Rain

Jung Ji-Hoon (born June 25, 1982), better known by his stage name Rain, is a South Korean singer, actor, songwriter, dancer, model, producer and designer.

Rain's musical career includes seven albums (six Korean, one Japanese), 19 singles and numerous concert tours around the world. His acting career began in 2003, when he won the KBS Best New Actor award for his role in the drama Sang Doo! Let's Go To School. In 2004, Rain won the KBS Excellence in Acting award for his role in the drama Full House. After starring in A Love To Kill, he acted in his first Korean film, I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK (2006), which won the Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival. Rain has acted in the American films Speed Racer (2008) and Ninja Assassin (2009), the latter of which made him the first Korean to win an MTV award. Rain acted in another Korean film, R2B: Return to Base, that was released in August 2012.

In 2007, Rain left the management of JYP Entertainment and started his own company, J. Tune Entertainment but still retains collaborative relationship with Park Jin-young. In 2013, it was announced he will be discharged from the army on July 10, 2013 and Rain had signed a contract with Cube Entertainment whose CEO is the former President of JYP Entertainment.

Rain is considered a 'world star' due to his popularity, not only in South Korea and Japan, but throughout Asia, Europe and North America with fans in countries 

like China, Singapore, Thailand,Canada and United States. Much of his popularity is attributed to his various acting roles (varying from television like Full House to indie films like I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK to blockbusters like Ninja Assassin). Before landing his role in Speed Racer, he had expressed the desire to expand beyond the Asian market when he stated in an interview, "The reason I am active in Japan, Hong Kong, China and around Asia is that I want to succeed here and then go even more international...I would really like to see, is a top Asian artist emerge strongly from the Asian market, and then go on to succeed in the U.S. market.

Rain's appeal to all demographics has made him one of Korea's highest paid celebrities by endorsers with an asking price of $1 – 1.5 million USD per endorsement. Over the years, he endorsed brands such as Hyundai, Lotte, KB Card, Pizza Hut, Thailand dairy company Dutch Mill Chinese pastry Fu Mu Cakes, Pantech, LG Electronics, SK Telecom and Pepsi. Rain has even done songs to tie-in with endorsement deals. "Still Believe" was used as both an ad and a music video for BMW Korea's "Meet the Truth" campaign with appearances by Rain as well as JYP.Memory in My Hand" and "Any Dream" were used in campaigns for Pantech and Samsung, respectively, in China.

With his booming popularity throughout the world, he has been deemed a "cultural ambassador" as he has represented South Korea in inter-Asian musical events and has appeared in a Thai published textbook.