Yoo Chae-yeong (; September 22, 1973 – July 24, 2014) was a South Korean singer, actress, and radio host.

Early life and education

Born as Kim Soo-jin, she made her entertainment debut at 17 years old as part of the group Punsudeul ("Idiots") in 1989, when she was still in high school.

Career

In 1994, using the stage name Yoo Chae-yeong, she became one of the original members of the popular

K-pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...

group

Cool Cool commonly refers to: * Cool, a moderately low temperature * Cool (aesthetic), an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, and style Cool or COOL may also refer to: Economics * Country of origin labelling * mCOOL - US consumer legislation to enfo ...

. She initially attracted media attention for sporting a shaved head, which at the time was a bold hairstyle rarely seen on female South Korean celebrities. Yoo left Cool a year later, going on to make up one half of the duo US in 1995. She embarked on a solo singing career in 1996, and her hit song "Emotion" (released in 1999), contributed to the nationwide spread of

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

music. As an actress, Yoo appeared in supporting roles in movies and

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

s, notably in the

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

Sex Is Zero ''Sex Is Zero'' () is a 2002 South Korean film written and directed by Yoon Je-kyoon, starring Im Chang-jung and Ha Ji-won. In the style of American gross-out comedies like '' American Pie'', it follows the exploits of a group of college student ...

'' (2002) and its sequel ''

Sex Is Zero 2 ''Sex Is Zero 2'' is the 2007 sequel to the South Korean comedy film ''Sex Is Zero'', and is the directorial debut of Yoon Tae-yoon. Starring Im Chang-jeong and Song Ji-hyo, the film reunites most of the cast from the original film, though Ha Ji-w ...

'' (2007). She was also a popular radio host on the MBC program ''Good Weekend, It's Kim Kyung-sik and Yoo Chae-yeong'', known for her quick wit and self-deprecating humor. In 2009, after nearly a decade of absence from the music scene, she released a new single titled ''Another Decade''. Yoo was diagnosed with cancer in October 2013. She died on July 24, 2014, of

gastric cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes ...

at the age of 40.

Filmography

Film

* ''Whistling Princess'' (2002) * ''

'' (2002) * ''Who Slept with Her?'' (2006) * ''

'' (2007)

Television drama

* ''

First Love of a Royal Prince ''First Love of a Royal Prince'' (; also known as ''A Prince's First Love'') is a 2004 South Korean television series starring Sung Yu-ri, Cha Tae-hyun, Kim Nam-jin and Jin Jae-young. It aired on MBC from June 23 to August 26, 2004 on Wednesdays ...

'' ( MBC, 2004) * ''

Marrying a Millionaire ''Marrying a Millionaire'' () is a South Korean television series that aired on SBS from November 26, 2005 to January 22, 2006. The series was partially inspired by the US reality show ''Joe Millionaire''. Storyline Want to marry a millionair ...

'' ( SBS, 2005–2006) * ''My Cup'' ( tvN, 2008) * ''

The Slave Hunters ''The Slave Hunters'' () is a 2010 South Korean action historical drama set in the Joseon Dynasty about a slave hunter (played by Jang Hyuk) who is tracking down a general-turned-runaway slave ( Oh Ji-ho) as well as searching for the woman he ...

'' (

KBS2 KBS 2TV is a South Korean free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen ...

, 2010) ( cameo) * ''

Coffee House A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, Caffè americano, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually ...

'' ( SBS, 2010) ( cameo) * '' Twinkle Twinkle'' ( MBC, 2011) ( cameo) * ''

Brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

'' (

, 2011) ( cameo) * '' Fashion King'' ( SBS, 2012) * ''

The Fugitive of Joseon ''The Fugitive of Joseon'' () is a 2013 South Korean historical television series starring Lee Dong-wook and Song Ji-hyo. It aired on KBS2 from April 24 to June 27, 2013 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes. Plot Set during the r ...

'' (

, 2013) * ''Rollercoaster 3'' ( tvN, 2013)

Discography

Albums

# ''Poonsoo II'' (1990) – album with Punsudeul # ''The K;ul'' (1994) – album with

# ''The Us Rage To See The Day We Rule!'' (1995) – album with US # 쾌속(快速) (1996) – solo debut # ''Emotion'' (1999) # ''A Secret Diary'' (2001) # ''Another Decade'' (2009)

References

External links

* * 1973 births 2014 deaths K-pop singers Actresses from Anyang, Gyeonggi Singers from Gyeonggi Province South Korean women pop singers South Korean film actresses South Korean female idols South Korean television actresses Deaths from stomach cancer in South Korea {{SouthKorea-singer-stub