Jung Mina

For the actress, see Jung Min-ah.
This is a Korean name; the family name is Jung.
Jung Mina

Jung performing at an art gallery in July 2013
Background information
Native name 정민아
Born (1979-01-31) January 31, 1979
Seoul, South Korea
Occupation(s)
  • Gayageum player
  • singer-songwriter
Years active 2005–present
Korean name
Hangul 정민아
Revised Romanization Jeong Min-a
McCune–Reischauer Chŏng Min-a

Jung Mina (born January 31, 1979) is a South Korean musician, known as the first gayageum singer-songwriter.[1][2] She sings contemporary music and uses non-traditional techniques in her gayageum playing.[3]

Early life and career

Jung started learning to play the gayageum, a traditional Korean string instrument, at 12 years old. She said it became a big part of her life, so she continued to play it as she developed her music career.[3] She found the instrument when she started taking traditional Korean dance in elementary school. From her second year in middle school she started lessons with a neighborhood teacher, then studied at Gukak National High School, Hanyang University, and Sookmyung Women's University.[4]

She worked various part-time jobs during school and after starting her musical career, including in the ticket office of a racecourse on the weekends for four years, and at a call center, like many of her friends.[5] She said making a living with music was difficult. During a leave from graduate school, a club owner in Hongdae, where she was working part-time, convinced her to start composing and performing on stage.[4] Even after releasing her first album, she returned to part-time work, selling rice balls near Gwanghwamun Station, but soon gave up, admitting that she was not skilled at the work.[4] One of her ballads, "Jumeokbab", or "Rice Balls" was about her work experience.[6] She said, "If I didn't have these experiences, I wonder whether I could have written the music I did, because the only thing I knew was traditional Korean music. I think I would be making only shallow and superficial music."[4] She has said she differs from many musicians, in choosing to write her lyrics first, and the melodies afterwards.[3]

She worked in Hongdae for five years, becoming popular as a fusion indie musician, known as the first with a gayageum to perform there on a regular basis.[6] She uses a 25-string variant of the original 12-string gayageum, to give variations in the range of notes, and incorporates her Western music theory and jazz training in her compositions.[6][7]

Debut and albums

In 2005, she debuted with her first extended play (EP), Tragedy.[3] In 2006, she released her first studio album, Love Dream,[6] which sold over 10,000 copies. One of the tracks on the album was included in a middle school music textbook.[4] Her second studio album, Afterimage, was released in March 2010. It was described as "[forging] contemporary sounds that successfully blend traditional instrument's sounds with bass guitar rhythms."[6] She released her fourth, A Person's Moment, in January 2014.[3] She wrote the lead track "Poor Woman" for the album after browsing through random books in a Seoul library. This led to her traveling across the country for more inspiration, visiting more libraries, and sleeping in jjimjilbangs to meet the people of the different regions.[3]

Film documentary

A documentary was made of her and her band on a 15-day busking tour in 2009, titled Fantastic Journey of The Modern Gayagumer. It was released on August 18, 2011, after screening at the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival earlier in August.[1][4][8]

Awards and nominations

In 2012, as an artist, she charted in the number one position on the Billboard chart "Next Big Sound", a weekly chart of the "fastest accelerating artists during the past week, across all major social music sites, statistically predicted to achieve future success."[9]

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2008 Korean Music Awards Newcomer Award Nominated [5]
2011 Korean Music Awards Best Jazz & Crossover Album Afterimage Nominated [10]
2015 Korean Music Awards Best Crossover Album A Person's Moment Nominated [11]

Discography

EPs

Studio albums

References

  1. 1 2 "Fantastic Journey of The Modern Gayagumer (2011)". KoBiz. Korean Film Council. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  2. ↑ Jeong, Sang-young (March 3, 2014). ‘가야그머’ 정민아 “내게 가야금은 어쿠스틱 기타”. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jackson, Julie (February 25, 2014). "Jung Mina looks to usher in modernized sounds of the gayageum". The Korea Herald. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "A Rising Star on the Gayageum". The Chosun Ilbo. September 3, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Lee, Jong-won (July 5, 2011). "'인디형 가야금 싱어송라이터' 정민아 "이젠 진짜 음악만 하고 싶어요"". Seoul Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chung, Ah-young (April 14, 2010). "Traditional Musician Forges New Sounds, Emotions". The Korea Times. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Modern Gayageum: Jung Mina Concert". Korea.net. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  8. ↑ Kim, Hee Joo (August 12, 2011). "JIMFF11│정민아 "천재가 아니어도, 1인자가 아니어도 충분히 행복하다"". Ten Asia. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Chart – Next Big Sound, 05/26/2012". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  10. ↑ 한국대중음악상 시상식에 독자 여러분을 ‘왕창’ 모십니다. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). February 18, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Nominees for 12th Korean Music Awards". Indieful ROK. February 3, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 정민아 가야금연주가 (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Jung Mina Modern Gayagumer". Keystone Live. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
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