Tzuyu was born on June 14, 1999, in the
East District of
Tainan, Taiwan.[4][5][6] She started dancing from a young age and trained at a dance academy.[7]
In 2012, Tzuyu was discovered by talent scouts at the Muse Performing Arts Workshop in Tainan, and moved to South Korea in November of that year to begin training.[6][8] In 2015, Tzuyu participated in the South Korean
reality television show Sixteen, created by
JYP Entertainment and co-produced by
Mnet.[1][9] As one of nine successful participants, she went on to join the newly formed girl group
Twice.[1]
2015–present: Debut with Twice and solo activities
In October 2015, Tzuyu officially debuted as a member of Twice with the release of their first
extended play, The Story Begins.[10] Its lead single "
Like Ooh-Ahh" was the first
K-pop debut song to reach 100 million views on
YouTube.[11] Since then, she has worked as a presenter on multiple South Korean music television shows.[12] As a soloist, Tzuyu released covers of "
Me!" by
Taylor Swift and "
Christmas Without You" by
Ava Max as part of the Melody Project series.[13][14]
Other ventures
Endorsements
Tzuyu has featured alone in various advertisements, including those for
LG U+[15] and
Crocs Korea.[16] She covered the October 2021 issue of L'Officiel Malaysia[17] as a model for the
Coach Fall/Winter 2021 collection.[18] In January 2022, Tzuyu was chosen as the new muse of South Korean clothing brand Zooc.[19][20] In October 2022, she was announced as the muse of Visée, one of Japan's most popular
cosmetics brands.[21][22]
Philanthropy
On February 29, 2020, Tzuyu donated
₩50 million (
US$43,708.2) to the South Korean Community Chest, for helping prevent the spread of
COVID-19.[23]
Public image and influence
Public image
Since her debut with Twice she received attention for her beauty,[1][12][24][25] and was nicknamed "Light of Taiwan"[A] by the Taiwanese media due to her popularity.[27][28][29][30]
Influence
After the flag controversy in 2016, Tzuyu was credited with increasing Taiwanese votes by up to 1-2% in favor of President
Tsai Ing-wen.[31][32] According to
Gallup Korea's annual music survey, Tzuyu was the third most popular
idol among South Koreans in 2016.[33] She ranked ninth in the 2017 survey[34] and twelfth in 2018.[35] In 2019, Tzuyu was ranked as the second most popular female K-pop idol in a survey of soldiers completing
mandatory military service in South Korea.[36] In 2023, Tzuyu surpassed
Jay Chou and became the most followed Taiwanese on
Instagram with over 10 million followers.[37]
Personal life
In 2016, she passed an exam at
Tainan Municipal Fusing Junior High School to certify her middle school education. She attended high school at
Hanlim Multi Art School in South Korea, and graduated in February 2019 along with bandmate
Chaeyoung.[38][39][40][41][42]
Flag controversy
In November 2015, Tzuyu appeared with bandmates
Sana,
Momo, and
Mina on the Korean
variety showMy Little Television. She introduced herself as Taiwanese and held the
flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan) alongside that of South Korea.[43]Mainland Chinese internet users reacted angrily towards Tzuyu's actions due to the political rift between the two countries.[44] Soon after, Twice was barred from Chinese television[45] and Tzuyu was pulled out of her endorsement with Chinese communications company
Huawei.[46] Meanwhile, her agency,
JYP Entertainment, released a video showing Tzuyu reading an apology, which said in part:
There is only one China, the two sides of the strait are one, and I have always felt proud to be Chinese. I feel extremely apologetic to my company and to Internet friends on both sides of the strait for the hurt that I have caused, and I also feel very guilty.[47]
Tzuyu's apology sparked a furor among the Taiwanese public on election day.[48][49] The incident gained international attention, as it was believed to have affected the
2016 Taiwanese general election.[47][32] A survey found that Tzuyu's video apology affected the decision of about 1.34 million young voters.[50]
In response to criticism, JYP Entertainment announced that it would be adopting new procedures concerning its exports and overseas activities in order to protect employees from future controversies. This included the implementation of
cultural sensitivity training for its artists and staff members. In an interview with The Korea Times, a JYP representative stated that the training would include issues pertaining to political conflicts between countries.[51]
^(
Chinese: 台灣之光) The light of Taiwan is a term commonly used by Taiwanese news media to refer to internationally famous Taiwanese, people of Taiwanese descent, or Taiwanese products. It is also a term used by Taiwanese to be proud of their local culture.[26]
^Minji, Lee (February 29, 2020).
"트와이스 쯔위, 코로나19 5천만원 기부 동참 "모두 건강하길"(공식)" [Twice Tzuyu, Corona 19 donated 50 million won "May everyone be healthy" (official)]. Newsen.
Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
^Lin, Mengrong (April 18, 2023).
"周子瑜紅到日本!超甜外貌勇奪「6排行榜第1」網狂讚:台灣之光" [Tzuyu is popular in Japan! The super-sweet appearance won the "No. 1 in the 6 rankings" net praise: the light of Taiwan]. Entertainment Center.
Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
^三立新聞網 (June 20, 2017).
"周子瑜是台灣之光 陳沂:可悲!台灣別再沾光了 | 娛樂星聞 | 三立新聞網 SETN.COM" [Tzuyu is the light of Taiwan Chen Yi: Sad! "Taiwan don't get dirty anymore"]. www.setn.com (in Chinese).
Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
^TVBS (July 23, 2021).
"「台灣之光」周子瑜到底美在哪?擠下Lisa奪「最美女偶像」冠軍,整形醫生曝致勝1關鍵|女人我最大" [Where is the beauty of "Taiwan Light" Tzuyu? Squeeze out Lisa to win the "Most Beautiful Idol" championship, and the plastic surgeon reveals the key to winning]. TVBS News.
Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
^NOWnews今日新聞 (April 2, 2023).
"他們是台灣之光!「這5位」都去韓國發展 躍身國際巨星 | 娛樂" [They are the light of Taiwan! "These 5 people" all went to Korea to develop and become international superstars]. NOWnews今日新聞 (in Chinese).
Archived from the original on April 3, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
^Yoon, Chang-soo (June 1, 2023).
"[데스크 시각] 쯔위의 손짓이 바꾼 '하나의 중국'/윤창수 국제부장" [[Desk View] 'One China' changed by Tzuyu's hand gestures/Director of International Affairs Changsoo Yoon]. Seoul Shinmun (in Korean).
Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2023. An article in a Korean newspaper analyzed that a small gesture by Tzuyu, then 16 years old, increased President Tsai's vote by 1-2 %.
^"한국갤럽 Gallup Report 2016/12/20n"(PDF). Gallup Korea (in Korean). Gallup Korea Co. Ltd.
Archived(PDF) from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
^Yi, Sohui (April 13, 2016).
"JYP 측 "쯔위 한림예고 합격, 등교 시기 논의 중"". News Way (in Korean). News Way Corp.
Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
^Yeo, Chang-yong (June 5, 2016).
SBS '인기가요', 트와이스·몬스타엑스 스페셜 MC 발탁. Segye Ilbo (in Korean).
Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023 – via Naver.