Park Jung-hyun (; born March 23, 1976), also known as Lena Park (), is an American-born South Korean singer who debuted in 1998 with the album, Piece. She is also widely known in South Korea as her nickname "National fairy" due to her petite body and powerful singing voice. Early life and education Born in Los Angeles, California, Park began singing as a child in the choir of her father's church. She won several singing contests before recording an amateur gospel album in 1993 when she was 16 years old. Park attended UCLA for one year before beginning her singing career in 1998. She later transferred to Columbia University School of General Studies, where she graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in English and Comparative Literature in 2010, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Career 1998–2002: Piece, A Second Helping, Naturally and Op.4 Park released her first Korean album, Piece, in 1998. The album sold more than 500,000 copies. She did not speak Korean very well at the time, which made it hard for her to connect with fans. In 1999, A Second Helping was released. It also was well received by both fans and the critics. Park's third album, Naturally, was mixed in both South Korea and the United States. After a yearlong break from singing because of her studies in the United States, she came back in 2002 with her album called Op.4. More comfortable with the media, she became much more accessible for talk shows and performances. In 2002, her song "" (In a Dream) was a big success and enabled her to enter foreign markets, such as Singapore. The South Korean government select Park to represent South Korea in the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. At the end of 2002, a "best of" album was released and she played a series of concerts. Live recordings from these concerts were compiled into her first special live album in CDs and DVD. Park, along with Brown Eyes (band), Chemistry (band), and Sowelu, formed the special unit conveniently called "Voices of Korea/Japan" and made the title song for the 2002 FIFA World Cup Official Album – Songs of Korea/Japan. She later debuted in the Japanese music industry where she received moderate success. 2005–2009: On&On, Come To Where I Am and 10 Ways To Say I Love You She is especially proud of