Umji

In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.

Kim Ye-won (Korean: 김예원; born August 19, 1998), better known by her stage name Umji (Korean: 엄지), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer. She is a former member of the girl group GFriend, and a current member of the trio Viviz.

Umji
Umji in August 2024
Born	Kim Ye-won (1998-08-19) August 19, 1998 (age 26) Yeonsu-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, South Korea[1]
Occupations	Singer dancer
Musical career
Genres	K-pop
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	2015–present
Labels	Source BPM
Member of	Viviz
Formerly of	GFriend
Korean name
Hangul	김예원
Hanja	金藝源
Revised Romanization	Gim Ye-won
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Yewŏn
Stage name
Hangul	엄지
Hanja	嚴智
Revised Romanization	Eom-ji
McCune–Reischauer	Ŏmji
Signature

Early life

Umji was born on August 19, 1998, in Yeonsu-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, South Korea^[1] and is the youngest daughter of her family (one older brother and one older sister). Her father is dentist and chairman of a famous dental corporation in South Korea.^[2]

Umji went to English preschool and graduated from Shinsong Middle School, Incheon. She graduated from the School of Performing Arts Seoul (SOPA - Theater Department) in February 2017, along with her groupmate, SinB.^[3][4]

Career

Umji made her debut as a member of the group GFriend on January 15, 2015, with the release of the extended play Season of Glass, along with the single "Glass Bead".^[5] The group first live performance took place on the KBS2's Music Bank on January 16.^[6]

In September 2016, she released her first solo soundtrack for the South Korean drama Shopping King Louie, entitled "The Way".^[7][8] In October 2016, the singer stopped activities with the group after being diagnosed with a twist in the sarus muscle.^[9][10] She returned a month after recovering for the Melon Music Awards.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2017, she took part in King of Mask Singer, participating in two rounds until she was eliminated by Sunwoo Jung-a.^[11]

In 2018, along with member Sanha from the boys band Astro, the singer was chosen to host a talk show for the youth audience entitled Yogobara.^[12][13]

In March 2020, the singer released her second soundtrack for the South Korean drama Welcome called "Welcome".^[14][15] In April 2020, she replaced her fellow group member Eunha as a new DJ for Naver Now "Avenger Girls".^[16]

In October 2020, Umji appeared with Eunha on the show Knowing Bros and showcased a tip of the single "Mago" from GFriend's studio album 回:Walpurgis Night released two weeks later on November 9.^[17]

On October 6, 2021, it was announced that Umji, along with former GFriend members, Eunha and SinB, have signed a contract with BPM Entertainment to debut as a trio.^[18] On October 8, 2021, it was announced their new group name would be Viviz.^[19] Viviz debuted on February 9, 2022, with the extended play Beam of Prism.^[20]

Discography

For Umji's discography with GFriend and Viviz, see GFriend discography and Viviz discography.

Soundtrack appearances

Title	Year	Peak chart position	Album
		KOR Gaon
"The Way"	2016	—	Shopping King Louie OST
"Meow the Secret boy" (어서와)	2020	—	Welcome OST
"May I Love You?" (이 마음을 전해도 될까)	2024	—[A]	Lovely Runner OST
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Composition credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise.^[22]

Title	Year	Album	Artist	Composer	Lyricist	Arranger
"Hope"	2019	Fever Season	GFriend
"Eye of the Storm"	2020	回:Song of the Sirens
"Tarot Cards"
"Mago"		回:Walpurgis Night
"Better Me"
"Eve Love"		Non-album single	Umji
"Love You Like"	2022	Beam of Prism	Viviz
"Hypnotize"	2024	Voyage
"Love & Tears"

Filmography

For Umji's filmography with GFriend and Viviz, see GFriend filmography and Viviz § Filmography.

Radio show

Year	Title	Network	Role	Notes	Ref.
2021–2022	Umji Cells	Spoon Radio Studio	DJ	November 16, 2021 – January 4, 2022	[23]

Notes

1. ”May I Love You? (이 마음을 전해도 될까)” did not enter the Circle Digital Chart, but peaked at number 80 on the component Circle Download Chart.^[21]

References

1. "엄지". Marie Claire Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
2. "[ENG sub] Mnet TMI NEWS [14회] '여자친구 엄지'의 빛나는 미소 뒤, 숨겨진 금빛 비밀 190918 EP.14 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
3. "[TD영상] 방탄소년단 정국-여자친구 신비&엄지-우주소녀 은서, "오늘 졸업합니다!"". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 17, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
4. "신비·엄지 "여자친구 전원 성인 됐다..감회 새롭다"(인터뷰)". 스타뉴스 (in Korean). February 7, 2017. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
5. "KPOP NEWS - New Rookie Group GFriend Makes Debut with ′Glass Bead′ MV…". archive.vn. January 5, 2017. Archived from the original on January 5, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
6. 헤럴드경제 (January 16, 2015). "여자친구, 데뷔곡 '유리구슬' 티저+뮤비 유튜브 조회수 20만 돌파 '대박'". biz.heraldcorp.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
7. "여자친구 엄지, MBC 드라마 '쇼핑왕 루이' OST 참여". 뉴스1 (in Korean). September 28, 2016. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
8. 헤럴드경제 (October 6, 2016). "주니엘, 김소희·여자친구 엄지 이어 '쇼핑왕 루이' OST 참여 - 헤럴드경제". biz.heraldcorp.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
9. "여자친구 엄지, 대퇴부 염좌로 활동 일시중단 "치료 전념할 것"(공식입장)". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 17, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
10. "여자친구 엄지 건강문제로 활동 중단…"대퇴부 봉공근 염좌 치료 집중, 당분간 5인 체제" [공식입장 전문]". 뉴스핌 (in Korean). October 6, 2016. Archived from the original on November 25, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
11. "'복면가왕', 꿩은 여자친구 엄지…노래도 '엄지척'". inews24 (in Korean). December 3, 2017. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
12. "요고바라 - 요즘 고딩들의 바깥 라이프!". m.programs.sbs.co.kr (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
13. "요고바라 - 요즘 고딩들의 바깥 라이프!". m.programs.sbs.co.kr (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
14. tenasia.hankyung.com, Digital (March 25, 2020). "여자친구 엄지, '어서와' OST 참여…김명수♥신예은 로멘스 귀여움 더한다 | 텐아시아". 텐아시아 연예뉴스 (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
15. "여자친구 엄지 '어서와' OST 참여…김명수X신예은 설렘 담은 목소리". hankyung.com (in Korean). March 25, 2020. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
16. "NAVER NOW". now.naver.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
17. Ahn, Byung-gil (November 1, 2020). ‘아는 형님’ 여자친구, 베일 속 ‘MAGO’ 노출 ['Knowing Brother' GFriend exposes 'MAGO' in veil]. Sports trend (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020 – via Naver.
18. Jang, Woo-young (October 6, 2021). 여자친구 은하x신비x엄지, BPM엔터 전속계약..3인조 그룹 예고 [전문] [GFriend Eunha x Sinbi x Umji, BPM Entertainment exclusive contract..3 member group notice]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2021 – via Naver.
19. Oh, Yoon-joo (October 8, 2021). "은하X신비X엄지, 새 그룹 비비지 적응 완료 "VIVIZ♥"". My Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
20. Ahn, Jin-yong (January 24, 2022). "VIVIZ 은하·신비·엄지, 2월 9일 정식 데뷔…앨범명 'Beam Of Prism'". Munhwa (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
21. "Download Chart - Week 17 of 2024". Circle Chart (in Korean). April 21–27, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
22. "Songs Registered Under UMJI (10022154)". Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA). Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
23. Hwang Chae-hyun (November 16, 2021). "엄지, 라디오 DJ 데뷔" [Umji debuts as a radio DJ] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021 – via Naver.

External links

• Umji on Instagram