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KARA’s Park Gyu-ri seeks career change at new agency

July 20, 2016

SEOUL, July 20 (Yonhap) — K-pop singer Park Gyu-ri, a member of now-disbanded girl group KARA, reached a deal with a local talent agency as she moves to become a full-fledged actress, her new management said on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old idol singer signed a contract with Motion Media Entertainment after the four-member K-pop band officially dissolved in January. The Seoul-based talent agency also manages actor Lee Jong-hyuk and child actress Seo Shin-ae.

“We sealed an exclusive management contract with Park,” the agency said in a press release. “The contract signals Park’s transition into an actress. We are expecting a wide range of acting activities from the career change.”

The photo, released by Motion Media Entertainment on July 20, 2016, shows South Korean singer-turned-actress Park Gyu-ri.

After her debut as a member of KARA in 2007, Park has enjoyed growing popularity with the group’s hit songs “Pretty Girl,” “Honey,” “Mister” and “Lupin.” After creating large fandom at home, KARA entered the Japanese entertainment scene and became one of the most popular K-pop girl groups of its time.

Park’s acting debut in 1995 as a child actress precedes her singing debut, but the idol singer did not play significant roles until 2013, when she played Hong Yuh-joo, the heroine in MBC’s 10-episode romantic comedy series “Nail Shop Paris.”

Her latest appearance on the small screen was KBS’ “Jang Yeong-sil,” a 24-episode epic series that concluded in March.

The singer-turned-actress is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the 20th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival on Thursday.

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