 2023, Yong Hwa released her first special album Still A Fool, which features remakes of her older songs from 2014 to 2017, which she felt like "no longer resonated with her artistry in comparison to her newer material". The remake of "To Be or Not To Be", which featured singer-songwriter and actress Byun Yanbin, served as the album's lead single. Still A Fool received positive reviews from music critics, and was nominated for Best Album Engineering at the 2023 MBS Artist Awards.
On September 14, 2024, Yong Hwa released her debut studio album Ocean Blues. The record consisted of 10 tracks she had written or composed in the past years and includes features from major names in the music industry such as female soloists Meredith and HARAM as well as Salted Caviar's lead vocalist Hyuk. The album sold over 40,000 copies and debuted within the top 5 of the Circle Album Chart. Her duet with HARAM, titled "When I Grow Old", was chosen as a standout track for their vocal harmonies and was nominated for Best Ballad/Folk Recording at the 2024 Hangang Artistry Awards. As a result, she released the song as the third single from her album in December 2024, accompanied by a music video that she described as her highest budget promotional video yet.
In February 2025, Yong Hwa announced that she will be parting ways with 24D Records after almost eight years with the company. She was later revealed to have signed an exclusive contract with entertainment company STRIGIDAE, founded by Chinese producer Xu Meixi.
On June 23, 2025, Yong Hwa released the summer single album Unsleepable Reveries. The album achieved a new career record as her first to surpass over 50,000 sales, with the lead single "Come Meet Me In My Memories" becoming her first top 10 hit in South Korea. Following her success, she embarked on her first national concert tour with dates in Seoul, Gwangju, Daegu, and Busan over the course of September.
Other information[]
- From December 2018 to October 2020, Yong Hwa dated rock singer-songwriter Bong Minkyu. In January 2021, Yong Hwa revealed that they had mutually decided to break up due to the often long-distance nature of their relationship and he had issues that she hoped he would work on for his own betterment.
Discography[]
Studio albums (1)[]
| Title / Release Date | Label | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean Blues October 2024 |
24D Arts | CD · LP · Download · streaming |
EPs (3)[]
| Title / Release Date | Label | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EYE June 2015 |
Galaxia | CD · download · streaming | |
| Troublesome! October 2022 |
24D Arts | CD · download · streaming | |
| Still A Fool May 2023 |
24D Arts | CD · download · streaming |
Singles (2)[]
| Title / Release Date | Label | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fake Friends February 2021 |
24D Arts | Download · streaming | |
| When I Grow Old featuring HARAM August 2024 |
24D Arts | Download · streaming | |
| Unsleepable Memories July 2025 |
24D Arts | Download · streaming |
Soundtrack appearances (1)[]
| Title / Release Date | Label | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Call Your Name August 2022 |
Bedlam | Download · streaming |
Achievements[]
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee(s) / Work(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hangang Artistry Awards | 2017 | Best Ballad/Folk Recording | "Falling Old Leaves" | Nominated |
| 2021 | Best K-pop Solo Recording | "Fake Friends" | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Best Collaboration | "Unhealthy Love" with YUKI | Nominated | |
| 2023 | Best Album Production | Still A Fool | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Best Ballad/Folk Recording | "When I Grow Old" | Nominated | |
| Best K-pop Solo Album | Ocean Blues | Nominated | ||
| HKRT Year End Awards | 2024 | Best Female Soloist | Herself | Nominated |
| Seoul Music Performance Awards | 2024 | KCC Solo Vocal Choice Award | "Paint Me Blue (Close 2 U)" | Won |
References[]
[]
| Main Details | ||
|---|---|---|
| Universe Compendium · Timeline · OC Index · Q&A | ||
| Active Artists | ||
| K-pop groups | Anomii · I'M YOUR BOY · LILYDIVA · Carboncopyluv | |
| K-pop soloists | Han Yul | |
| K-pop bands | The Last Children of Presagia | |
| Indie artists | Byun Yanbin · Heera · Won Heeun · Won Taehyun · Yong Hwa · Park Minjun · Park Danho · Lady Ruby | |
| Producers | SYNTHIA | |
| Former Artists | ||
| Disbanded | SOLVIZ · Randomize · Sugartime | |
| Deceased | Chun Jihye | |
| Companies | ||
| Entertainment | 24D Entertainment · 484 Company · CNF Entertainment | |
| Miscellaneous | MBS · Seonroja · Xiverse Technologies (BE.LIV · Flock And Thread · Realmu) | |
| Media | ||
| Drama programs | Bitter Daydreamers | |
| Music programs | SOL Puzzle · Rankdown @ MBS · Into The Spotlight | |
| Variety programs | Sisters Class | |
| Films | One-Hit Worship · Fate Follows | |
| Award shows | Hangang Artistry Awards | |