Choi Si-won (
Korean: 최시원; born April 7, 1986[2][a]), known mononymously as Siwon, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, model, and actor known for his work as a member of South Korean boy group
Super Junior. Choi was a special representative for
UNICEF Korea from 2015 to 2019, before being chosen as an
UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office ambassador in November 2019.[3]
Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea, on April 7, 1986.[4][5] He has one younger sister, Ji-won. His father was the former
CEO of Boryung Medicine, a
pharmaceutical company.[6]
Career
Choi 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 parents' approval; his parents were notified only after he passed the auditions.[7] 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.[8]
He later moved into dormitories with fellow trainees and was trained in areas of singing, acting, dancing as well as languages. He was featured in a music video of
The Grace's
Dana whilst he was being trained as a solo singer in 2003.[9] A year after, Choi made a brief appearance in family drama Precious Family,[10] and again in 2005 in the KBS romance comedy drama Eighteen, Twenty-Nine as young Kang Bong-man,[11] while in 2006 he played the supporting role of Park Sang-woo in romance melodrama Spring Waltz.[12]
Not long after Choi's first television appearance, SM Entertainment released an announcement that he would debut as one of the twelve members in a boy band. A few months before the debut of Super Junior 05, Choi made his first media appearance with bandmate
Han Geng as one of the runway models in a fashion show by Bum Suk.
Choi debuted as part of 12-member rotational project group Super Junior 05 on November 6, 2005, on
SBS' music program Popular Songs, performing their first single, "
Twins (Knock Out)". Their debut album Twins was released a month later on December 5, 2005, and debuted at number three on the monthly MIAK K-pop album charts.
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. The re-polished group's first CD single "
U" was released on June 7, 2006, which was their most successful single until the release of "
Sorry, Sorry" in March 2009, which helped them achieve global success.
In April 2008, Choi 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 April 8, 2008. This was followed by the release of the debut Chinese-language
studio album, Me in selected provinces in China on April 23 and May 2 in Taiwan.
On July 5, 2023,
Super Junior-L.S.S., a sub-unit group consisting of Super Junior bandmates Choi,
Leeteuk, and
Shindong, debuted with their first Japanese single "シャッタ閉めろ/Shatta Shimero".[13] The trio later made their official Korean debut on January 22, 2024 with the single "Suit Up".[14]
Solo ventures
In 2006, Choi was cast in the Hong Kong
epic filmA Battle of Wits, playing the role of the Liang Prince. This also marks his film debut.[15] Choi received praise from co-star
Andy Lau, who stated that Choi sets a good example for Hong Kong actors.[16]
After a three-year hiatus, Choi returned to the screen with SBS' romantic comedy Oh! My Lady.[19] The same year, he starred in the big-budget spy series Athena: Goddess of War, a spin-off to the 2009 hit drama Iris. He plays a data analyst and rookie elite agent.[20]
In 2012, Choi starred in SBS' comedy satire drama The King of Dramas, based around Korean television production. He plays Kang Hyun-min, a top celebrity with a prickly personality.[23]
Choi starred in multiple projects in 2015. He co-starred in Hong Kong historical-action film Dragon Blade with
Jackie Chan, crime thriller Helios and sports drama To the Fore alongside
Eddie Peng and
Shawn Dou.[24][25][26] He also starred in the Chinese romance drama Fall In Love With You Again and was cast in Billion Dollar Heir, a Chinese adaptation of the 2013 hit drama The Heirs.[27][28]
Back in Korea, Choi starred as the second male lead in MBC's romantic comedy She Was Pretty.[29] He received critical acclaim for his acting performance and comedic portrayal of the character, and experienced a rise in popularity.[30][31][32] He released a single for the drama titled "Only You", which ranked atop the music charts.[33] In 2015, Choi Siwon with EnterMedia Pictures (CEO Lee Dong Hoon) purchased the rights to the 2011
Daum webtoon Interview, authored by Rude Vico.[34][35]
In April 2019, Choi starred in KBS’s crime comedy drama My Fellow Citizens!.[40][41] In 2020, he starred in an episode of the science fiction anthology series SF8.[42]
In 2021, Choi starred in the
TVING web series Work Later, Drink Now and made a cameo appearance in the movie New Year Blues.[43][44] In addition to his appearance, he also released the track "Nobody but You" as part of the Work Later, Drink Now soundtrack.[45] In 2022, Choi starred in the
ENA romantic comedy series Love Is for Suckers and returned for the second season of Work Later, Drink Now.[46][47]
Choi Si-won is a representative for
Audi Korea.[50] In 2015, Choi Si-won was chosen by the Swiss luxury watchmaker brand
Piaget as their youngest Asian model.[51]
Philanthropy
Choi has joined many
UNICEF campaigns since 2010. He was appointed as the special representative of the South Korea committee for UNICEF on November 12, 2015.[52]
Upon his release from the military, Choi confirmed to volunteer for a
UNICEF campaign in
Vietnam from August 21 to 25, 2017, alongside fellow labelmate
Jaemin of
NCT Dream. The campaign is named as "SMile for U" which is a music education programme for children with
disabilities conducted in partnership with Choi's
agency.[53]
In 2008, Choi and his fellow Super Junior-M members appeared on Chinese postage stamps, becoming the first South Korean artists to do so. The stamps were sold at a charity event to raise funds for victims of an earthquake
which happened in China earlier that year.[55]
In 2013, Choi, along with
Psy, became the first K-pop stars to attend the
Met Gala.[56] In October 2015, he became the first Korean to reach 5 million Twitter followers.[57][58] In 2016, Choi was listed in Forbes magazine's "
30 Under 30 Asia." He was described as "one of South Korea’s most sought-after singers and actors."[59]
A wax figure of Choi was unveiled at
Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong on November 19, 2015.[60]
Choi is a devout
Protestant Christian, and has said he would like to become a missionary.[62] He frequently posts Bible quotes on his
Twitter and
Weibo accounts.[63] He has also collaborated with the Christian singing group 3rd Wave Music along with other K-pop artists.[64]
Choi enlisted as a
conscripted policeman on November 19, 2015.[65] He was discharged from mandatory military service on August 18, 2017.[66][67]
Controversies
On September 30, 2017, an untied French bulldog owned by Choi's family bit their neighbor, 53-year-old businesswoman Kim who ran Hanilkwan, an upscale Korean cuisine restaurant. This resulted in the death of the victim six days after the incident. The cause was identified as
sepsis, brought on by the bite. Choi and his father separately wrote letters of apology on their Instagram accounts on October 21, 2017.[68] Although a family member of the deceased told media that the family were not willing to take any legal action, the Choi family received severe backlash from the public for not taking any precautionary measures with their dog.[69]
^최시원, '납골당 소년'에서 슬픈 18세. enews24 (in Korean). September 8, 2005.
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^슈퍼주니어 최시원, '봄의 왈츠' 출연. Osen (in Korean). August 22, 2006.
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^Ji, Min-kyung (July 9, 2023).
이특·신동·시원, 슈퍼주니어-L.S.S.로 뭉쳤다..5일 日 첫 싱글 발표 [Leeteuk, Shindong, Siwon, Super Junior-LSS unite... First single released in Japan on the 5th]. The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
^Lee, Yoon-jung (January 21, 2024).
"펑키한 음악으로 돌아왔다…슈퍼주니어 LSS, 신곡 발표" [I’m back with funky music… Super Junior LSS releases new song]. Naver (in Korean).
Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
^崔始源《墨攻》受关注 刘德华赞其后生可畏 [Choi Siwon A Battle of Wits receives attention, receives praise from Andy Lau]. Sina (in Chinese). November 23, 2006.
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^Hye Lim (August 19, 2017).
최시원·강소라 '변혁의 사랑' 출연 확정…10월 방송. enews24 (in Korean).
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^Park Ji-young (August 18, 2017).
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^
abYoon Hyo-jeong (July 7, 2021).
"이선빈·한선화·정은지·최시원 '술꾼도시여자들' 주연 확정" [Lee Seon-bin, Han Seon-hwa, Jung Eun-ji, and Choi Si-won confirmed for the lead roles in 'Women in Drunken City]. News 1 (in Korean).
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^
abSeon, Mi-kyung (February 4, 2021).
"'새해전야' 최시원오상진라미란, 카메오 라인업도 특급" ['New Year's Blues' Choi Si-won, Oh Sang-jin, Ra Mi-ran, cameo lineup is also limited]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved August 7, 2023.
^
abShin, Young-eun (November 19, 2021).
"최시원, '술꾼도시여자들' OST 가창…19일 정오 발매" [Siwon Choi sings the OST of 'Work Later, Drink Now'... Released at noon on the 19th]. Maeil Economy (in Korean). Retrieved August 7, 2023.
^
abKim Soo-jin (December 15, 2021).
"'술꾼도시여자들' 시즌2 확정 [공식]" ['Drunk City Women' Season 2 Confirmed [Official]] (in Korean). Star News.
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^
abPark Seo-hyun (September 7, 2022).
"얼어죽을 연애따위' 이다희X최시원, 찐친 케미 폭발..라인업 확정(공식)" [Love to death' Lee Da-hee X Choi Si-won, chemistry explosion.. Lineup confirmed (official)] (in Korean).
Herald POP. Retrieved September 7, 2022 – via
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^
abKang Min-kyung (August 4, 2023).
"[공식] 서인국·박소담→이도현·오정세…'이재, 곧 죽습니다' 출연 확정" [[Official] Seo In-guk · Park So-dam → Lee Do-hyun · Oh Jeong-se... 'Lee Jae, I'll Die Soon' Appearance Confirmed] (in Korean). Ten Asia. Retrieved August 4, 2023 – via Naver.
^Lee, Su-min (March 27, 2023).
"광주비엔날레 홍보대사에 슈퍼주니어 최시원 위촉" [Appointed Super Junior Choi Siwon as Public Relations Ambassador for Gwangju Biennale] (in Korean). News1. Retrieved March 31, 2023 – via
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^Kim, Hyung-woo (December 8, 2008).
"슈주-M 中 우표모델 발탁 '한국가수 최초 중국우표 등장'" [Suju-M selected as a Chinese postage stamp model 'The first Korean singer to appear on a Chinese postage stamp']. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from
the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
^Lee, Seung-hoon (May 24, 2023).
"[단독]라미란·김동욱·최시원, 하정우 품으로..영화 'OB' 합류 [종합]" [[Exclusive] Ra Mi-ran, Kim Dong-wook, and Choi Si-won join Ha Jung-woo in film 'OB' [Comprehensive]] (in Korean). MT Star News. Retrieved July 17, 2023 – via
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^Kim Ji-won (January 16, 2024).
"하정우, 골프 접대 포착…12월 27일 '로비' 마무리" [Ha Jung-woo, caught playing golf... ‘Lobby’ completed on December 27th] (in Korean). Ten Asia. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
^Kang, Kyung-ji (February 22, 2006).
슈퍼주니어 최시원, '봄의 왈츠' 출연 [Choi Si-won of Super Junior to appear in 'Spring Waltz']. Osen (in Korean). Retrieved January 27, 2023 – via
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^Yoon, Yeo-jung (April 8, 2024).
유전자로 사랑 찾을 수 있을까…최시원·정인선 'DNA 러버' 주인공 [Can we find love through genes...Choi Si-won and Jung In-sun ‘DNA Lover’ main characters] (in Korean). News1. Retrieved April 19, 2024 – via
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^Mo Shin-jeong (April 22, 2021).
"[단독]하정우, 최시원 DJ 데뷔 tvN 새 예능 '곽씨네 LP바' 첫 게스트" [[Exclusive] Ha Jung-woo, Choi Si-won's DJ debut tvN's new entertainment 'Kwak's LP Bar' first guest]. sports.hankooki (in Korean).
Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
^Kim, Ji-yeon (August 29, 2006).
SM 中 장리인, 데뷔곡 4개국 무료다운로드 실시 [Zhang Liyin of SM China, free download of debut song in 4 countries]. Osen (in Korean). Retrieved January 29, 2023 – via
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^Han Hyun-jung (December 13, 2022).
"최시원·황민현, 배우 부문 뉴웨이브[2022 AAA]" [Choi Si-won · Hwang Min-hyun, new wave actor category [2022 AAA]] (in Korean). Maeil Business Star Today. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via
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^Kim Yoo-rim (December 13, 2022).
"황민현·보나·김영대·최시원, 베스트 액팅 퍼포먼스상 [2022 AAA]" [Minhyun Hwang, Bona, Youngdae Kim, Siwon Choi, Best Acting Performance Award [2022 AAA]] (in Korean). Money s. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via
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^Abdul Rahman (September 26, 2020). Estu Suryowati (ed.).
"Sabet Most Prominent Korean Artist, Choi Siwon: Kalian Selalu di Hati" [Receiving Most Prominent Korean Artist Award, Choi Siwon said: You're always in my heart]. JawaPos (in Indonesian).
Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.