SHINee's Onew says he was "second in his class"

Korean pop idol Onew of SHINee has revealed that he was second in his high school senior class, according to a press release by television broadcaster SBS.

The boy band member recently appeared on SBS game show "Shin Dong-yeop's 300" with his fellow bandmate Taemin and talked about his past school days at Kwangmyong Information Industry High School.

"I used to be very shy so I never thought about working in this [entertainment] industry," the 21-year-old singer was quoted as saying. "I started to sing when I entered high school but I also studied very hard." He added that his grades were ranked "the second highest in the school" during his senior year.

With the show's theme being the relationship between school grades and happiness, the singer opened up about his previous academic grades to bond with the teens in the audience.

Onew is one of the five members of pop group SHINee, who enjoyed a successful comeback last year with their third mini-album "2009, Year Of Us" release in October. The title track "Ring Ding Dong" topped various music charts in Korea and other Asian countries.

The "300" episode featuring Onew will air Sunday, 12:10 p.m., on SBS.

Reporter : Lynn Kim lynn2878@asiae.co.kr