Lee Jung-hyun
Lee Jung-hyun in 2018
Born	Lee Jung-hyun (1980-02-07)February 7, 1980 (age 45) Yeongdeungpo District,Seoul, South Korea
Other names	Ava Hyony
Alma mater	Chung-ang University[1]
Occupations	Singer actress
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Park Yoo-jung ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	2
Musical career
Genres	K-pop eurodance techno trance electropop
Instrument	Vocals
Labels	Pinetree Entertainment
Website	withava.kr
Musical artist
Korean name
Hangul	이정현
Hanja	李貞賢
RR	I Jeonghyeon
MR	I Chŏnghyŏn

Lee Jung-hyun (Korean: 이정현; born February 7, 1980), also known by her occasional stage nameAva, is a South Korean singer and actress. She was first recognized for her acting abilities with award-winning role in her first film and has been solidified as one of the top international acts from South Korea with her illustrious singing career. She has been known as "the Techno Queen" as she introduced thetechno music genre to Korea.^{[citation needed]} Lee is also known as "The Queen of Transformation"^[2][3] due to her changing new look for different songs. She is known as one of the first artists who introducedKorean Wave (Hallyu) to China and caused a sensation.^[4][5]

Lee Jung-hyun made her acting debut at the age of 16 inA Petal in 1996, which won her 'Best New Actress' at the 34thGrand Bell Awards, 17thBlue Dragon Film Awards and 16thKorean Association of Film Critics Awards. The film tells the story of a girl who experienced theGwangju uprising at the age of 15, and its effect on her life in later years. Since 1996, Lee has had numerous acting roles with projects in South Korea, Japan and China.^[6][7]

In 2010, Lee regained her acting strides with theChinese seriesConfucius, playing the role of Nanzi. In 2011, Lee portrayed ashaman inPark Chan-wook and Park Chan-kyong's award-winning fantasyshort filmNight Fishing, which was shot entirely on aniPhone.^[8][9]Night Fishing won theGolden Bear for Best Short Film at2011 Berlin International Film Festival. In 2012, Lee portrayed a single mother in the coming-of-age filmJuvenile Offender,^[10] which won Best Feature at theTokyo International Film Festival. She was next cast in the 2014 period blockbusterThe Admiral: Roaring Currents, as the sole female character in the main cast. Lee returned to television in the SBS' dramaThe Family is Coming.^[11]

In 2015, Lee starred in black comedy filmAlice in Earnestland, which won her 'Best Actress' at the36th Blue Dragon Film Awards &3rd Wildflower Film Awards.^[12] Lee then starred in the bowling filmSplit in 2016,^[13] and war filmThe Battleship Island in 2017.^[14][15][16] In 2019, Lee is scheduled to star in the romantic comedy filmShall We Do It Again.^[17]

In 2020, Lee starred in the zombie filmPeninsula.^[18] The following year, she appeared inPark Chan-wook's mystery filmDecision to Leave.

After debuting with an award-winning acting performance, Lee etched her singing career by introducing techno genre to theK-Pop scene and her ever-reinventing styles for each and every song. Lee assumes a unique persona for each release, such as a mermaid, Barbie doll, tribal queen, soldier, Korean folk dancer, belly dancer, or princess of the sea. She has garnered many nicknames over the years, including Techno Queen of Korea, Queen of Performance Art, Ms. Charisma, Little Giant, and Queen of Change.^[19][20]

Before releasing her first solo music she featured as a guest vocalist on theJo PD single "Fever", also appearing in themusic video. She also appeared in the music video forGoofy's "The Rule of the Game".^[21]

Her early work istechno-style dance music. Her debut album,Let's Go To My Star, released on October 1999, including her first single, "Wa" (와, "Come") topped the Korean charts for three weeks, while her second, "Bakkweo" (바꿔, "Change"), also from the album, won awards for Best Song and Most Broadcast Song. These two songs were covered by artists throughout Asia and Europe. Many of her earlier songs are sung in an angry mood, from the perspective of a rejected lover. These two singles firmly established Lee as one of the top Korean singers who successfully gained popularity throughout Asia with her strong colorful performances.

Ahead of the 2002 general elections, the singer was asked by political parties if they could use "Change" in their campaigns, to which she declined.

Lee released Japanese versions of her early hitsWa andHeaven in December 2004. The single ranked #26 on Oricon chart in Week 3 of January 2005. Heaven was a theme song for the Korean dramaBeautiful Days. The drama became widely popular in Japan. On December 31, 2004, Lee was invited to perform Heaven and Wa-come on- and participate at the 55th edition ofKōhaku Uta Gassen, an annual New Year's Eve live music show. In 2006, she released her first Japanese album,This is Hyony.

Lee was the first foreigner to participate in singing theBeijing Olympic 2008 Theme Song.^[22] In 2008, she released her first Mandarin album,Love Me.

With her fifth album,Passion, she switched to a Latin-influenced sound, complete withSpanish Guitar andflamenco-styletap dance.

In May 2009, she released her first Korean mini albumAvaholic, featuring a trio of songs, "Crazy," "Vogue It Girl" and "Miro".^[23] The music video "Crazy" was choreographed byBrian Friedman.^[24] In September 2009, she was invited to open atLady Gaga'sThe Fame Ball Tour in Club Answer, Seoul, South Korea. In December 2009, Lee sung her first ballad for thesoundtrack of theKorean TV dramaIris. The song, "How Can I Hold Back Tears," takes her to the ballad genre for the first time in her over 10-year singing career.

In 2010, her seventh album,007th, was released on May 11, 2010, with the title song, "Suspicious Man." In this title single's music video, Lee once again showed her dynamic performance range by introducing a vengeful assassin with a short blonde do. The seventh album was entitled, "007th."

In 2013, she released her single entitled "V", featuringJin Goo in a music video directed byPark Chan-wook andPark Chan-kyong, with whom she'd previously worked onNight Fishing.^[25][26][27]

In August 2007, singer-actress Lee was named aUNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.^[28]

On June 22, 2012, Lee was appointed as an honorary ambassador for the Korea-China Cultural Industry Conference, called CICON.^[29][30]

Lee married orthopedic doctor Park Yoo-jung in a private ceremony in April 2019.^[31][32] During her appearance onStars' Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant, her husband, whose face was censored due to privacy concerns, was dubbed as "Baby". His face was eventually revealed on her re-appearance on the show in 2023.^[33]

On December 7, 2021, Lee announced that she is pregnant on her YouTube channel.^[34] On April 23, 2022, Lee's agency confirmed that Lee gave birth to her first daughter, Park Seo-ah, on April 20, 2022.^[35]

On June 14, 2024, Lee announced her second pregnancy onStars' Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant.^[36] Her second daughter, Park Seo-woo, was born on October 30.^[37][38]

Lee's music has been featured inrhythm games. "Wa" and "Bakkwo" were included in the Korean dance games "Let's Dance" and "TechnoMotion". These songs were also featured in the Korean releases ofDance Dance Revolution 3rdMix, as well as theDance Dance Revolution 4thMix games. Also, "Nuh" (Trance Mix) was featured in EZ2Dancer.^{[citation needed]}

Her song "Come On!" is featured in thePump It Up NX Absolute dance machine, both a short Chinese version and the full song version appearing in it.^{[citation needed]}

Currently, "I'll Give", "Going Crazy" and other songs are featured onAudition, an online dance-rhythm game.^[39]

• Let's Go to My Star (1999)
• Lee Jung Hyun II (2000)
• Magic to Go to My Star (2001)
• I ♡ Natural (2002)
• Passion (2004)
• Fantastic Girl (2006)
• Lee Jung Hyun 007th (2010)

• This is Hyony (2006)

• Love Me (2008)

• 2001:Tomak: Save the Earth, a Love Story

• Official website(in English)
• Lee Jung-hyun at theKorean Movie Database
• Lee Jung-hyun atIMDb

• Best Actress Blue Dragon Film Awards winners
• 1980 births
• Chung-Ang University alumni
• K-pop singers
• Living people
• South Korean women pop singers
• South Korean mandopop singers
• South Korean female idols
• MAMA Award winners
• South Korean television actresses
• South Korean film actresses
• People from Gimje
• Actresses from North Jeolla Province
• Musicians from North Jeolla Province
• 20th-century South Korean women singers
• 21st-century South Korean women singers
• Best New Actress Blue Dragon Film Awards winners
• Best New Actress for Grand Bell Awards winners

• CS1 Korean-language sources (ko)
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• Articles containing Korean-language text
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from February 2019
• Articles with unsourced statements from April 2025
• Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia