Leejung Lee

1998–2014: Early life Lee Leejung was born on August 9, 1998, in Seoul, South Korea, as the youngest child after a brother. In childhood, Lee honed her athletic abilities since first grade of elementary school through swimming. Training for six consecutive years, she came to a halt as she felt her skills were not on par to an athlete after she deemed her co-peers "excessively good". Lee also trained in skiing and speed skating for one and two years, respectively, In the midst of third grade of elementary school, she participated in a talent show with "Tell Me" at her school. In this moment, she believed she was "born to dance" and recalled it as the first time she felt joy while dancing. Her parents, however, believed dancing would serve as a distraction to her studies and were adamant on sending her abroad. Leejung was raised Christian and attended The King's Academy in Tennessee, United States for 4–5 years during sixth grade of elementary to end of middle school. Amidst her stay, her parents humorously proposed if she became the top student in her school, they'd allow her to receive dance lessons in South Korea during summer vacation. To this, she recalled: "I thought they'd never have an audition. So, when I heard they were having one, I thought I'd be so happy to dance with these guys". In October 2014, she was recruited as the first and only female addition to the crew and served as their youngest member until Kwak Yoon-young, their second female member, joined the following year through their second round of recruitments. As the sole representative of South Korea, they were the first from their country to win the title in its history. The achievement brought them wider recognition via YouTube with their performance spreading from word-of-mouth both at home and abroad. The video soon reached the attention of the production team behind America's Got Talent. Just Jerk received an invitation via phone call from the casting director to appear on the twelfth installation of their show that was scheduled for broadcast in 2017. Their final stage became the team's most viewed performance, which was represented in Silla's Hwarang-style make-up and outfits. They were formally invited to participate in the opening ceremony as performers. Leejung joined YGX Entertainment in 2019 under NWX, a choreographer division of the dance agency. Her credits include choreographing for Sunmi, Twice, (G)I-dle, Itzy, Jeon Somi and more. Without hesitation, she replied "yes" to their proposal. The head of her agency, however, advised instead of deciding on impulse, Leejung should have rationally pondered ahead of finalizing her decision. To her content, all four were interested and soon formed the project crew "YGX" with Leejung as its leader. She led her team to the semi-finals and finished the show in fifth place. == Public image ==

'' in her "Pucca" hairstyle Leejung was well known within the dance scene since her adolescent days due to her affiliations with the Just Jerk Crew. As the only female in the then-male dominated crew, she was put in the spotlight for her age, skills and gender and became a well-known figure for Generation MZ. Her line: "what did you do when you were 24 years old?" from Street Woman Fighter (2021) became viral and was perpetuated by celebrities and the general public. Despite its popularlity, Leejung confessed she regretted saying it and posted "everyone's twenty-four is precious". Leejung elaborated she spoke it in the heat of the competition to avoid any misunderstandings. Leejung is often referred to as "baby tiger", where she embodies complete seriousness when dancing in contrast to her often seen cheerfulness. Her work with various people resulted in Leejung being often cited as a "trendy choreographer". == Artistry ==

Influence Leejung cited her parents as to what created who she was today as an individual, referring to her father's perseverance and her mother's tenderness and delicacy. Her father's work ethics of loving his job has also influenced Leejung to love and enjoy her work. == Other ventures ==

Endorsements Leejung with the members of YGX—which include Yeojin, Jihyo, Isak and Yell—filmed promotional videos for the campaign "Unstoppable Joy" (2021) in collaboration with BMW Korea. Fashion shopping app Brandi announced, after the launch of its "One Day Delivery" campaign with YGX in November 2021, the amount of transaction had grown 130% compared to the previous month. The number of app downloads also increased by 170% compared to the same period of last year. Together with YGX, Leejung further collaborated with contemporary casual brand Plac and endorsed for Nike Korea's "Own the Floor" campaign, IM Bank of DGB Financial Group, and Intel Korea. Leejung's first individual endorsement stemmed from "Descente Ground Main" by Descente Korea in 2017 alongside the female dancers of Just Jerk. With her appearance on Street Woman Fighter (2021), Leejung's brand value rose and was often sought out by the advertising industry. She endorsed for oral hygiene brand Toosty, Paris Baguette, Nike X Peaceminusone's Kwondo 1, TikTok Korea with Mino of Winner, and Part-timer Heaven with Jeon Somi. == Choreography credits ==

Television shows Music video appearances == Tours ==

Concert participation • Street Woman Fighter [On the Stage] (2021–2022) == Awards and nominations ==