Kim Ji-woo (; born October 20, 1999), known professionally as Chuu (), is a South Korean singer and
television personality
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...
. She is a former member of the
girl group Loona
Loona (commonly stylized in all caps or as LOOΠΔ; ; ja, 今月の少女, Kongetsu no Shōjo, Girl of the Month) is a South Korean girl group formed by Blockberry Creative. The group was introduced to the public through a pre-debut project t ...
and its sub-unit,
yyxy
Loona yyxy (commonly stylized as LOONA yyxy or LOOΠΔ yyxy, abbreviation for ''Youth youth by young'') is the third sub-unit of the South Korean girl group Loona, formed through a pre-debut project titled ''"Girl of the Month"''. The unit co ...
.
Early life
Chuu was born on October 20, 1999, in
Cheongju
Cheongju () is the capital and largest city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea.
History
Cheongju has been an important provincial town since ancient times. In the Cheongju Mountains, specifically in the one where Sangdang Sanseong is ...
,
North Chungcheong
North Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청북도, ''Chungcheongbuk-do''), also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Hoseo region in the ...
, South Korea. She is the eldest of three children, with two younger brothers. For her audition she sang "
Halo
Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to:
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Video games
* ''Halo'' (franch ...
" by
Beyoncé.
Her stage name "Chuu" is derived from saying her given name quickly.
She graduated from Cheongju's Saet-byul Elementary school () and San-nam Middle school ().
Career
Loona
On December 14, 2017, Chuu was revealed as the tenth member of the
Korean idol
An idol () refers to a type of celebrity working in the field of K-pop in fandom culture in South Korea, either as a member of a group or as a solo act. K-pop idols are characterized by the highly manufactured star system that they are produced by ...
girl group Loona
Loona (commonly stylized in all caps or as LOOΠΔ; ; ja, 今月の少女, Kongetsu no Shōjo, Girl of the Month) is a South Korean girl group formed by Blockberry Creative. The group was introduced to the public through a pre-debut project t ...
. As part of the group's pre-debut release strategy, on December 28, she released her
self-titled single album with "Heart Attack" as its title track. ''Chuu'' reached number 8 on the
Gaon Album Chart. She was introduced as part of Loona's third sub-unit
Loona yyxy. The sub-unit includes members Yves, Gowon and Olivia Hye, and their
EP, ''
Beauty & the Beat'', was released on May 30, 2018, reached number 4 on the Gaon Album Chart. She officially debuted with the whole group on August 20 with the EP
'' '"> +', which peaked at number 2 on the Gaon Album Chart. On November 25, 2022, BlockBerry Creative announced the departure of Chuu from Loona.
Removal from Loona
In November 2022, Loona's agency, Blockberry Creative, announced on the official fancafe that Chuu will be expelled from Loona, explaining that "there were reports of abuse of power, such as Chuu’s abusive language towards our staff, and the investigation has revealed the fact, and the company representative is apologizing and comforting the staff." Chuu has recently been caught up in rumors of power abuse, transfer, and bullying within her company. However, the company refused to reveal evidence concerning the rumors of power abuse to the public. At the end of last year, she filed an application for a provisional injunction against her agency, Blockberry Creative, to suspend the exclusive contract. It was also reported that last April she founded her own company, with herself as the CEO.
Television career
On May 10, 2019, Chuu made her acting debut and starred in the web drama ''Dating Class'' as Han Eun-sol.
In July to September, she co-hosted the second season of the variety show ''Insane Quiz Show'' with
MJ of
Astro and
Il-hoon of
BtoB. The show brings in two celebrity guests each episode and have them partake with them in various challenges.
In January 2020, Chuu appeared at MBC's ''
2020 Lunar New Year Idol Star Championships
The 2020 Idol Star Championships Lunar New Year Special () was held at Namdong Gymnasium in Incheon was broadcast on Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, MBC on 24–27 January 2020.
Cast
Presenters
Jun Hyun-moo, Super Junior's Leeteuk and Dahyu ...
''. However, MBC was inundated with criticism because it was discovered that a male staff pulled her hair.
In March 2020, Chuu competed in ''
King of Mask Singer
''The King of Mask Singer'' () is a South Korean singing competition program presented by Kim Sung-joo, with introductions by voice actor . It airs on MBC on Sunday, starting from April 5, 2015 as a part of MBC's '' Sunday Night'' programming ...
'' under the name "Spring Girl", a character who dressed in a spring outfit with flowers in her hair and a flat paper mask that covers her eyes and mouth. She was eliminated in the second of the two days of competition.
In December, she co-starred in ''Running Girls'', a
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
show where five K-pop idols form a running team and try out different running courses in South Korea.
In March 2021, Chuu was a regular panelist in the
Channel A show ''
Steel Troops'' where she comments on teams from
Korea's armed forces competing against each other.
She appeared as a model for a
television commercial
A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
of
Dong-a Otsuka's
Pocari Sweat
, Pokari Suetto is a Japanese sports drink, manufactured by Otsuka Pharmaceutical. It was launched in 1980, and is mostly well known across Asia and the Middle East; it is also available in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Mexico.
Poca ...
. She also appeared in a television commercial of
Samsung Galaxy Store
Samsung Galaxy Store (marketed as Galaxy Store; formerly known as Samsung Apps and Galaxy Apps) is an app store used for devices manufactured by Samsung Electronics that was launched in September 2009.
The service is primarily supplied pre-inst ...
in May 2021, South Korean chicken brand "Chicken Maru", mobile RTS game "Warpath", and
BC Card
BC Card (Hangul: 비씨카드) is a South Korean financial services company headquartered in Seoul. South Korea's largest payment processing company, it provides end-to-end payment services, primarily to financial institutions, as well as to loca ...
. She participated in the reality documentary show ''
Law of the Jungle
"The law of the jungle" (also called jungle law) is an expression that has come to describe a scenario where "anything goes". The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines the Law of the Jungle as "''the code of survival in jungle life'', now usual ...
'' for the episodes titled
"Spring Special in Jeju".
Musical career
On June 27, 2022, Chuu released the single "Lullaby" with
B.I as a collaboration with Dingo Music. On August 11, it was announced that Chuu would release "One and Half", a remake of the 1994 track by
Two Two, on September 4. On October 16, Chuu released a remake of the 1999 Park Hye-kyung's song "Confession" as the
theme song
Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...
of the 2022 film ''
Similar''.
Other ventures
In addition to singing and participating in
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
shows, Chuu hosts her own web series on YouTube called ''Chuu Can Do It'' where she spreads awareness about the need to protect the Earth through environmentally friendly practices.
In 2021, Chuu hosted ''Hauteur'', a web series that was made in collaboration with
Lotte Department Store to help promote their store among
generation Z.
Personal life
In February 2018, Chuu, alongside her Loona groupmate Kim Lip, graduated from
Hanlim Multi Art School
Hanlim Multi Art School ( ko, 한림연예예술고등학교) is an arts high school located in Songpa District in Seoul, South Korea.
History
Hanlim School was founded on 3 March 1962, with Lee Hyeon-man being appointed school principal. In 20 ...
.
Bullying allegations
In the wake of a wave of bullying accusations against various stars of the
K-pop industry, Chuu was one of the people who were accused of
school bullying
School bullying, like bullying outside the school context, refers to one or more perpetrators who have greater physical strength or more social power than their victim repeatedly by acting aggressively toward their victim. Bullying can be verb ...
in February 2021. However, the accuser apologized for the false claims, as they turned out to be groundless after her agency, Blockberry Creative, announced that they would be taking legal action against the accuser.
Discography
Singles
Promotional singles
Soundtrack appearances
Filmography
Television series
Web series
Television shows
Web shows
Music videos
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1999 births
Living people
21st-century South Korean women singers
South Korean women pop singers
South Korean female idols
South Korean dance music singers
South Korean television personalities
South Korean YouTubers
Female YouTubers
English-language singers from South Korea
Japanese-language singers of South Korea
Dance-pop musicians
People from Cheongju
Hanlim Multi Art School alumni
Gimhae Kim clan
Loona (group)