32 Facts About Choi Soo-young

Choi Soo-young, known mononymously as Sooyoung, is a South Korean singer, actress, and songwriter.

Choi Soo-young was a member of the short-lived Korean-Japanese singing duo Route 0 during 2002 in Japan.

Apart from her group's activities, Choi Soo-young has starred in various television dramas such as The Third Hospital, Dating Agency: Cyrano, My Spring Days, Squad 38, Man in the Kitchen, Tell Me What You Saw, and most recently in Run On, So I Married the Anti-fan, If You Wish Upon Me, and Not Others.

In October 2017, Choi Soo-young left SM Entertainment although she remains as a member of Girls' Generation.

Choi Soo-young 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 Soo-young made her solo debut in Japan with released "Unstoppable" under Japan label Avex Trax.

Choi Soo-young was born in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, on February 10,1990.

Choi Soo-young is the younger sister of Choi Soo-jin, who is a musical theatre actress.

Choi Soo-young 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.

Choi Soo-young was initially discovered through an SM Entertainment Open Audition when she was in fifth grade.

Choi Soo-young later won first place at the 2002 Korea-Japan Ultra Idol Duo Audition and debuted in Japan as a member of Route 0.

Choi Soo-young returned to SM Entertainment and eventually debuted in South Korea as a member of the girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007.

Choi Soo-young has said in an interview that she was interested in acting before debuting as a singer and had failed more than 70 auditions during her pre-debut days.

Choi Soo-young 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.

In May 2013, Choi Soo-young was cast in tvN's romantic comedy drama, Dating Agency: Cyrano.

Choi Soo-young played a dating expert who works at a dating agency helping people to find their love.

In September 2014, Choi Soo-young scored a lead role in MBC's melodrama, My Spring Days.

Choi Soo-young's character is a terminally ill patient who gets a heart transplant; and meets her donor's husband, played by Kam Woo-sung.

Choi Soo-young contributed a song to its soundtrack, titled "Wind Flower".

Choi Soo-young played a teacher named Ah-yeon who is visually impaired.

In June 2016, Choi Soo-young starred as the female lead alongside Ma Dong-seok and Seo In-guk in the OCN crime drama Squad 38.

In early August 2017, Choi Soo-young starred as television producer in the JTBC web drama Someone You Might Know.

In November 2017, Choi Soo-young joined Echo Global Group after her contract with SM Entertainment ended.

In December 2018, Choi Soo-young 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 Soo-young launched her official Twitter and YouTube accounts to commemorate the single's release.

In May 2019, Choi Soo-young signed with new agency Saram Entertainment.

In February 2020, Choi Soo-young starred in the OCN drama Tell Me What You Saw.

In 2020, Choi Soo-young starred in JTBC romance drama Run On.

Choi Soo-young participated in Girls' Generation's fifteenth anniversary album Forever 1, with her co-writing the songs "Seventeen" and "Villain" for the album.

In 2016, Choi Soo-young launched a clothing brand called Beaming Effect with the aim to raise awareness for Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Choi Soo-young has held several charity bazaars throughout the years and donated the proceeds towards research for treatment of the disease.

Choi Soo-young has been appointed ambassador to the Korean Day of Overcoming Rare Diseases, the Social Welfare Council and the National Disability Awareness Improvement Campaign.