- Bobby moved to the United States when he was in fourth grade, where his family struggled financially
- To make life easier for them, he used his voice – which he trained in church choirs – to become a K-pop star and pay their way back to South Korea
Bobby of K-pop boy group iKon wanted a career in the South Korean entertainment industry for one simple reason: to help his family who were struggling financially. He wanted to bring them back to South Korea from the United States, where they had relocated in search of a better life.
His humble background and his fluency in Konglish " a mixture of English and Korean " has made Bobby something of a unique idol on the K-pop scene. Here's a look at Bobby's life so far.
His early life
Bobby was born Kim Ji-won in Seoul's Seodaemun district in 1995. He has one older brother and, along with their father, the trio liken themselves to the musketeers inThe Three Musketeers, a 1844 novel by French author Alexandre Dumas, according to what Bobby said on reality television show My Father and I.
Bobby's father is far from the typical Korean authoritarian figure " he collects action figures and once dreamed of becoming a painter. When Bobby was young, his father would take him to internet cafes.
When Bobby was in fourth grade, he moved with his family to Virginia in the United States. The family was devoutly Christian, and he sang in his church choir and learned to play the guitar.
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Life in the US, though, was not easy. It was hard for his father to find a job, and the family had to live on the savings of Bobby's grandmother.
"Our family is rather poor. My mum and dad need to work. My elder brother also works. So I want to become a star and to make our family stronger," Bobby said during his audition for South Korean entertainment company YG Entertainment in New York in 2011. "I want to go all in with my life."
Bobby passed the audition, which meant returning to South Korea alone.
Bobby trained a little more than a year with his future fellow band members, B.I and Jinhwan. Ju-ne, Yunhyeong and Donghyuk later joined them, forming Team B in reality competition show Win: Who is Next in 2013.
Although his team lost, he returned a year later on another competition show, Mix & Match,as well as Show Me the Money 3, a hip-hop competition TV show.
He went on to win the latter, which had a prize of 100 million won (US$98,000), meaning he was able to bring his family back to South Korea. He made his debut a year later as a member of iKon.
"I dreamed of this day for many years," he told radio show Dream Radio. "For this, I left my parents and went to South Korea on my own."
His role in iKon
Although he is a good dancer, Bobby is known mainly as a rapper and lyricist. He and B.I wrote the lyrics for iKon's first studio album, "Welcome Back", as well as most of the tracks on their 2018 album, "Return". Bobby also wrote three tracks on the group's 2020 EP, "I Decide".
His solo career
Bobby has also enjoyed a successful solo career as an artist and producer. He released his first solo single, Holup!, in 2016, and his first solo studio album, "Love and Fall", the following year. The single hit No. 9 on South Korea's Gaon Music Chart, and the album peaked at No. 4 on the Gaon chart and at No. 2 on the Billboard World Albums chart.
Bobby composed and wrote the lyrics to all 10 tracks on "Love and Fall", and served as one of the producers. He said in an interview with Xportsnews that he wanted to express a softer side on his solo album, in contrast to the cooler persona he displays during his hip-hop performances.
His image
Bobby is known for being able to pull off any number of looks, from dressing as a student for reality TV show iKon Idol School Trip to looking the part of a hard-edged street rapper. In 2014, he was featured as one of GQ Korea's men of the year.
His persona on stage is unrestrained and cool, but the rapper is warm and caring in his private life. Judges at his YG audition in 2011 were impressed by his musical talent, but also moved by his love for his family.
In his words
On being a part of iKon, Bobby told GQ Korea that: "The iKon members are like brothers to me, and I think the competition between us is like fuel for me. Doing everything with my iKon brothers will be a lot of fun " our music will slowly get bigger."
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