Taecyeon – born Ok Taec-yeon on December 27, 1988, in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea – is an actor and K-pop singer / songwriter / rapper. Born in South Korea, he relocated with his family to Bedford, Massachusetts. At the age of 17, his sister encouraged him to audition for JYP Entertainment in New York City. Initially, he intended to become a model, but the audition’s judges asked him to try singing and dancing. Traveling to South Korea, he competed in the talent show Superstar Survival but was the first contestant to be cut. However, he then became a trainee on the 2008 talent show Hot Blood Men in hopes of becoming a member of boy band One Day. He won a position in One Day’ sub-unit 2PM, who released their first EP, Hottest Time of the Day (2008). The EP rose to number 10 on the Korean chart and was followed in 2009 by their second EP, 2:00PM Time for Change. The group’s debut album, 01:59PM, was released in November 2009 and hit the number 1 spot on the Korean Albums chart. Their next EP, Don’t Stop Can’t Stop (2010), was also a chart topper, as were the albums Hands Up (2011), Grown (2013), No. 5 (2015), and Gentlemen’s Game (2016). 2PM also released five Japanese albums, five compilations, and numerous hit singles. While 2PM were achieving great commercial success, Taecyeon also pursued a solo career, beginning with an appearance on Baek Ji-young’s 2009 single “My Ear’s Candy.” His next releases outside of 2PM were two songs he participated in for the 2011 soundtrack Dream High. He would continue to record songs for several other films including We Got Married (2013) and Marriage Blue (2013). Although he put more focus on his busy schedule with 2PM and an equally busy acting career, Taecyeon continued to release singles including non-album Christmas singles in 2014, 2015, and 2016. His long-awaited debut solo album, Taecyeon Special: Winter Hitori, in January 2017. He began serving his mandatory military service in September 2017 and finished in May 2019. He returned to 2PM and appears on the album Must and the With Me Again EP, both released in 2021.