Han Sun hwa

Early life

Han Sunhwa was born on October 6, 1990, in Busan, South Korea. Sunhwa has one younger sister and one younger brother (Han Seungwoo of Victon). Sunhwa's mother gave birth to her at the young age of 20. As the eldest child, she took care of her younger siblings by cooking them food and tutoring them when both of their parents had to work. During the East Asian Financial Crisis in 1998, Sunhwa's family struggled and recalled that her dream of being an entertainer was getting dim.

Ever since she was young, she had an interest in art and had always dreamed of becoming an artist. She took after-school art programs in elementary school and managed to win several awards from various art competitions. However, after seeing one of BoA's performances on TV, she realized her dream was singing and dancing.

2004–2008: Career beginnings and struggles

Since then, she began auditioning for various recording companies; she entered the S.M. Entertainment Youth Best Competition but was eliminated. In 2004, Sunhwa started auditioning at companies besides singing competitions. In 2005, she became a finalist on a talent show called Superstar Survival along with 2PM's Taecyeon, Lee Junho and Chansung. During the show, Sunhwa received vocal and acting training; however, she got eliminated in the fifth episode and went back to Busan.

Following her setback, Sunhwa went back to being an ordinary high school student. However, there was a big change in the way Sunhwa's peers looked at her: due to false rumors, they thought she was a JYP trainee; Sunhwa admitted she became afraid of people because of the jealous stares. Teacher Sung Yongho, in charge of the school choir, helped Sunhwa, giving her chances to participate in competitions; then, she was admitted to Baekjae Art College. A few days before the college entrance ceremony, she got a call from an agent who watched Superstar Survival and became a trainee in TS Entertainment.

2009–present: Secret, Invincible Youth and rising popularity

In October 2009, Sunhwa, along with Jung Hana, Song Jieun and Jun Hyoseong, debuted in the group Secret; prior to their debut, the group was on a documentary show called Secret Story which chronicled their debut process. On the same month, Sunhwa was chosen as a regular cast member of a South Korean variety show called Invincible Youth: the news that a girl group member who hasn't even debuted yet would be selected for a variety program caused a huge sensation.

Secret released their debut single "I Want You Back" in October 2009. In April 2010, Secret released their first mini album entitled Secret Time which spawned them the hit single "Magic" and served as their breakthrough song in South Korea. In August 2010, they released their second mini album entitled Madonna and the title track continued their success as it topped the Gaon Single Charts. Secret continued their success with the release of their second CD single entitled Starlight Moonlight. The same year, Secret began a foray of Japanese activities with the release of Madonna and Shy Boy.

In 2012, for the year end SBS Gayo Daejeon show, SBS created four idol super groups, a fan vote placed Sunhwa into the group designated Mystic White, the group working with producer Kim Do Hoon, created the song "Mermaid Princess" the profits of which was donated to charity.

On September 26, 2016, it was confirm by TS Entertainment that Sunhwa will not renew her contract and will officially part ways with Secret.

Musical style and influences

Sunhwa has said from childhood that she has been influenced by pop and R&B groups such as Fin.K.L, S.E.S. and Shinhwa. Sunhwa credits BoA as one of her major influences and idols. She also credits BoA's singing and dancing as influencing her to pursue a musical career.

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"White paper" or "baekji" in Korean, is a term coined by Netizens and the cast of Invincible Youth, which is an English equivalent of the "dumb blonde" persona portrayed by Sunhwa in that show. She played a huge role in increasing Secret's popularity through Invincible Youth and other variety shows because of her dumb-blonde persona.

Endorsements and other activities

Aside from her works with Secret, she also became active in acting, modelling and frequently participating in variety shows. In November 2010, Sunhwa won the best wedding dress idol award on MBC's Bouquet which landed her a magazine cover feature on Wedding 21's December issue. On December 28, 2010, Sunhwa made a cameo appearance on MBC's daily sitcom, All My Love and played as Gain's old college friend.

On February 2, 2011, Sunhwa guested on the KBS's Lunar New Year special, Idol Health Beauty Contest, during which she was chosen as the star with the healthiest and most beautiful skin. Sunhwa, along with many other female idols, participated in a skin evaluation by selected professionals. In the end, results showed that Sunhwa's skin appeared 10 years younger than her actual age. In April 2011, Sunhwa was chosen as the model for the cosmetics company The Skin House. Sunhwa reportedly received a $100,000 deposit for her six-month contract. She has since been the company's exclusive model for 2013, 2014, 2015 and recently renewed her contract extending to May 2016.

In February 2015, Sunhwa signed a deal with popular handbag brand St Scott London as their exclusive model for Spring/Summer 2015 collection. In August 2015, it was announced that Han Sunhwa along with Super Junior's Choi Siwon would be the honorary ambassador of the 11th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (JIMFF)

Along with Secret, Sunhwa has been featured as a model for various endorsement deals such as Grand Mer, Nike, Nene Chicken, Good Day Soju and Parkga among others. Along with Jun Hyoseong, Kim Himchan and Bang Yong Guk, Sunhwa was chosen as a model for KELLAN sportswear 11/12 Winter Collection in September 2011.