Rain on AllMovie

Korean pop superstar Rain was born Jeong Ji-hoon in Seoul, Korea, in 1982, and became interested in singing at a very early age. He performed in a short-lived boy band called Fanclub before signing on with JYP Entertainment talent agency, which employed him as a backup dancer and helped him sharpen his skills as a performer. By 2002, he took on his stage name -- adopting the very idea of rain as his moniker, so that in any given country, he would be billed as the word for "rain" in that particular language. He released his debut album, Bad Guy, that same year. It was a huge success, and he would go on to record more over the coming years, steadily becoming one of the biggest performers in Asia. Concurrently, he also pursued a successful career in acting, appearing on popular Korean TV shows. Soon, Rain's international fame began to spill over into the U.S., landing him in People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People list for 2007. The next year, he accepted the role of Taejo Togokhan in the highly anticipated live-action adaptation of Speed Racer, and signed on to star in the action film Ninja Assassin, directed by V for Vendetta's James McTeigue.