Former 2PM member Jae-beom wins U.S. b-boy contest

Fans turned their attention to former boy band 2PM leader Park Jae-beom this week as it became known that he recently won a b-boy contest held in the United States.

A video posted on YouTube on Sunday showed the former singer competing in and winning Seattle’s b-boy dance competition Winter Nights as a member of his b-boy team AOM (Art of Movement).

Park and his team members were seen wearing black t-shirts, reportedly sent to the singer by his fans in Korea.

Park, 22, had left for his hometown of Seattle in early September after coming under heat over controversial comments he made about Korea on his MySpace account before his debut.

Fans protested against Park's departure, calling for his reinstatement into the group but their producer Park Jin-young asked fans and the media to give the young singer time and space to repent on his past wrongdoing. He has hinted the idol group member may resume his singing career, saying that he will return as a member of 2PM should he decide to make a comeback.

Meanwhile, the remaining six members of the boy band have made a successful comeback with their first full-length album, winning the top prize on televised music shows for three consecutive weeks with their title song “Heartbeat”.

2PM, currently composed of Taec-yeon, Woo-young, Nichkhun, Junho, Junsu and Chan-sung, has been one of the most popular boy bands in town since their debut in 2008.

Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr