Choi Siwon

Choi Siwon
Choi at SM Town Live concert in Bangkok, Thailand in February 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Choi Si-won
Born	(1986-04-07) April 7, 1986 Seoul, South Korea
Occupations	Singer, actor, dancer, model, philanthropist
Years active	2003–present
Musical career
Genres	Pop, dance, electronic
Instruments	Vocals, drums, keyboards, guitar
Years active	2005–present
Labels	S.M. Entertainment, Avex Trax
Associated acts	Super Junior Super Junior-M SM Town

For the noted Korean Confucian official, philosopher, and poet of the late Unified Silla period, see Choe Chiwon.

Choi Si-won (Hangul: 최시원; hanja: 崔始源; born April 7, 1986, officially registered on February 10, 1987^[1]), known simply as Siwon (Hangul: 시원; hanja: 始源), is a South Korean recording artist, actor, and model. He is best known as a member of the K-pop boy band Super Junior and its Mandopop subgroup, Super Junior-M. He is one of the first four South Korean artists to appear on Chinese postage stamps.^[2] He is also the first Korean celebrity to surpass 3 million followers on twitter.

Biography

Pre-debut

Siwon was born on April 7, 1986 (officially registered on February 10, 1987) in Seoul, South Korea. He has one younger sister, Ji-won. His father is currently the CEO of Boryung Medicine, a pharmaceutical company.^[3] He graduated from Gu Jeong High School in February 2006. Siwon is a devout Protestant Christian, and has said in an interview that after his career, he would like to become a missionary.^[4]

Siwon was scouted by a talent agent from SM Entertainment when he was 16 as he was waiting for friends in front of his high school. The agent recommended him to audition for the company's Starlight Casting System. He auditioned without his parent's approval; his parents were notified only after he passed the auditions. Although his parents allowed him to sign a contract with SM Entertainment, they did not give him any help because they wanted him to take responsibility for his actions.^[5]

He later moved into dormitories with fellow trainees and was trained in areas of singing, acting, and dancing. He was featured in a music video of The Grace's Dana whilst he was being trained as a solo singer in 2003. A year after, Siwon made a brief appearance in short drama, Precious Family and again in 2005, KBS drama Eighteen, Twenty-Nine as young Kang Bong-man and played the supporting role of Park Sang-woo in drama Spring Waltz in 2006.

2005-2006: Debut with Super Junior

Not long after Siwon's first television appearance, SM Entertainment released an announcement that he would officially debut as one of the twelve members in a boy band. A few months before the debut of Super Junior 05, Siwon made his first official media appearance with band mate Han Geng as one of the runway models in a fashion show by Bum Suk.

Siwon officially debut as part of 12-member rotaional project group Super Junior 05 on 6 November 2005 on SBS's music programme Popular Songs, performing their first single, "Twins (Knock Out)".^[6][7] Their debut album SuperJunior05 (Twins) was released a month later on 5 December 2005 and debuted at #3 on the monthly MIAK K-pop album charts.^[8]

In March 2006, SM Entertainment began to recruit new members for the next Super Junior generation. However, plans changed and the company declared a halt in forming future Super Junior generations. Following the addition of thirteenth member Kyuhyun, the group dropped the suffix "05" and became officially credited as Super Junior.^[9] The re-polished group's first CD single "U" was released on 7 June 2006, which was their most successful single until the release of "Sorry, Sorry" in March 2009.^[10] In the fall of 2007, the group released their second official album, Don't Don, which became Super Junior's best-selling album and Korea's second best-selling album of the year.^[11]

2007-2008: Acting debut and subgroup

After his musical debut, he was cast in a large supporting role in the Hong Kong epic film A Battle of Wits as Prince Liang Shi, starring opposite Andy Lau. He promoted the movie throughout China with fellow cast members in November 2006.^[12] While the film received mixed reviews, Siwon garnered positive notices for his performance. He also received praises from co-star Lau, stating that Siwon is a wonderful actor and that he sets a good example for young Hong Kong actors.^[13]

In 2007 Siwon starred in the high school mystery/comedy film Attack on the Pin-Up Boys with other Super Junior members, released on 26 July. He played one of the lead roles as a controlling and severe class president who was one of the popular possible subjects of being attacked by mysterious forces.^[14] A few months later, Siwon was cast in mini-drama Legend of Hyang Dan in the lead role of Lee Mong-ryong.

In April 2008, Siwon was put into seven-member sub-group Super Junior-M, a Mandopop subgroup of Super Junior for the Chinese music industry. They debuted in China at the 8th Annual Music Chart Awards, simultaneously with the release of their first music video, "U" on 8 April 2008. This was followed by the release of the debut Chinese-language studio album, Me in selected provinces in China on 23 April and 2 May in Taiwan.^[15]

2010-2011: Lead roles and modeling

In January 2010, Siwon starred in SBS drama Oh My Lady!. It is a romantic comedy about a top star who finds himself living with his manager, a 35 year old woman who is trying to earn money to get custody of her child.^[16] He also featured in music videos for fellow label mates, such as Girls' Generation's "Hoot", and Zhang Liyin and TVXQ's Xiah's duet "Timeless", where Siwon starred along with fellow Super Junior member Han Geng.

Siwon has also appeared in various catalogs and commercials. He modeled in the 3 March 2010 André Kim fashion show. He has been featured in notable magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Elle, High Cut, and Men's Health, as well as modeling for brand names such as Armani, Lacoste, Gucci, Evisu, Burberry. Siwon also appeared in Korean brand Spao's catalogues along with SNSD and other Super Junior members; and for the SK Telesys "Reaction" smart phone, as well as Acer products. He is also the main model for Mamonde, a cosmetic brand alongside Kwon Yuri of Girls' Generation.

In April 2011, Siwon filmed Taiwanese drama Skip Beat! with Ivy Chen and fellow band member Donghae as the three main characters. It is a live-action adaptation of Japanese shōjo manga Skip Beat! by Yoshiki Nakamura. The filming took place in Taiwan and was broadcast in December 2011.^[17]

Siwon joined the cast of SBS drama Athena: Goddess of War, a spin-off of 2009 action drama Iris in June, as Agent Kim Jun-ho, a data analyst and rookie elite agent.^[18] This was followed by KBS drama Poseidon in August 2011. He was cast in the role of Kim Sun-woo, as part of Intelligence Investigation Team of the Maritime Police, with Lee Si-young. It was originally set for broadcast in July 2011, starring Eric Mun of Shinhwa and Kim Ok-bin in the roles of Kim Sun-woo and Lee Soo-yoon, respectively. However they dropped out when production was halted after the Bombardment of Yeonpyeong incident in November 2011, and Siwon and Lee Si-young were re-cast in their roles.^[19]

2012: Comeback with Super Junior

He graduated from Inha University in February 2012 alongside fellow member Ryeowook.^[20] In March 2012, it was announced that Kwon Yuri of Girls' Generation will join him as the main model of Mamonde.

In June 2012, Siwon reunited with his Super Junior band mates for their sixth studio album, Sexy, Free & Single for released on 4 July. On 26 June Siwon's teaser photo was released showing him with long blonde hair under a dip-dyed hat that matches his green eyebrows.^[21] In September, Siwon is to return to television in SBS drama The King of Drama, based around Korean television production. He plays ‘Kang Hyun-min’, a top celebrity with a prickly personality, along with Kim Myung-min as production CEO and actress Jung Ryeo-won. It aired at the conclusion of Faith.^[22]

2013-present: Comeback with Super Junior-M

On January 7, 2013, Super Junior-M released their second album, Break Down, along with the music video for the lead single of the same name. A press conference took place in Beijing on January 7, and they will promote the album in China.^[23]

Discography

Filmography

Films

Television dramas

Variety shows

Music video appearances

Awards, Nominations and Achievements

References

External links

• Super Junior – Official Korean website (S.M. Entertainment)
• Choi Siwon on Twitter
• Choi Siwon on Sina Weibo