Park Jin Young saw potential in Rain the first time he met him

South Korean singer/actor Rain is undoubtedly one of the earliest rising Hallyu stars who brought K-pop to international fame.

Park Jin Young, JYP Entertainment founder talked about his total confidence in his early protégé Rain on the latest episode of Immortal Songs.

The Park Jin Young special featured VIXX’s Ravi, N.Flying’s Yoo Hwe Seung and more, performing songs by the accomplished singer and producer on the November 30 broadcast of the KBS singing competition.

Host Shin Dong Yup asked Park Jin Young during the show about his discovery of Rain who was the first new male artist to debut under JYP Entertainment in 2002.

Shin Dong Yup said he had heard even before Rain’s debut, that Park Jin Young was certain Rain would make it big.

The founder of JYP Entertainment said he was so certain that it always scared him a little and he felt like a chef who had received the best possible ingredients.

He noted that Rain had everything from height to dancing skills and a really great voice.

Park Jin Young then recalled that Rain himself thought he was not good at singing and he had to stick to rapping. However Park Jin Young thought his voice was great, so he got excited on his own.

In order to hide the fact that he was so excited, he acted colder to Rain on purpose and treated him coldly for “too long”.

Born as Jung Ji-hoon on June 25, 1982, Rain is a singer-songwriter, actor and music producer.

He released seven albums in his career (six Korean, one Japanese), 28 singles and have performed worldwide.

His third Korean album It’s Raining was a breakthrough success which spawned the number-one single of the same name.

It’s Raining sold a million copies in Asia which propelled Rain into international stardom.