Kim Ji-woo (, born October 20, 1999), known professionally by her stage name Chuu (), is a South Korean singer, actress and

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

. She is a former member of the South Korean

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

Loona Loona (stylized in all caps or as LOOΠΔ; ; , ) is a South Korean girl group created by Blockberry Creative. The group is composed of eleven members: Heejin, Hyunjin, Haseul, Vivi, Yeojin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry, Yves (singer), Yves, Go Won ...

and its sub-unit, yyxy.

Early life

Kim Ji-woo was born on October 20, 1999, in

Cheongju Cheongju (; ) is the capital and largest list of cities in South Korea, city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. The 'Cheong' in the name of Chungcheong Province is the Cheong of Cheongju. History Cheongju has been an important prov ...

North Chungcheong North Chungcheong Province (), 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 on the south-centre of the Korean Peninsula. Nor ...

, South Korea. She is the eldest of three children, with two younger brothers. For her audition she sang "

Halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

" by

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

. Her stage name "Chuu" is derived from saying her given name quickly. She graduated from and .

Career

2017–2022: Debut with Loona and solo activities

On December 14, 2017, Chuu was revealed as the tenth member of the

Korean idol An idol () is a type of entertainer who works in the field of Korean popular music (K-pop), either as a member of a group or as a solo act. They typically work for an entertainment agency that operates a highly managed star system that idols a ...

. 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 The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Koreabased on their Record sales, physical sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, ...

. She was introduced as part of Loona's third sub-unit

Loona yyxy Loona yyxy (an 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 consisted of 4 members, Yves, Go Won, Chuu and Hye ...

. The sub-unit includes members Yves, Gowon and HyeJu, 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 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 Astro may refer to: Entertainment and media * Astro (South Korean band), a South Korean boy band * Astro (UB40) (born Terence Wilson) (1957–2021), rapper and member of the British reggae band UB40 * Astro (Chilean band), a Chilean indie ro ...

and Il-hoon of

BtoB B2B, B to B, or B-to-B may refer to: Sports * B2B, a controversial and short lived class in the 1979 Sidecar World Championship * Bay to Breakers, an annual footrace in San Francisco, California on the third Sunday of May * Budapest-Bamako, now t ...

. 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''. 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 2020, 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 2021, Chuu started to host 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. Chuu also hosted ''Hauteur'', a web series that was made in collaboration with

Lotte Department Store Lotte Department Store () is a Korean retail company established in 1979, and headquartered in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Lotte Department Store offers retail consumer goods and services and is one out of 8 business units of Lot ...

to help promote their store among

generation Z Generation Z (often shortened to Gen Z), also known as zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2 ...

. 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 commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

of Dong-a Otsuka's

Pocari Sweat is a Japanese sports drink, manufactured by Otsuka Pharmaceutical. It was launched in 1980, and is sold across Asia and the Middle East; it is also available in Australia, Mexico and the United States. Pocari Sweat is a mild-tasting, non-carbo ...

. She also appeared in a television commercial of

Samsung Galaxy Store The Galaxy Store () is an app store offering apps, games and exclusive themes and other customizations for mobile devices manufactured by Samsung Electronics. The service is primarily supplied pre-installed on Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tabl ...

in May 2021, South Korean chicken brand "Chicken Maru", mobile RTS game "Warpath", and

BC Card BC Card () 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 local merchants through ...

. 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 usuall ...

'' for the episodes titled "Spring Special in Jeju". At the end of 2021, Chuu filed an application for a provisional injunction against her agency, Blockberry Creative, to suspend the exclusive contract. It was also reported that in April 2022, she had founded her own company, with herself as the CEO. 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 Two two may refer to: * Two Two (투투), a Korean pop group * Jacob Two-Two, a fictional character in several books, films, and a TV series See also * 2 (disambiguation) * 2+2 (disambiguation) * 2/2 (disambiguation) * Tootoo * Tutu (disamb ...

, on September 4. On October 16, Chuu released a remake of the 1999 Park Hye-kyung song "Confession" as the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which 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''. On November 25, Blockberry Creative announced on the official fancafe that Chuu had been expelled from Loona, citing "reports of abuse of power, such as Chuu's abusive language towards our staff." Chuu was then caught up in rumors of power abuse, transfer, and bullying within her company. Blockberry Creative refused to reveal evidence concerning the rumors of power abuse to the public, facing criticism and skepticism from fans, with some industry professionals who had previously worked with Chuu questioning the allegations made against her. On December 5, Chuu released "Dear My Winter" with South Korean R&B singer George as part of

Lotte Shopping Lotte Shopping Co., Ltd. (), a distribution unit of Lotte Group, is a multinational retailer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1979, Lotte Shopping operates various retail stores, including department stores, outlet stores, hypermar ...

's "Songs for You" series.

2023–present: Solo debut with ''Howl''

On February 23, 2023, Chuu released "Let's Love" with

Kim Yo-han Kim Yo-han (, born September 22, 1999), also known by the mononym Yohan (), is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the Korean idol, boy group WEi and a former member of boy group X1 (band), X1, finishing first on ''Produce X 101 ...

, which is part of Project Restless. In April 2023, Chuu signed an exclusive contract with a new entertainment company, ATRP. On September 18, ATRP announced that Chuu would be making her debut as a solo artist on October 18, with her first extended play ''Howl'' and the lead single of the same name. On February 13, 2024, Chuu released a digital single "Chocolate", with an English-language version of the song being released the next day. On May 22, ATRP confirmed Chuu was filming a music video in Australia for her second album, to be released in June. On May 29, it was officially announced that Chuu would be releasing her second extended play ''Strawberry Rush'' on June 25. The music video for the lead single of the same name was released together with the album. On August 2, it was announced that Chuu would be returning to acting in the fantasy romance drama ''My Girlfriend is a Real Man'', based on webtoon of the same name. On March 28, 2025, ATRP announced that Chuu's third extended play ''Only Cry in the Rain'' would be released on April 21.

Philanthropy

On December 28, 2022, Chuu announced through her YouTube channel that all proceeds from the merchandise sold at the Jiwoo store were donated to the Korea Music Power Plant to improve the welfare of musicians.

Personal life

In February 2018, Chuu graduated from

Hanlim Multi Art School Hanlim Multi Art School () 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 2009, it became the Hanlim Multi Art ...

alongside her Loona groupmate Kim Lip. In the wake of a wave of bullying allegations against various stars in the

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 ...

industry, Chuu was one of the people accused of bullying at school in February 2021. However, the accuser apologized for the false claims as they were found to be unfounded after Blockberry Creative announced that they would be taking legal action against the accuser.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Promotional singles

Soundtrack appearances

Compilation appearances

Other charted songs

Videography

Music videos

Filmography

Television series

Web series

Television shows

Web shows

Concerts and tours

Howl in USA

Strawberry Rush in Americas

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1999 births Living people 21st-century South Korean women singers 21st-century South Korean actresses South Korean women pop singers South Korean female idols South Korean dance music singers South Korean television personalities South Korean web series actresses English-language singers from South Korea Japanese-language singers of South Korea Dance-pop musicians Actresses from Cheongju Musicians from North Chungcheong Province Hanlim Multi Art School alumni Gimhae Kim clan Loona (group) members