The Happy Dolls was formed sometime in 1970 in Canada and South Korea by Universal Records and managed by producers Yu Chil Wang and Lee Dong Hoon who accompanied the girl group during their active years. Their known five members consisted of Kim Myung Ok (Ogie Kim), Kim Seung Hee (Jee Kim), Kim Seung Mi (Joo Kim), Lee Jong Sook (Sook Lee), Kim Eun Sook (Boonie Kim). There was at least two other members in their early years, but their names are unknown.
Of the members, then-14-year-old Kim Myung Ok was already famous for being a child singer who performed on the "8th Army Stage" in American military bases in South Korea, beginning from the time she was 6-years old. The "8th Army Stage" had a long-standing, significant, and ongoing relationship with the growing music scene in South Korea for several decades beginning in the 1950s, and thus contributed greatly to The Happy Doll's becoming known at the time of their formation. Additionally, Kim Myung Ok's name was also known for being a child actress.
During this period between 1970 and 1973, The Happy Dolls went to perform in Saigon, Vietnam where they were active for at least 2 years on joint Korean-American military bases, during which time they began to also be known as "The Korean Jackson 5". They returned to perform in South Korea in 1973 and spent some time around Pyeongtaek and Seoul. Eventually, they went onto perform overseas in places such as Silvertown, England, Toronto, Canada, Las Vegas, Nevada, and San Francisco, California.
It's known that their debut stage in America took place at The Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas on May 1974. They spent the vast majority of their time after 1974 performing in North America, with occasional brief activities in South Korea and performed amongst well-known artists on the "8th Army Stage" such as He6 and Trippers. In 1978, The Happy Dolls returned to South Korea to perform long-term with hopes of increasing domestic popularity in their native country.
However, in the winter of that year, Kim Myung Ok, their most popular member, left the group due to her family's financial circumstances and additionally her family did not permit her to leave the country again. As a consequence, The Happy Dolls disbanded, thus ending their 8 year career. The sole surviving album known to be certainly be produced by The Happy Doll's is their 1978 album, Show Album No.
1, published in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Their other music releases are lost media, but it is known they had many more but no known surviving copies exist. In 1979, Kim Myung Ok re-debuted under the stage name 'Nami' in re-debuted in the South Korean band Franco Romano & Nami.
However, the band was short-lived. As Nami, she eventually made her debut as a soloist in 1980 with the release of the studio album Earth Exclusive 1st Album. Her popularity sky rocketed and she became one of the most well-known and iconic female singers of the 1980s in South Korea.
She continued to be active as a singer for almost 20 years before retiring from the music industry sometime in the late 1990s. The group's producer and manager Lee Dong Hoon passed away in the 1990s. The circumstances of Kim Seung Hee, Kim Seung Mi, Lee Jong Sook and Kim Eun Sook are unknown.
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