Yoon Do-hyun (born February 3, 1972) is a South Korean hard rock/folk rock singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the founder and lead vocalist of the Yoon Do-hyun Band (YB) since 1996. Yoon is also an MC on TV variety programs (notably Yoon Do-hyun's Love Letter) and a musical theatre actor.
Career
Yoon Do-hyun was born in Imjin-myeon (currently Munsan-eup) in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. He graduated from Munsan High School in 1991, and began working in 1993 around Paju's music circles as part of the band Jongyiyeon (종이연).[1]
In 1994, Yoon released his debut solo album, In Front of the Post Office in Autumn (가을 우체국 앞에서). It produced the hit singles "Tarzan" and "Love Two," but the album did not receive much commercial success since dance music was trendy at the time.
Yoon formed the eponymously named Yoon Do-hyun Band in 1996, with himself on vocals, drummer Kim Jin-won, guitarist Yoo Byung-yeol, and bass guitarist Park Tae-hee. Later that year, Yoon played the lead role in Jungle Story, Kim Hong-joon's film that recounts the rise and fall of a fictitious, underground band. His bandmates also appeared in the film.[2]
Its initial failure to break out led to the Yoon Do-hyun Band almost disbanding in 2000, and guitarist Yoo Byung-yeol left the band and was replaced by Huh Joon.[3] Then in 2002, they gained fame with the World Cup cheer song "Oh! Pilseung Korea" (meaning "Victory Korea!").[4] With its explosive live performances and Yoon's powerful voice and frank personality onstage, the Yoon Do-hyun Band eventually became one of the foremost rock bands in South Korea, selling more than 2 million albums and doing more than 100 live concerts. It won music awards from Korea's three main broadcast stations KBS, MBC and SBS, and won the WPMA (World Peace Music Award) in 2003 for their activities in promoting human rights. Renamed YB in 2005, it was the first Korean band to ever tour Europe and had two sold-out concerts in New York City (Nokia Theater, B.B King Blues Club) in 2006.[5] YB was the subject of two rockumentaries, Kim Tae-yong's On the Road, Two (2006) and Moon Cheung-heum's Flying Butterfly (2010).[6][7] YB celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015 with a series of sold-out concerts titled "20 Years Old."[8][9]
As a solo artist, Yoon has released two albums and three EPs, including Difference (2005), Harmony (2009), and Singing Yoon Do-hyun (노래하는 윤도현, 2014).[15][16][17][18][19][20]
In October 2021, it was announced that Yoon Do-hyun would participate in Sing Again 2 as the new judge for season 2.[21]
Personal life
Yoon married musical theatre actress Lee Mi-ok on June 15, 2002. They have one daughter.[22] In August 2023, he revealed via Instagram that he had been battling lymphatic cancer for the past 3 years, but is now cancer free.
^"2005.4월 - 가요 음반 판매량" [April 2005 K-pop Album Sales]. Music Industry Association of Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 19, 2007. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
^"2005년 - 가요 총결산 음반 판매량" [2005 K-pop Album Sales]. Music Industry Association of Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 1, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
^Kim Seong-hyun (June 9, 2021). "[단독] 윤도현 '불꽃미남' 합류… 차인표·손지창과 '불꽃호흡' 예고" [[Exclusive] Yoon Do-hyun joins 'Fireman Boy'... Cha In-pyo, Son Ji-chang and 'Flame Breath' preview] (in Korean). YTN. Retrieved June 9, 2021 – via Never.
^Hong Se-young (October 20, 2021). "[단독] 윤도현 '싱어게인2' 합류, 제2의 이승윤·정홍일·이무진 발굴" [[Exclusive] Yoon Do-hyun joins 'Singer Gain 2', discovers the second Lee Seung-yoon, Jung Hong-il, and Lee Moo-jin] (in Korean). Sports Donga. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Naver.
^Hwang Hyo-yi (February 24, 2022). "윤도현·서경덕, 유네스코 세계유산 '제주해녀' 국내외에 알린다" [Do-hyeon Yun and Gyeong-deok Seo to announce the UNESCO World Heritage ‘Jeju Haenyeo’ at home and abroad] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Retrieved February 24, 2022 – via Naver.
^Gong Yeo-ju (May 23, 2022). "윤도현, 11년만 라디오 DJ 컴백…30일 첫방송(공식)" [Yoon Do-hyun, comeback as a radio DJ after 11 years... First broadcast on the 30th (official)] (in Korean). YTN. Retrieved May 23, 2022 – via Naver.
^Jeon Seon-ha (December 31, 2012). 유재석, 2012 SBS '연예대상' 대상 수상...8년 연속 최고영예(종합) [Yoo Jae-seok, 2012 SBS 'Entertainment Awards' grand prize... The highest honor for 8 consecutive years (overall)]. Naver (in Korean). Retrieved December 25, 2022.
^Cha Sang-yeop (December 30, 2022). "MBC연예대상' 전현무 대상… '나혼산' 올해의 예능프로그램(종합)" ['MBC Entertainment Awards' Jeon Hyun-moo Grand Prize... 'Nahonsan' Entertainment Program of the Year (Comprehensive)] (in Korean). Money S. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Naver.