Artist of the Week: 하리수
This week's artist artist of the week is transgender Korean actress/singer, 하리수 or Harisu.
I went to Har Mart in Denver a few years back to check it out. Har Mart is a big Korean grocery store that has not only food but also clothing, DVDs, VHS, and music. After wandering around for a bit, I made my way to the CDs and started looking. Not finding any of the Korean artists I knew, I asked an employee what he recommended. He looked through the CDs and pulled one out and handed it to me, "This one. Was man, now woman. VERY popular in Korea." I looked at the beautiful woman on the cover, "huh?". He tried to explain, "Harisu very popular. Was man, got operation and all that, now woman." I had to buy the CD.
When I got home, I listened to it and did a bit of internet research. He was right, Harisu is VERY popular in Korea. She is the first openly transgender Korean artist. Starting out doing commercials, she got into singing but still acts and models. Harisu was in a popular Korean soap opera and most recently she was in a Korean film, Toh Sik (2004). She developed the name Harisu from an english adaptation of the phrase "hot issue".
"Harisu is the first transgender who debuted in the local pop music world. A man-turned-woman, Harisu first appeared before the Korean public through a television commercial for a local cosmetics company. As soon as she got herself familiar to the general public by appearing on various television shows, she released her debut album entitled “Temptation” introducing a new genre of dance called “the trans-dance.” She also made her debut as an actress in July, 2001 by acting the leading role in the movie “I Wanted to Become the Moon.” In October 2002, Harisu released her 2nd album entitled “Liar” focused on dance and R&B music. The next year, Harisu announced her master plan on advancing into overseas entertainment market and entered the showbiz markets in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. Meanwhile, Harisu legally changed her name from Lee Kyung-yeop to Lee Kyung-eun and officially re-registered as a female on her family registry documents." - From KRS World Radio
Harisu's Video for "Foxy Lady" on YouTube.com
SockStop commercial on YouTube.com
posted by Steppie @ 9:08 PM
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