Ahn Chil-hyun (born on October 10, 1979), better known by his stage name Kangta, is a South Korean pop singer. He is a former member of the boy band H.O.T. and a solo singer since their disbandment in 2001.

Biography

Pre-debut and H.O.T.

Kangta was discovered at Lotte World, a theme park, when he was only 13 years old. He debuted as a back-up dancer together with future band member Moon Hee Jun for singer Yoo Young-jin. Kangta eventually decided to become a singer with Moon Hee Jun and three others, Jang Woo Hyuk, Tony An, and Lee Jae Won to form H.O.T. in 1996.

He is an experienced songwriter and composer, having written over 100 songs for H.O.T.'s albums as well as for other groups and singers like NRG and Fly to the Sky. When H.O.T. disbanded in March 2001, Kangta was the first member to debut solo. He released his first solo album "Polaris", which became a huge hit; it was followed by his second album "Pinetree" in 2002. His first solo concert took place in the summer of 2003.

In 2006, Kangta was chosen as a runner up for Best Korean Singer overseas, according to Arirang International Broadcasting. A poll was issued over the internet, allowing only people outside of Korea to vote. Shinhwa's song "Once In A Lifetime" won by 60% of the vote, beating Kangta, who came in second with 20.3 percent.


2004-2010: Acting and military service
Kangta received several offers and has accepted a drama offer in China. In 2004, he starred in a drama called Magic Touch of Fate together with Taiwanese actors and actresses, Ruby Lin and Alec Su. Kangta portrayed the role of the evil magician Jin-Xiu

Soon afterwards, Kangta returned to Korea and released his much-awaited third album. In 2005, Kangta released "Persona", which included tracks that were very different from his previous two albums. The main single of the album, "Persona" had a similar melody to Babyface's "The Loneliness". Kangta surprised his fans when he said he wanted to become an actor. A month later, he starred in a KBS drama, Loveholic.

Kangta also acted in his second Chinese drama, Love In The City 2. In Love In The City 2 Kangta portrayed the life of a successful CEO with a dull life. In March Kangta was announced to be starring in JTBC's 2012 drama Happy Ending as Kim So Eun's love interest.

In 2007, he filmed two dramas and Love in the city 2 aired on October 1, 2007. In January 2007, Kangta took part in the Hallyu Festival in Osaka which also featured Jun Jin and Lee Min-woo of Shinhwa, SG Wannabe and actor Song Seung-heon at the Osaka Dome.

Kangta enlisted for mandatory military service in April 2008 for 21 months of active duty. During which time he starred in military musical, Mine with rapper Yang Dong-geun. It is about the true life story of Lieutenant Lee Jong-myung, who lost his legs in a land mine explosion near the demilitarized zone, in June 2000, when he saved fellow soldier, Sul Dong-seob from the minefield.


2010: Chinese debut
After two years and five months of hiatus from the entertainment industry due to Korean military service, Kangta comes back with his first Chinese mini album entitiled "静享七乐 (Rest in the Seven Tunes)", with its lead single, Love, Frequency (Breaka Shaka). The digital single was released online on September 13, 2010. The mini-album marked Kangta's entrance to the Chinese market. Meanwhile, the teaser for the single, as well as the digital mini-album, was released through SM Entertainment's official YouTube page on September 9, 2010. The mini album and the music video was released September 13, 2010.


2015: Comeback news
In September 2015, it was reported that Kangta will be released new album in next year. A rep from SM further related, "Kangta has been steadily working on new music, but the release date has not been been set yet.