Yoo Yeon-jung (; born August 3, 1999), known mononymously as Yeonjung, is a South Korean singer signed under

Starship Entertainment Starship Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded in 2008 and became an independent subsidiary of Kakao Entertainment in 2013. They had been recognized for their contributions to the Hallyu Wave, being home to several ...

and

Yuehua Entertainment Yuehua Entertainment (Chinese: 乐华娱乐, Korean: 위에화 엔터테인먼트) is a privately held Chinese multinational entertainment group and talent agency based in Beijing. The company was founded in June 2009 by former Huayi Brothers empl ...

. She is best known for being a member of the South Korean-Chinese

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

WJSN, and for finishing 11th in the survival show ''

Produce 101 ''Produce 101'' is a reality television talent competition franchise created by South Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M, based around the formation of a K-pop girl group or boy group. The format is noted for having no panel of judges, emp ...

'', making her a member of

I.O.I I.O.I (; also known as IOI or Ideal of Idol) was a South Korean girl group formed by CJ E&M through the 2016 reality show ''Produce 101'' on Mnet. The group was composed of eleven members chosen from a pool of 101 trainees from various enterta ...

Early life and education

Yoo was born on August 3, 1999, in

Gwangmyeong Gwangmyeong (; Korean: 광명시) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It borders Seoul to the east, north and northeast, Anyang to the southeast, Siheung to the southwest, and Bucheon to the northeast. Gwangmyeong is home to one of the ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

, South Korea. In 2017, Yoo was accepted through rolling admission into the musical theatre program of the Performance & Film Department at

Dankook University Dankook University (commonly referred to as Dankook), abbreviated as DU or DKU, is a prestigious private research university in Yongin and Cheonan, South Korea. The university was established in 1947. It was the first university established after ...

Career

2016: ''Produce 101'' and I.O.I

Yoo, together with Kim Tae-ha and Shim Chae-eun represented

in the Mnet reality-survival program ''

'', which aimed to form an eleven-member girl group that would promote for a year under

YMC Entertainment YMC Entertainment () was a South Korean entertainment company established in 2010 by Cho Yoo-myung, the eldest son of trot singer Tae Jin-ah. The company has been home to artists such as Shin Bo-ra, Kassy and Soulights, as well as actresses in ...

. Yoo placed 11th with a total of 136,780 votes in the final episode and debuted as a member of

. On May 4, project girl group

debuted with the mini-album ''

Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

''.

2016–present: WJSN, ''V-1'' and solo activities

While still an active member of I.O.I, Yoo was introduced as the thirteenth member of WJSN on July 11. Yoo made her official debut with WJSN on August 17, 2016. They released their second mini album '' The Secret'' with all 13 members. Yoo collaborated with

Yoo Seung-woo Yoo Seung-woo, also stylised Yu Seung Woo (, born February 26, 1997), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is signed to Starship Entertainment's subsidiary label Highline Entertainment. Career 2012-2014: Superstar K4 and d ...

on the track "I Will Be On Your Side" which was released on November 10, 2016. Yoo, together with bandmate Dawon, released the track "Fire & Ice" as part of '' The Snow Queen 3: Fire and Ice'' OST. The track was released on December 16, 2016. On May 31, 2017, Yoo released the soundtrack "You're Dazzling" for the television series '' Queen for Seven Days''. Yoo collaborated with

Brother Su Kim Hyung-soo (Korean: 김형수) (born December 22, 1990), better known as Brother Su (Korean: 브라더수), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and record producer. Su debuted in 2010 and has been signed under Starship Entertainment's subsid ...

and participated in the soundtrack of '' Love Playlist 2'' with the track "Toy". She was featured in DinDin's "#Drive". "Meloholic" was released for the OCN drama ''

Meloholic ''Meloholic'' () is a 2017 South Korean television series starring Jung Yun-ho and Kyung Soo-jin. It is based on the webtoon of the same name by Team Getname. The series aired on OCN starting November 6, 2017 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:00 ( ...

''. She then collaborated with Maktub on the single "Marry You". Yoo released two soundtracks for television series in 2018, "Your Name Is..." and "Stay With You" for '' The Undateables'' and ''

Where Stars Land ''Where Stars Land'' () is a South Korean television series starring Lee Je-hoon and Chae Soo-bin. It aired on SBS from October 1 to November 26, 2018 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 ( KST) for 32 episodes. Synopsis It follows the lives of emp ...

'' respectively. "Tell Me, Please" was released as the second part of the soundtrack of ''

Melting Me Softly ''Melting Me Softly'' () is a 2019 South Korean television series starring Ji Chang-wook, Won Jin-ah, and Yoon Se-ah. Created by Studio Dragon and produced by writer Baek Mi-kyung's own company Story Phoenix, it aired on tvN every Saturday an ...

'' on October 14, 2019. Yoo also made her acting debut, making a cameo in ''

A Korean Odyssey ''A Korean Odyssey'' () is a South Korean fantasy television series starring Lee Seung-gi, Cha Seung-won, Oh Yeon-seo, Lee Hong-gi, and Jang Gwang. Written by the Hong sisters, the drama is a modern spin-off of the Chinese classic 16th-century no ...

''. In September 2019, Yoo participated in the survival program show, '' V-1'', to select the Vocal Queen among the various girl group members, where only the top 12 girl group members in votes would progress and perform on the show. Yoo eventually won the competition after defeating Dreamcatcher's Siyeon in the finals. In September 2020, Yoo participated in MBN's ''Lotto Singer''. She released "Spider Lily" on October 31, 2020, as part of the soundtrack of '' More Than Friends''. On May 4, 2021, Yoo and the members of I.O.I celebrated their 5th debut anniversary with a reunion live stream show called "Yes, I Love It!". Yoo together with Dawon participated in '' Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend''. They performed with Xitsuh and

Koo Jun-yup Koo Jun-yup (; born September 11, 1969), also known by his stage name DJ Koo, is a South Korean singer, DJ, music producer, dancer, and songwriter. He is well-known as a member of the legendary K-pop duo CLON. Koo is one of the first-generat ...

and eventually became the final winner. On August 10, Yoo and Dawon released a cover song of

Taeyeon Kim Tae-yeon (; born March 9, 1989), known mononymously as Taeyeon, is a South Korean singer. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and on ...

's "

Starlight Starlight is the light emitted by stars. It typically refers to visible electromagnetic radiation from stars other than the Sun, observable from Earth at night, although a component of starlight is observable from Earth during daytime. Sunl ...

" for ''NORAE-ing LIVE of Time''. The pair went on to make an appearance on Jo Se-ho's ''Jo Se-ho's Wine Bar''. Yoo collaborated with MJ of Sunny Side on the track "Guardian Angel", which was released on October 31, 2021.

2022–present: Musical debut

Yoo, together with

Seola ''Seola'' is an antediluvian novel published in 1878, written by Ann Eliza Smith. The publishers of the novel are Boston: Lee and Shepard, New York: Charles T. Dillingham. The majority of the novel purports to be a translation of an ancient sc ...

, released a soundtrack "100 percent" in January 2022, as part of the soundtrack of ''Best Mistake 3''. She is also set to make her musical debut as the female lead in ''Lizzie'' on March 24, 2022.later, in July 2022, Yoo joined the stage play ''

Crash Landing on You ''Crash Landing on You'' () is a 2019–2020 South Korean television series written by Park Ji-eun, directed by Lee Jeong-hyo and starring Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin, Seo Ji-hye, and Kim Jung-hyun. It is about a successful South Korean businesswom ...

'', an adaptation of the television series. Yoo will be playing the role of Seo Dan, the original role of

Seo Ji-hye Seo Ji-hye (; born August 24, 1984) is a South Korean actress. After first attracting attention in the horror film ''Voice'', Seo has since starred in numerous television dramas, notably ''Shin Don'' (2005), '' Over the Rainbow'' (2006), ''I L ...

in the TV drama version.

Discography

As lead artist

As featured artist

Collaborations

Soundtrack appearances

Filmography

Television series

Television shows

Theatre

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yoo, Yeon-jung 1999 births Living people People from Gwangmyeong Swing Entertainment artists Mandarin-language singers of South Korea Starship Entertainment artists South Korean female idols South Korean women pop singers Produce 101 contestants Cosmic Girls members I.O.I members 21st-century South Korean women singers 21st-century South Korean singers South Korean musical theatre actresses Hanlim Multi Art School alumni