What you need to know about Mr Trot star, Jang Minho – the popular YouTuber and former K-pop idol of ballad duo Baram has shot to fame on the reality TV show

Dec 13 , 2021

Mr Trot star Jang Minho. Photo: New Era Project

The Korean singer learned Chinese while to prepare for future performances in China, and even has a Chinese version of his hit song The Man Says

Not only does Jang sponsor a child through Compassion International, he also helped out fellow trot star Lim Young-woong when he was struggling with money

South Korea’s audition show Mr Trot has been making waves since it first aired in 2020, shooting its participants such as long-time trot singer Jang Minho to stardom. Placing in the show’s top six, the 44-year-old singer’s popularity skyrocketed afterwards, thrusting him into mainstream Korean entertainment.

So what is there to know about Jang Minho?

He was a K-pop idol and ballad singer in the past

Mr Trot star Jang Minho. Photo: @jangminho7/Instagram

Though Jang is now known as a trot singer, he actually started his career as a member of an idol group known as U-Bes. The boy band debuted in 1997 and consisted of four members, with Jang appointed as the leader. Jang was a university student at the time and actually performed under his birth name, Jang Ho-geun. He’d spent a year training for his idol debut, but the band unofficially disbanded in 1999 after releasing two albums.

After a hiatus during which Jang continued to attend university, he debuted again in 2004 as part of a ballad duo called Baram – which means “wind” in Korean. He changed his stage name to Jang-goon and the duo was active until 2005 before disbanding.

In 2011, he began his trot career as Jang Minho after completing his military enlistment and graduate school. Though his participation in Mr Trot is what put him in the mainstream spotlight, he made a name for himself in the trot world with his hit song The Man Says.

He has his own YouTube channel

Jang Minho often films behind-the-scenes videos. Photo: @jangminho7/Instagram

Despite his packed schedule, the singer gives us glimpses into his life on his YouTube channel, also named Jang Minho. Through various types of content, from behind-the-scene vlogs to short Q&A sessions, he constantly keeps his fans entertained. Just in case there was any doubt of his popularity, his channel gained over 20,000 subscribers in two hours after he created it in 2020.