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HARISU
Harisu (hangul: 하리수; hanja: 河莉秀) is the stage name of Lee Kyung-eun (born February 17, 1975), a singer, model and actress from South Korea. Besides her home country she is primarily active in Taiwan, China and Malaysia, and is a prominent figure in the "Korean wave" (also known as "hallyu"). [16] Harisu is also notable for being South Korea's first transgendered entertainer, [3] [GR] and in 2002 she became only the second person in that country to legally change their gender. [11?] She has cited Madonna, Janet Jackson, [GR] Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears [5] as her influences and idols.
- speaks four languages [23]
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[edit] Early Life
Harisu was born Lee Kyung-yup in Seongnam, South Korea, and is one of five children. [24] Although born male, she identified as female from an early age, recalling "it was just natural for me to be the way I am. I preferred playing with dolls instead of sports. I never had a girlfriend, just boyfriends." [24] This was something that did not go unnoticed by her family or school friends, who also considered her to be quite feminine. [24] [5] A failed relationship with another boy during her teenage years convinced Harisu of the need to change gender [2?] [5], and by the time she graduated the all-boys Naksaeng High School in 1995 [B] [new] she was already undergoing hormone replacement therapy. [6] It was for this reason that she was exempted from the military service usually required of males in South Korea. [6] [GR] Over the following three years Harisu had breast augmentation and sex reassignment surgery in both Korea and Japan, with the only other surgery being to her nose (see Rhinoplasty). [24]
Having completed her transition, Harisu lived in Japan for two years, where she studied hair design/styling [6] [24] (at the Tokyo Design School [A]) and began working as a model. [24] In 1999 [37] she was discovered by a talent agency whilst singing in a nightclub, [12] [23] [36] [GR] and in 2000 she returned to South Korea, [24] where, under the representation of TTM Entertainment [15] she continued modelling and first began using the stage name "Harisu", derived from the English phrase "hot issue". [13] [24] [16] [15] [12] [GR]
[edit] Career
Harisu's big break came in 2001, when she appeared in a TV commercial for DoDo cosmetics. The commercial played off her nature as a transsexual, zooming in to reveal her adam's apple (although this was added digitally, since Harisu herself does not have a prominent adam's apple). [1] Although DoDo were initially cautious about using the commercial, it turned out to be a big success, [3] causing a certain amount of media interest in Harisu which intensified when it was subsequently revealed that she was in fact a transgender. [24]
(sockstop; autobiography)
In October 2003 Harisu split with her management company, TTM Entertainment. However, TTM claimed to hold the rights to her stage name, and announced their intentions to use that name to promote other artists. [15] The matter was taken to court, and in early 2004 the decision went in favour of Harisu, allowing her to keep the name. She subsequently set up her own company, G&F Entertainment, to represent her. [17]
In 2004 Harisu made headlines again when she appeared in a series of advertisments for UFT sanitary napkins. Though initially reluctant to take on the project, she was paid an estimated W100 million ($100,000) by the Taiwanese company, ..... [18]
(sex counsellor?)
Although Harisu has expressed frustration at being "pigeonholed" as a transgender in Korea, [17]
[edit] Film and television
Harisu's made her acting debut in 1991 - whilst still a boy - as a supporting actor in a high school TV drama series [34], and this was followed by other minor film and TV roles during the 1990s. [16] Her first major film role came in 2001, shortly after her appearance in the DoDo commercial, when she was cast in the film Yellow Hair 2. Also contributing to the film's soundtrack, Harisu plays a transexual who, along with several other characters, goes on the run after the apparent death of a convenience store owner. Speaking of her decision to appear in the film, Harisu said "I wanted to break the stereotype of transsexuals - the demureness and extreme weakness with which they are often portrayed". However, the film was not a box office successs. [6]
(city horror; emergency act 19)
In 2004 Harisu played a leading role in the Taiwanese drama series Hi! Honey, despite her not being fluent in Mandarin (her lines were spoken in Korean and later dubbed). [17]
(colour blossoms)
Harisu played a transsexual character again in the MBC miniseries Beating Heart, appearing in several episodeas as a transsexual trying to gain acceptance by her family.
[edit] Music
Grew up imitating Madonna and Janet Jackson. [GR]
Harisu released her third album, Foxy Lady, in February 2004. Her first album since the split with TTM, it also marked a change from the techno/dance of her previous albums to a more pop/R'n'B sound, with Harisu saying "now I am on my own, and showing my true colors, doing exactly the kind of music that I've always wanted". [17] Although the album failed to make the Korean top 50, it was nevertheless successful in introducing Harisu to a much wider audience, with releases in Taiwan, China and Malaysia in 2005.
[edit] Personal life
Harisu's change of gender placed a strain on the relationship between her and her family, and she noted that when her parents first found out they "were very upset. They weren't angry, but very sad." [5] Her father in particular had great difficulty accepting his son as a daughter, [2] but her family have since accepted her and now show great pride in both her and her career. [1] [GR]
On November 29, 2002, Harisu submitted a rquest to the Incheon District Court to legally change her gender from male to female. [9] The subsequent court ruling went in her favour, and on December XX, 2002, she became only the second person in South Korea to do so, also changing her birth name from Lee Kyung-yup to the feminized Lee Kyung-eun in the process. [10] [11] Speaking of the everday hardships she had previously encountered, Harisu has said: "My most embarrassing moments were when I have had to show my personal identification card in public... I couldn't get a passport, visa or even my own bank accounts because I was legally a man". [27]
Over the years Harisu has consistently expressed a desire to marry and have a family. [24] [17] [GR] It is believed that she will marry her boyfriend in 2007. [37] [38]
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- Notes **
Although Harisu's family were initially opposed to/upset by her change of gender, they have since accepted her as a daughter and sister. [1] Her sex change was difficult for her family. [6] "They weren't angry, but very sad." Her father was shocked, but they had been distant before. [5] Harisu's father was the last member of her family to find out about her sex change (2 years after), but he was not angry. [24] Father described her as "the most pitiful person", but has since begun to participate in family events. [2] Her father has since accepted her as a daughter. [6] Her father had great difficulty accepting her. [16] Family proud of her and her career. [GR]
She cites her mother as being her biggest role model, saying "Through all the choices I have made, my mom has always been there for me with love." [GR]
