In October 2017, Choi left SM Entertainment although she remains as a member of Girls' Generation. She joined Echo Global Group and released her first solo single "Winter Breath" in 2018, before moving to Saram Entertainment in 2019. In October 2024, Choi made her solo debut in Japan with released "Unstoppable" under Japan label Avex Trax.[1]
Choi graduated from JeongShin Women's High School in 2009.[4] She went on to major in film studies and graduated from Chung-Ang University in February 2016, receiving a lifetime achievement award at the graduation ceremony. Her fellow Girls' Generation member Kwon Yuri attended the same university.[5]
Life and career
2000–2007: Career beginnings
Choi was initially discovered through an SM Entertainment Open Audition when she was in fifth grade.[6] She later won first place at the 2002 Korea-Japan Ultra Idol Duo Audition and debuted in Japan as a member of Route 0.[7] The duo released three singles before disbanding in 2003.[8]
Choi returned to SM Entertainment and eventually debuted in South Korea as a member of the girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007.
2008–2016: Acting roles and lyrics writing
Choi at the 31st Cyworld Digital Music Awards in 2009
Girls' Generation gained significant popularity with the release of their hit single "Gee" in 2009.[9] Choi has said in an interview that she was also interested in acting before debuting as a singer and had failed more than 70 auditions during her pre-debut days.[10]
Aside from Girls' Generation's activities, Choi has participated in various music and acting projects. In the early days, her acting work mostly involved several small roles and guest appearances—these include KBS2's sitcom Unstoppable Marriage (2007),[11] romantic comedy film Hello, Schoolgirl (2008),[12] SBS's drama Oh! My Lady (2010),[13] SBS's Paradise Ranch (2011) and SBS's A Gentleman's Dignity (2012).[14][15] During this period, musically, she recorded two songs—one trot song titled "KKok" with Girls' Generation member Yuri for the SBS' drama Working Mom, while the other one, "Feeling Only You", was a collaboration with Girls' Generation member Tiffany and South Korean duo The Blue.[16][17]
Throughout her career, besides contributing her vocal to Girls' Generation's songs, Choi has explored into lyrics writing. She penned the lyrics for three songs: "How Great is Your Love" (2011),[18] "What Do I Do" (2016),[19] and "Sailing (0805)" (2016),[20] while co-writing the song "Baby Maybe" (2013).[21]
In September 2012, she landed her first major acting role in tvN's medical drama The Third Hospital.[22][23] She was praised by both co-actors Oh Ji Ho and Kim Seung-woo and the viewers were drawn to her emotional scene due to her natural display of emotion.[24][25][26][unreliable source?] In May 2013, Choi was cast in tvN's romantic comedy drama, Dating Agency: Cyrano. It was a spin-off of the 2010 movie Cyrano Agency. She played a dating expert who works at a dating agency helping people to find their love.[27] Park Ju-yeon from the Hankook Ilbo praised Choi for her lively character portrayal and said that there was not any "overdone emotions commonly appear in acting newcomers".[28]
Choi performing in 2015
In September 2014, Choi scored a lead role in MBC's melodrama, My Spring Days. Her character is a terminally ill patient who gets a heart transplant; and meets her donor's husband, played by Kam Woo-sung.[29] This was a breakthrough performance for Choi as she won the "Best Actress in a Miniseries" award at the 2014 MBC Drama Awards and the "Excellence Award for Actress" at the 2015 Korea Drama Awards.[29][30] She contributed a song to its soundtrack, titled "Wind Flower".[31]
In 2015, Choi starred as the female lead in KBS2's special drama Perfect Sense, which was produced by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance to help raise public understanding of the disabled. She played a teacher named Ah-yeon who is visually impaired.[32][33]
In early August 2017, Choi starred as television producer in the JTBC web drama Someone You Might Know.[36] Later in August, she played the female lead in the MBC drama series Man in the Kitchen.[37] In November 2017, Choi joined Echo Global Group after her contract with SM Entertainment ended. With a change of label, her future activities with Girls' Generation remain in discussion.[38][39]
Sooyoung at a "Beaming Effect" event in 2018
In 2018, Choi was cast in the Korean-Japanese film Memories of a Dead End[40][41] and the action comedy film Miss & Mrs. Cops.[42]
In December 2018, Choi released her solo single, "Winter Breath", which is her first song to be released since her departure from SM Entertainment, with the song's music video made available online on the same day. Choi launched her official Twitter and YouTube accounts to commemorate the single's release.[43][44]
In May 2019, Choi signed with new agency Saram Entertainment.[45] In February 2020, Choi starred in the OCN drama Tell Me What You Saw.[46]
In 2022, she starred in the KBS2 drama If You Wish Upon Me in the role of a nurse at hospice.[50] Choi participated in Girls' Generation's fifteenth anniversary album Forever 1 (2022), with her co-writing the songs "Seventeen" and "Villain" for the album.[51][52]
On August 29, 2024, Saram Entertainment announced that Choi would be releasing her Japanese debut maxi single titled "Unstoppable" on October 30.[53]
Choi has engaged in various philanthropic activities. In 2012, she was appointed as ambassador to Korea's Retinitis Pigmentosa Society along with her bandmates Tiffany, Taeyeon and Seohyun.[55] At the end of that year, she launched a fundraising campaign with cable channel QTV for patients of the disease.[56] Since then, she has continued to serve as ambassador while conducting sponsorship events and supporting the research on treatment of patients.[57]
In 2016, Choi launched a clothing brand called Beaming Effect with the aim to raise awareness for Retinitis Pigmentosa.[58] She has held several charity bazaars throughout the years and donated the proceeds towards research for treatment of the disease.[59] Notably, she held a funding with Kakao, a charity bazaar and a charity concert featuring various artists in 2017.[60]
Choi has also been appointed ambassador to the Korean Day of Overcoming Rare Diseases,[61] the Social Welfare Council and the National Disability Awareness Improvement Campaign.[62] In 2014, she sponsored the operation cost of a person with heart disease after playing the role of someone who received a heart transplant through organ donation in her drama My Spring Days.[63]
^최수영 "사람엔터와 전속계약, 기쁘고 기대돼요" [Sooyoung: "I'm Excited About My Exclusive Contract with Saram Entertainment"]. The Korea Times (in Korean). May 7, 2019. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
^ abKang Hyo-jin (April 30, 2021). [단독]최수영, 넷플릭스 '무브 투 헤븐' 출연...이제훈과 호흡 [[Exclusive] Sooyoung Choi to appear in Netflix's 'Move to Heaven'... Breathing with Lee Je-hoon]. sportstvnews (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 1, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
^Park Jaehwan (July 15, 2022). 최수영, KBS 수목드라마 '당신이 소원을 말하면' 호스피스 간호사 [Choi Soo-young, a hospice nurse in KBS drama 'If You Say Your Wish'] (in Korean). KBS Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022 – via Naver.
^Kim, Na-yul (July 28, 2022). 소녀시대 윤아X유리X효연, 역대급 비주얼..'FOREVER 1' 티저 포토 공개 [Girls' Generation's Yoona X Yuri X Hyoyeon, all-time visual..'FOREVER 1' teaser photo released] (in Korean). Herald POP. Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022 – via Naver.
^Park, Ah-reum (August 29, 2024). 소녀시대 최수영, 日서 솔로 데뷔 "상상만 해왔던 일 설렌다" [Girls' Generation's Choi Sooyoung makes her solo debut in Japan, "I'm excited about something I've only imagined"] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024 – via Naver.
^Kim Yeon-ju (January 18, 2024). '데드맨' 최수영, 힙스터로 변신한다 (in Korean). TV Report. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
^Kim Soo-jin (January 21, 2022). 엉클'에 소녀시대 최수영 떴다..특급 카메오 [공식] [Girls' Generation's Choi Soo-young appeared in 'Uncle'..Exclusive cameo [Official]] (in Korean). Star News. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022 – via Naver.
^Jo Eun-mi (September 28, 2021). 당신의 소원을 말하면' 지창욱X성동일X최수영 캐스팅..감동 힐링 드라마[공식] ['If you tell me your wish' Ji Chang-wook X Sung Dong-il X Choi Soo-young Casting... A touching healing drama [Official]]. Herald POP (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2021 – via Naver.
^Yoo Jeong-min (September 15, 2022). 최수영·윤박, '팬레터를 보내주세요' 캐스팅...힐링 로맨스 [Choi Soo-young and Yoon Park, cast for 'Send a fan letter'... healing romance] (in Korean). iMBC. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Naver.
^Yu Ji-hee (December 3, 2024). "'지락실3'→에드워드 리, 딸과 韓방랑 요리기…tvN, 2025년 라인업 공개 [공식]" ['Jiraksil 3' → Edward Lee, Korean Wandering Cooking with Daughter... tvN, 2025 Lineup Revealed [Official]] (in Korean). EDaily. Archived from the original on January 2, 2025. Retrieved January 2, 2025 – via Naver.
^Kim Na-yeon (January 11, 2022). [단독] 최수영∙최수진, '호적메이트' 출연...스타 자매의 현실케미 공개 [[Exclusive] Choi Soo-young and Choi Soo-jin to appear in 'Household Mate'... Star sisters' reality chemistry revealed] (in Korean). OSEN [ko]. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022 – via Naver.
^Lee, Jae-hoon (June 15, 2023). 소녀시대 수영, 하이브 新 걸그룹 서바이벌 MC [Girls' Generation's Sooyoung, Hybe's new girl group survival MC] (in Korean). Newsis. Archived from the original on June 20, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023 – via Naver.
^Kim Seon-woo (January 24, 2021). [하이원서울가요대상 D-7]MC 신동엽X김희철X최수영, '믿고 보는' 황금 라인업 완성 [[High1 Seoul Music Awards D-7] MC Shin Dong-yup X Kim Hee-chul X Choi Soo-young, 'trust and watch' golden line-up completed]. Sports Seoul (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
^Nam, Yoo-jung (September 21, 2022). "2022 부일영화상 사회자에 배우 김남길·최수영" [Actors Kim Nam-gil and Choi Soo-young to host the 2022 Buil Film Awards] (in Korean). Busan Ilbo. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022 – via Naver.
^Lee Ho-young (December 7, 2022). "'2022 MBC연기대상' 김성주·최수영, MC확정 "감동스러운 자리" [공식입장]" ['2022 MBC Drama Awards' Kim Seong-joo and Choi Soo-young confirmed as MCs "a moving seat" [Official position]]. MBC Entertainment (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022 – via Naver.
^Lee, Seo-hyun (October 6, 2023). 마리끌레르 아시아스타어워즈 2023 [Marie Claire Asia Star Awards 2023] (in Korean). Marie Claire. Archived from the original on October 8, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2023 – via Naver.
^Bae Hyo-joo (September 20, 2024). 최수영·공명, 부산국제영화제 닫는다‥폐막식 MC 호흡 [Choi Soo-young and Gong Myung close the Busan International Film Festival.. Closing Ceremony MC Collaboration]. Newsen (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
^Ryu Hyo-lim (July 21, 2022). 한국사회복지협의회 2022 나눔홍보대사 최수영 [Korea Social Welfare Council 2022 ambassador for sharing Choi Soo-young] (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on July 21, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022 – via Naver.
^Lee Ha-na (December 19, 2023). '재벌집'부터 '더글로리'까지..'APAN STAR AWARDS' 치열한 수상 후보 공개 [From 'Chaebol House' to 'The Glory'... 'APAN STAR AWARDS' fierce award candidates revealed] (in Korean). Newsen. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved December 25, 2023 – via Naver.
^Kim, Ye-eun (December 31, 2017). [MBC 연기대상]대상 후보 '돈꽃' 장혁, 주말극 최우수연기상 [[MBC Drama Awards] Grand Prize Nomination 'Money Flower' Jang Hyuk, Best Drama Award]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
^Choi Hee-jae (December 30, 2022). 서하준·최수영, 일일&단막 부문 우수연기상..."윤아야 울어야 돼" [MBC 연기대상] [Seo Ha-Jun · Choi Soo-Young, Excellence Award for One-Day & Short Act... "Yoona, you have to cry" [MBC Drama Awards]]. Xports News (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on January 1, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
^Choi Na-young (December 19, 2022). 이종석X임윤아→박주현X김영대..'2022 MBC 연기대상' 베스트커플 후보 공개 [Lee Jong-suk X Im Yoon-a → Park Joo-hyun X Kim Young-dae...'2022 MBC Drama Awards' Best Couple Candidates Revealed] (in Korean). OSEN [ko]. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via Naver.
.jpg)
