Leejung Lee

Leejung Lee (born August 9, 1998) is a South Korean choreographer and dancer as part of NWX, a dance division of YGX.

She steadily gained recognition as the youngest and first female recruit of the "world-class" dance crew, Just Jerk, and propelled to domestic stardom following her appearance on Street Woman Fighter (2021).

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, and enjoyed dancing to performances that appeared on television including "Into the New World" by Girls' Generation and "Tell Me" by Wonder Girls, whom she cited as artists from her generation.

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.

That same year, Leejung placed first in her entire school and was said to have an IQ of 150.

Although they were rendered speechless, her parents allowed her to receive two months of lessons at age 16, her first formal experience to learn the art of dance.

With plans set to return to US, Leejung had a change of heart and no longer wished to return.

While crying in the subway, she told her mother: "I think I'll be miserable If I return to the states".

Her father yielded to her aspirations with an ultimatum, if she didn't show any result within the dance scenes within a year, she'll depart back to the states.

Determined to pursue her dreams, 17-year-old Leejung auditioned to join the South Korean dance crew, Just Jerk Crew—whom she cited as the nation's top dance crew—during their first open recruitment.

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.

In the time Leejung spent as part of Just Jerk, she participated in multiple dance competitions and also served as one of their English interpreters while abroad.

Leejung received her first win at the 2016 Feedback 2Show under the duet category.

That same year, Just Jerk placed first at the 2016 Body Rock Dance Competition in San Diego, California.

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.

Their appearance on the show created a growth in views to their videos from the 2016 Body Rock Dance Competition.

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.

With only a year of preparation, Leejung and her team salvaged and earned money for plane tickets, accommodation for one month, car rentals, and meals.

In its auditions Leejung and her crew were unanimously passed by all four judges, however, they failed to enter the finals and were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Their final stage became the team's most viewed performance, which was represented in Silla's Hwarang-style make-up and outfits.

The crew were awarded "AAA Choice" at the 2017 Asia Artist Awards and were noticed by the organizers of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

They were formally invited to participate in the opening ceremony as performers.

Together with Leejung, Just Jerk also placed runner-up at the 2019 Feedback Competition 7.

Although she departed from her team shortly after, they still maintain a tight bond and express support and respect.

Leejung still frequented the academy as a guest instructor and mentored their fourth generation recruit, Jo Na-in.

Leejung joined YGX Entertainment in 2019 under NWX, a choreographer division of the dance agency.

Although her first work as a choreographer was a joint project with Kwak Yoon-young, Leejung's career advanced following her first solo work with "Fancy" by Twice.

Her most notable work, the "shoulder dance" routine for "Wannabe" by Itzy became its point dance and was spread across the nation.

Her credits include choreographing for Sunmi, Twice, (G)I-dle, Itzy, Jeon Somi and more.

Leejung was also scouted to take on the role of a dance trainer for Nayeon and Momo of Twice, Rosé of Blackpink and Jeon Somi by their respective agencies.