Park Bo-ram

Biography

Park Bo-ram (Korean: 박보람; March 1, 1994 – April 11, 2024) was a South Korean singer. She took part in Mnet's SuperStar K2 and finished in eighth place. Park made her debut with release digital single "Beautiful" featuring Zico on August 7, 2014. That year, she won Artist of the Year for August at the Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards and was nominated for Best New Artist at the Mnet Asian Music Awards, Golden Disc Awards, and Melon Music Awards. She died at age 30 from acute alcohol poisoning after collapsing at her friend's home.

Early life

Park was born on March 1, 1994, in Chuncheon, South Korea. She has an older and a younger brother. In 2010, their father died of cirrhosis, followed by their mother on October 3, 2017 due to an illness.

2010–2014: Pre-debut

In 2010, Park Boram finished as the Top 8 on SuperStar K2. Talking about her experience in the singing competition, she stated: "I also gained the experience of performing on stage through Superstar K2. I realized that I need to feel comfortable in order to not make mistakes." She signed and trained in Jellyfish Entertainment before moving to CJ ENM's subsidiary MMO Entertainment, currently known as WakeOne, for her debut.
In 2011, Park recorded the song "Always" for SBS's 49 Days soundtrack.
At the end of 2011, Jellyfish Entertainment released a Christmas-themed single featuring the company's artists, including Park.
In March 2014, she made a surprise appearance in Hong Dae Kwang's "Thank You My Love" music video. Before her debut, she gained attention for having lost 32 kg since her Superstar K2 days.

2014–2016: Debut with Beautiful and Celepretty

On August 7, 2014, Park Boram debuted with the release of the single "Beautiful" featuring rapper Zico.
Park made her official stage debut at SBS Inkigayo on August 10, 2014. "Beautiful" peaked at number 2 on Gaon.
On November 12, 2014, Park acted in Natthew's music video for the single "Love Will Be Ok" as his love interest.
On January 22, 2015, Park released the soundtrack song "Falling" for the drama Hyde Jekyll, Me. On April 23, Park's first mini album Celepretty×CELEPRETTY23 April 2015 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1심쿵3:232연예할래3:113Before After3:334Lonely Night3:395예뻐졌다3:30 was released along with a lead single of the same title. Her single reached to number 7 on Gaon. On May 15, Park released a single called "Super Body" to promote CJ's dietary drink "Fat Down", with her as their model. On June 19, she appeared in Mamamoo's "Um Oh Ah Yeh" music video. That month, she also released collaboration song "Pretty Bae" with singer Lee Hyun.
On September 21, Park featured in Park Kyung's solo track, "Ordinary Love", which peaked at number 3 on Gaon Digital charts. She and Eric Nam attended The Walk, a virtual experience event held at the Yongsan CGV in Seoul on October 12. Park performed as part of the line-up for KCON 2015 JEJU. On October 7, Park returned with the release of the single titled "Sorry", which peaked at number 30. On November 28, Park released the soundtrack song "혜화동 (혹은 쌍문동); lit. 'Hyehwadong (Or Ssangmundong)'" for the drama Reply 1988.

2016–2018: Orange Moon and digital singles

Park released an acoustic single called "Dynamic Love×Dynamic Love21 April 2016 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Dynamic Love3:10" on April 21, 2016.
Park also appeared as a contestant on the singing competition program King of Mask Singer as "I Am Completely Shrill-Voiced".
On July 13, 2017, Park returned with the release of her second mini album titled Orange Moon×ORANGE MOON13 July 2017 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1넌 왜?3:282MOONWALK3:253아이러니2:554상상데이트3:425알잖아3:11 with the lead single "넌 왜?; lit. 'Why, You?'" featuring artist Samuel Seo.
On December 1, 2017, Park released the soundtrack song "꿈만 같아; lit. 'Like A Dream'" for the drama Prison Playbook.
Park released a ballad single titled "애쓰지 마요; lit. 'Will Be Fine'" on February 13, 2018.
On April 6, 2018, Park Boram released a digital single titled "말려줘; lit. 'Please, Stop Me'", featuring Lil Boi of Geeks.

2018–2024: Label changes and final projects

In October 2018, Park signed with new agency Huayi Brothers.
In December 2021, Park signed with Xanadu Entertainment.

Personal life

Park was in a relationship with singer and actor Seo In-guk from 2016 to 2018.

Death

On April 11, 2024, Park was found collapsed and undergoing cardiac arrest at her friend's home in Seoul. The Namyangju police department filed an incident report on April 12 stating that Park was at a private gathering with two other friends on the evening of April 11. She excused herself and went to the washroom at approximately 9:55 p.m. and did not return for an extended period of time. Park's friends "found her slouched over the sink, unconscious."
The Korean police further discovered that Bo-ram and two friends drank together about a bottle of soju at a Namyangju house. The friends performed CPR until the ambulance arrived, but she was pronounced dead at Hanyang University Guri Hospital at 11:17 p.m. A legal opinion was earlier issued by National Forensic Service that "the cause of death was unknown" and was undergoing investigation at the time of the report. The autopsy performed on April 15 revealed negative signs of homicide or suicide according to Xanadu Entertainment. On May 23, the autopsy report determined that her death was due to acute alcohol poisoning, confirming police reports of her underlying liver conditions.
The funeral home wake was held at Room 21 of Asan Medical Center followed by funeral procession at 6 a.m. KST on April 17. Bo-ram's younger brother held her portrait, while Roy Kim led the pallbearers. Fellow former Superstar K contestants Huh Gak and Kang Seung-yoon, Park Jae-jung, Giant Pink, Kara's Heo Young-ji, actress Go Eun-ah, EXID's Seo Hye-lin and Kim jointly paid a memorial tribute. The burial followed at Seoul Memorial Park, Chuncheon's Dongsan Memorial Park in Gangwon Province, South Korea.