Goo Hara facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Goo Hara
Goo at the Midnight Runners premiere in August 2017
Born	(1991-01-03)January 3, 1991 Gwangju, South Korea
Died	November 24, 2019(2019-11-24) (aged 28) Seoul, South Korea
Resting place	Skycastle Memorial Park Gwangju, South Korea
Occupation	Singer actress
Years active	2008–2019
Agent	KeyEast Ogi
Musical career
Genres	K-pop
Instruments	Vocals
Labels	DSP
Korean name
Hangul	구하라
Revised Romanization	Gu Ha-ra
McCune–Reischauer	Ku Hara
Signature

Goo Hara (/ˈɡuːhɑːrə/; January 3, 1991 – November 24, 2019), also known mononymously as Hara, was a South Korean pop singer and actress. She was a member of the girl group Kara, and had also appeared in television dramas including City Hunter (2011). She made her debut as a soloist in July 2015 with the release of her EP Alohara (Can You Feel It?). After Kara disbanded in 2016, she continued her solo career at another agency, KeyEast. In June 2019, she continued her solo activities in Japan where she was well received by fans. Her last release was a maxi single "Midnight Queen", released on September 19, 2019.

Goo died on November 24, 2019.

Life and career

Early life and education

Goo was born on January 3, 1991, in Gwangju, South Korea. Goo's parents separated when she was eight years old after her mother abandoned the family. Goo and her brother were raised by their grandmother while their father was working as a construction worker around the country to support the family. She attended Woonchun Elementary School [ko] and Jeonnam Middle School [ko], and trained as a track and field athlete for two years. Goo came to Seoul while attending Jeonju Fine Arts High School [ko] and participated in SM Entertainment's youth appearance tournament in 2005. She later transferred to Dongmyung Girls' Information Industry High School [ko] and then attended Sungshin Women's University. During her school days, she worked as a model for internet clothing stores. In 2007, she unsuccessfully auditioned to join JYP Entertainment.

2008–2015: Kara

Goo in 2009

Goo joined the girl group Kara in 2008, following the departure of former member Kim Sung-hee. In October 2009, she became a cast member of the KBS reality show Invincible Youth. On January 5, 2010, during an appearance on the SBS reality show Strong Heart, Goo admitted that she had had dental and minor facial cosmetic surgery. She stated that she had always had double eyelids, but had surgery to make them more defined.

In 2011, Goo made her acting debut in SBS City Hunter, where she starred as Choi Da-hye, the daughter of South Korea's president. On January 19, 2011, it was announced that Goo would be terminating her contract with her label DSP Media along with three other members of Kara, and a lawsuit was filed on their behalf. Later that day, it was announced that she would discontinue her involvement with the suit and had rejoined the company, as she apparently was not fully aware of the lawsuit's details. In November 2011, she and Nicole Jung (a fellow member of Kara) became the new MCs for Inkigayo, and they left the show on August 19, 2012, to focus on Kara's comeback.

In 2013, Goo collaborated with Japanese musician and songwriter Masaharu Fukuyama to record a song called "Magic of Love" in Korean under the project group, Hara+. The song was used as a soundtrack for FujiTV's drama Galileo, in which Fukuyama starred. In October 2013, she was appointed as the blood donation ambassador for the Hanmaum Blood Bank. On December 29, 2014, she appeared in her own reality show titled On & Off, which aired on MBC Music.

Alohara (Can You Feel It)

In January 2015, Goo started hosting KBS' idol beauty show A Style For You along with Super Junior's Kim Heechul, EXID's Hani and Sistar's Bora. In June 2015, she released a beauty book titled Nail Hara. In July 2015, Goo debuted as a solo artist with the release of the EP Alohara (Can You Feel It?), which peaked at #4 domestically. The lead single "Choco Chip Cookies" features South Korean rapper Giriboy. In October 2015, Goo joined the variety show Shaolin Clenched Fists.

2016–2019: Final projects before death

On January 15, 2016, Kara disbanded due to Goo and fellow members Park Gyu-ri and Han Seung-yeon leaving DSP Media upon the expiration of their contracts with the company. Goo then signed with KeyEast a few days later to pursue a solo career. In December 2016, she featured in Thunder's single, "Sign". In August 2017, Goo starred in a web movie titled Sound of a Footstep. In November 2017, she joined the variety show Seoul Mate.

In January 2018, Goo released a soundtrack for the drama Jugglers, titled "On A Good Day". In April 2018, she hosted the JTBC's beauty show My Mad Beauty Diary. In July, she was named honorary ambassador for the 6th Animal Film Festival. In August 2018, Goo debuted as a soloist in Japan, releasing the song "Wild". Beginning in October 2018, Goo and her ex-boyfriend, Choi Jong-bum, became involved in a legal dispute that extended into 2019. The nature of the dispute caused issues in both her professional and personal life, including Content Y (a subsidiary of KeyEast that Goo had been actively promoting under since 2017), declining to renew her contract following its expiration in January 2019. After being on hiatus for the first half of 2019, Goo announced in June 2019 that she had signed with Production Ogi [ja] to continue her activities in Japan. Goo had previously enjoyed popularity in Japan when Kara was still active and being promoted in Japan, having participated in 62nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen.

Goo's final release prior to her death was the maxi single "Midnight Queen", which was released in September 2019. She also embarked on a mini tour, titled Hara Zepp Tour 2019: Hello, to support the album. The tour consisted of four concert dates held across Japan in November 2019, ending on the 19th. Goo had a successful solo career in Japan and was well received by her Japanese fans during the mini tour. On January 12, 2020, the music video for "Hello", a B-side track from "Midnight Queen", was released posthumously. Its lyrics were penned by Goo to thank her supporters, and the video featured her against the night-time cityscape of Tokyo, which she had loved. As a follow up to the music video, a photobook, memorializing Goo with photos taken just before her death, was released posthumously on April 6, 2020.

Personal life

Domestic dispute with Choi Jong-Bum

Goo dated hairdresser Choi Jong-Bum after the two first met on the set of the beauty TV program My Mad Beauty Diary. At around 1 a.m. of September 13, 2018, Choi broke into Goo's house while she was sleeping and started an argument that escalated into assault, when he allegedly tried to break up with her. The police arrived at Goo's house after Choi reported her for assault. Goo claimed that the incident was two-sided.

Death, investigation and commemoration

On November 24, 2019, Hara was found dead at her home in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam by her manager.

Goo's funeral was privately held at Gangnam Severance Hospital by family members and friends, while a separate memorial service for fans took place on November 25–26 in The Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary's Hospital [ko] in Gangnam. On November 27, Goo's body was cremated and her remains were enshrined at the Skycastle Memorial Park [ko] in Bundang, Gyeonggi-do.

Legacy

Fundraiser for single parent families

On the second anniversary of Goo Hara's death in 2021, Goo Ho-in, Goo Hara's elder brother, announced that he would auction 10 oil paintings done by Goo Hara of which proceeds would partially be donated to a Japanese non-profit organisation, Florence, whose primary clients are of single parent families.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Other appearances

Filmography

Film

Television series

Television shows

Events hosting

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Goo Hara para niños