Whang Bo-ryung

Whang was born in Seoul and relocated to Busan in the fifth grade of elementary school. In 1985, at age fifteen, she moved to the United States with her family. During her sophomore year in high school, she received an acoustic guitar as a birthday gift and started playing and writing music in her diary. She graduated from Rush–Henrietta Senior High School, and began college at the Pratt Institute in art studies. She and a male college friend formed the duo Sun & Fish and started busking on the streets of New York City.{{cite news|last=Despres|first=Shawn|title=Catch alt-rockers SmackSoft in Jeju City, June 30|url=http://www.jejuweekly.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=2684|date=June 25, 2012|publisher=The Jeju Weekly|accessdate=June 22, 2016}}{{cite web|title=황보령 혹은 한국적 록 음악|url=http://www.pdjournal.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=22367|publisher=PD Journal|language=Korean|first=Woo-jin|last=Cha|date=June 8, 2009|accessdate=June 22, 2016}}{{cite web|title=나의 이 단 하나뿐인 세상|url=http://www.ildaro.com/sub_read.html?uid=4711§ion=sc7§ion2=|publisher=Ildaro.com|language=Korean|first=Ji-hye|last=Sung|date=January 20, 2009|accessdate=June 22, 2016}} She then left college, without graduating, for an "extended tramp around the world to find herself and her voice", visiting Japan, Vietnam, France and Thailand.

She returned to Korea in the late 1990s and started performing as a solo artist, playing a lot of acoustic shows with her guitar, in Hongdae. She said the atmosphere was different then, with fewer bands, and people found her fascinating, with her New York punk look – colorful hair and piercings. In 1998, she released her first solo album, Cat with Three Ears, then a second album in 2001, "Sun Sign", which included her recently formed band Smacksoft, with the full name being "Whang Bo-ryung = Smacksoft",{{cite web|script-title=ko:Smacksoft 락|url=http://music.naver.com/artist/album.nhn?artistId=99878|publisher=Naver|language=Korean|accessdate=June 23, 2016}} who joined her on the last track. After touring with the band in South Korea and Japan,{{cite web|last=Redmond|first=John|title=Smacksoft to tour US, Europe |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2014/02/177_152280.html|date=February 25, 2014|publisher=The Korea Times|access-date=June 22, 2016}} she decided to take time off, and in 2003 she returned to New York and the Pratt Institute, to study sculpture, and graduated with a B.F.A. in 2007.

In 2008, she returned to Seoul and created the EP SmackSoft 2.5 which she released in January 2009 with a re-formed Smacksoft band.

In 2010, a Smacksoft album, Shines in the Dark, was nominated for Best Modern Rock Album by the Korean Music Awards.{{cite web|last=Seo|first=Jung-min|script-title=ko:한국대중음악상 꿋꿋한 새출발|url=http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/c%20ulture/music/409025.html|date=March 9, 2010|publisher=The Hankyoreh|language=Korean|accessdate=June 23, 2016}}{{cite web|last=Park|first=Se-yeon|script-title=ko:제7회 한국대중음악상 30일 개최..주류-비주류 ‘향연’ 권위 높일까|url=http://news.joins.com/article/4051559|date=March 9, 2010|publisher=JoongAng Ilbo|language=Korean|accessdate=June 23, 2016}}

In April and August 2012, she joined other indie singers, led by Song Eun-ji, to perform three concerts and release the album Please Talk, to benefit comfort women.{{cite web|last=Gog|first=Yeong-Seok|script-title=ko:日정부는 진심으로 미안하다고… 폭력의 피해자들 말못한 상처도… "이야기해주세요"|url=http://news.zum.com/articles/3612460|date=September 4, 2012|publisher=Hankook Ilbo|language=Korean|accessdate=June 20, 2016}}{{cite web|title=Female Indie Singers Release Album to Support 'Comfort Women'|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/08/30/2012083000480.html|date=August 30, 2012|publisher=The Chosun Ilbo|accessdate=June 20, 2016}}{{cite web|script-title=ko:이야기해주세요|url=http://music.naver.com/album/index.nhn?albumId=328572|publisher=Naver|language=Korean|accessdate=June 20, 2016}}

In 2013, Smacksoft received a second nomination for the Best Modern Rock Album by the Korean Music Awards for the album Follow Your Heart.

On October 20, 2013 and February 16, 2014, she held pre-release concerts for her third solo album, an acoustic one, As If Nothing Ever Happened, released on February 27, 2014, just prior to Smacksoft's travels to the U.S. for SXSW and to Europe and Amsterdam's CinemAsia Film Festival.{{cite web|last=Choi|first=Tae-young|script-title=ko:황보령, 쇼케이스 ‘마치 아무일도 없었던 것처럼’ 제 2탄 열어|url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/article/view.gaon?idx=5700&sgenre=perform|date=October 7, 2013|publisher=Gaon Music Chart|language=Korean|accessdate=June 20, 2016}}{{cite web|last=Choi|first=Tae-young|script-title=ko:황보령, 어쿠스틱 스페셜 앨범 ‘마지막 프리 쇼케이스’ 개최|url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/article/view.gaon?idx=6382&sgenre=perform|date=February 6, 2014|publisher=Gaon Music Chart|language=Korean|accessdate=June 20, 2016}}{{cite web|script-title=ko:마치 아무 일도 없었던 것처럼 (As If Nothing Ever Happened)|url=http://music.naver.com/album/index.nhn?albumId=310353|publisher=Naver|language=Korean|accessdate=June 20, 2016}}{{cite web|last=Jeong|first=Jin-Yeong|script-title=ko:황보령… 불편하고 낯설지만 매혹적인 음악 세계|url=http://biz.heraldcorp.com/view.php?ud=20140405000225|date=April 5, 2014|publisher=The Korea Herald|language=Korean|accessdate=June 20, 2015}} As If Nothing Ever Happened ranked number 35 on the K-Indie Chart.{{cite web|last=Kwon|first=Seok-Jeong|script-title=ko:인디차트, 캐스커 준오 첫 솔로앨범 3위로 진입|url=http://tenasia.hankyung.com/archives/231539|date=March 21, 2014|publisher=Ten Asia|language=Korean|accessdate=June 21, 2016}} She said she felt like producing "simple acoustic music" for a calming effect, to counterbalance some of the chaotic world events like the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the following Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster that had upset her. She said some of the songs were new, but some were written nearly twenty years ago.

On March 13, 2014, she performed with Smacksoft at SXSW and Jonathan Cha of KoreAm called the Seoulsonic show opener "a powerful, 'post-punk' punch to the face" with "Whang Bo Ryung rhythmically rattling everyone at the venue down to the tent covering the stage."

In the fall of 2015, she was featured in the album Golden Indie Collection and the book The Musician by Choi Kyu-sung. She and Smacksoft participated in a concert celebrating the photographic exhibition that accompanied the book's release.{{cite web|script-title=ko:골든 인디 컬렉션: The Musician展-황보령|url=http://news.joins.com/article/18513521|date=August 24, 2015|publisher=JoongAng Ilbo|language=Korean|accessdate=June 19, 2016}}{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Eun-Ho|script-title=ko:‘골든 인디 컬렉션 – 더 뮤지션’ 공연으로 만났다 (part.1 밴드)|url=http://tenasia.hankyung.com/archives/665023|date=September 9, 2015|publisher=Ten Asia|language=Korean|accessdate=June 19, 2016}}{{cite web|last=Kyu-Sung|first=Choi|script-title=ko:골든 인디 컬렉션 The Musician |url=http://www.kyobobook.co.kr/product/detailViewKor.laf?ejkGb=KOR&linkClass=23130101&barcode=9791186559048#N|publisher=Kyobo|language=Korean|accessdate=June 19, 2016}}

Starting as a soloist in the 1990s, Whang's music derived from punk and early German industrial techno style music. She writes most of her own music that she produces for herself and for her band.{{cite web|title=Follow Your Heart: Interview with Smacksoft|url=http://www.yam-mag.com/features/music-features/follow-your-heart-interview-with-smacksoft/|date=March 9, 2014|publisher=YAM Magazine|accessdate=June 22, 2016}} She describes Bach as a big musical influence, along with life itself.{{cite web|last=Cha|first=Jonathan|title=SXSW Hosts More Music From Korea|url=http://kore.am/sxsw-hosts-more-music-from-korea/|date=March 14, 2014|publisher=KoreAm|accessdate=June 22, 2016}}{{cite web|last=Zimmer|first=Cindy|title=Interview: Smacksoft (at SXSW)|url=http://atkmagazine.com/2014/03/13/interview-smacksoft-at-sxsw/|date=March 13, 2014|publisher=ATK Magazine|accessdate=June 22, 2016}} Kim Young-jin of The Korea Times and Sabrina Hill of Groove Korea magazine have labeled the sound avant-garde.{{cite web|last=Kim|first=Young-jin|title=Blunt and brilliant |url=https://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/culture/2014/03/135_153084.htmll|date=March 10, 2014|publisher=The Korea Times|access-date=June 22, 2016}}

She creates the artwork for her album covers and for Smacksoft, and often uses her art and music for performance art, combining painting exhibitions and videos with a live concert, such as one performed with Smacksoft and the band Asian Chairshot on November 16, 2013, called "Sublime Re-treat".{{cite web|last=Jung|first=Jin Young|script-title=ko:황보령ㆍ아시안체어샷, 16일 동교동 ‘1984’서 합동 콘서트|url=http://biz.heraldcorp.com/view.php?ud=20131113000470|date=November 13, 2013|publisher=The Korea Herald|language=Korean|accessdate=June 22, 2016}}{{cite web|last=Robinson|first=Ken|script-title=ko:[콘서트] 펑크 페스티벌&아시안 체어샷&황보령=Smacksoft|url=http://www.foundmag.co.kr/329857|date=December 11, 2013|publisher=Found Magazine|language=Korean|accessdate=June 22, 2016}}

Her art work has been shown with others, including a joint exhibition on January 1–20, 2013, "Rockstar", at the Gallery Toast in Bangbae-dong Seoul; her contribution was a painting of Brian Eno.{{cite web|script-title=ko:[이벤트] 파운드 팝업 북 스토어 – Rockstar展|url=http://foundmag.co.kr/63232|date=February 14, 2013|publisher=Found Magazine|language=Korean|accessdate=June 22, 2016}} She has held a number of solo exhibits, including one held December 20–31, 2015, at the Namsan gallery Daeppang Four Studio Gallery, which included concert performances.{{cite web|last=Kim|first=Yeon-Su|script-title=ko:스튜디오 4:0(사대빵) – 황보령 개인전|url=http://m.weekly.cnbnews.com/m/m_article.html?no=117346|date=December 18, 2015|publisher=CNB Journal|language=Korean|accessdate=June 22, 2016}}

{{see also|Smacksoft#Discography}}

• Cat With Three Ears (1998){{cite web|title=공연... <황보령 2집 단독공연>, |url=http://www.cine21.com/news/view/mag_id/4816|date=October 25, 2001|publisher=Cine 21|accessdate=June 20, 2016}}
• The Sun Sign (2001)
• As If Nothing Ever Happened (2014)

• ''Dosirak Tuk Gong Dae (도시락특공대) (1997){{cite web|script-title=ko:도시락특공대|url=http://music.naver.com/album/index.nhn?albumId=3691|publisher=Naver|language=Korean|accessdate=June 20, 2016}}
• "Maya" (She Wanted, 2000){{cite web|script-title=ko:She Wanted (봉자)|url=http://music.naver.com/album/index.nhn?albumId=22056|publisher=Naver|language=Korean|accessdate=June 20, 2016}}
• "Gunpowder Cabin" (Fanatic, 2009){{cite web|script-title=ko:1집 Fanatic|url=http://music.naver.com/album/index.nhn?albumId=153554|publisher=Naver|language=Korean|accessdate=June 20, 2016}}
• "Marching Through War" (Please Talk, 2012)

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Category:1970 births

Category:Living people

Category:South Korean rock singers

Category:South Korean singer-songwriters

Category:South Korean painters

Category:Pratt Institute alumni

Category:South Korean emigrants to the United States

Category:21st-century South Korean singers

Category:21st-century South Korean women singers

Category:South Korean women singer-songwriters