Kim Yoo-yeon (Korean: 김유연; born February 9, 2001), known mononymously as Yooyeon, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is a member of the girl group TripleS and its sub-units Acid Angel from Asia, Acid Eyes, EVOLution, Visionary Vision, and Hatchi. She first garnered attention through her participation in the survival competition show My Teenage Girl.
Kim Yoo-yeon was born on February 9, 2001,[1] in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea. When she was young, she studied abroad in New Zealand and United States to learn English.[2] She attended Sehwa Girls' High School and attends Ewha Womans University majoring in Science Education as of 2024, but is on a leave of absence to pursue her dream of being a celebrity. She took the college entrance exam three times and passed the exam every time.[3] She previously was a student of Dongguk University in the department of Engineering but dropped out after the urging from her parents.[4] As she was growing up, her parents wanted her to pursue a career in the medical field due to her mother being a pharmacist and her father being a doctor. However, when attending university she wasn't sure if she was happy pursuing the university major that she chose and wanted to be a celebrity instead.[5] Initially, her parents were against her being a celebrity and expressed their disappointment in the idea.[6][7]
On September 8, 2021, Kim appeared in a trailer for My Teenage Girl, confirming her participation. At the beginning of the show, she was eliminated due to not having enough points to advance to the next round.[8][9] However, one of the show's mentors Jeon So-yeon revived her back into the show. So-yeon stated, "when searching My Teenage Girl online, Kim shows up first on the searches, this shows that she is someone who can catch the eye as a celebrity, and it is a charm that can be helpful to an idol group." [10] Kim consistently ranked within the top three as the show progressed, and unfortunately finished in eighth place in the final episode due to lack of benefit points, therefore being unable to debut in the final group.[11]
On July 11, 2022, Kim was announced to be a member of TripleS as the fifth member.[12] Kim stated that her 'heart hurt' after seeing her fans continuously wait for her to make her debut, so she gave the idol life a second chance as she found herself to be the happiest when she is on stage.[13] Kim was personally offered to join TripleS by Jaden Jeong, the CEO of Modhaus, as he watched My Teenage Girl. She is typically known as an idol who had zero days of idol training.[7]
On September 16, 2022, TripleS announced they would be debuting their first two sub-units, with the members of the sub-units being voted by fans.[14] Kim was announced to be a member and the leader of the sub-unit Acid Angel from Asia on September 25, 2022, and the sub-unit officially debuted on October 27, 2022, with the debut extended play (EP) Access and "Generation" serving as the lead track.[15]
Kim officially debuted in TripleS as 10 members on February 13, 2023, with the extended play Assemble.[16] On April 20, TripleS announced that they would be debuting their next sub-units.[17] On June 2, Kim became a member of the collaborative sub-unit, Acid Eyes, a collaboration of the two TripleS sub-units, Acid Angel from Asia and +(KR)ystal Eyes.[18] Kim was then announced as the first member and the leader of the sub-unit EVOLution on April 22 the same year.[19] The sub-unit debuted on October 11, 2023. In 2023, TripleS won several Rookie of the Year awards including MAMA Awards and Hanteo Music Awards.
Kim made her acting debut on April 7, 2024, as the leading role in the web series "What's Up?".[20] On June 18, Kim was announced to be placed into the sub-unit "Visionary Vision".[21]
In September 2022, Kim appeared as an actress in a GS25 commercial alongside fellow TripleS member Kim Chae-yeon.[22][23] In May 2023, she became the brand promoter for 'CODINGON X SeSAC'. She appeared as an actress in various commercials for CODINGON in 2023.[24][25][26][27][28][29] In June 2023, Kim became a product packaging model for the Korean brand GRN+, for their product line 'Triple Festa'.
[30][31]
Since her participation in My Teenage Girl, Kim is often described as the 'Goddess of Ewha Womans University',[32] 'Goddess of My Teenage Girl',[33] 'Eternal Goddess',[32] 'Visual Center',[34] and 'The Next Generation Ending Fairy'.[35] She was named one of the top five visual contestants of My Teenage Girl, along with fellow TripleS member Lee Ji-woo, as well as Classy members Myung Hyung-seo and Kim Ri-won, and Rescene's Minami.[32]
She is often said to resemble DIA's Jung Chae-yeon and is said to share similar visuals, such as immaculate skin, delicate features, and an innocent image; netizens believed that their features look so much alike that they could be sisters.[36] Due to her ending fairy on My Teenage Girl, viewers said it gave a similar feel to Jung Chae-yeon's ending fairy during Produce 101.[35]
At the time, she was also continuously ranked high in the most searched hot topic among non-drama television show topics.[37][38][39]
Since her debut in TripleS, Kim has been named as a "true growth character" as her singing and dancing skills were different and improved from before.[40]
In June 2024, Kim entered the Girl group individual brand reputation results for the first time, resulting in 51st place.[41]
Shortly after her reveal as a TripleS member, she gained attention online for her confident response to netizens concerns about her decision of taking absence from a prestigious university to become a K-pop idol.[42] When asked "isn't it a waste?", she confidently responded that she doesn't have any regrets, even if she dropped out she is confident enough that she can pass the CSAT again. She gained praise from netizens for her optimistic response.[43]
Park So-hyun, a member of TripleS and the producer of its sub-unit +(KR)ystal Eyes debut b-side track "Deja-vu" stated the lyric "니 꿈 속 안을 유영해" was written because she was thinking of Yoo-yeon. [a][44]
On June 28, 2024, Kim was chosen by Forbes Korea 'Idol Pick' for 'Which model student celebrity would have been the student council president?' Due to this, she had a special article written in Forbes Korea July 2024 issue and was stated to be a role model to teenage fans.[45]
^"[뉴스1 ★]김유연, 이대 휴학하고 아이돌 재도전…센터 비주얼" [[News 1 ★] Kim Yoo-yeon, took a leave of absence from Ewha University and re-challenges as an idol... center visual] (in Korean). news1. 14 February 2023.
^"삼수 끝에 이화여대 합격한 현역 걸그룹 멤버…강남 8학군 출신" [Active girl group member who passed Ewha Womans University after three attempts... From Gangnam District 8] (in Korean). news mt. 18 April 2024.
^"이화여대에서 여신으로 소문난 여대생 따라가 봤더니 유명 아이돌이었다" [I followed a female college student who was famous as a goddess at Ewha Womans University, and she was a famous idol.] (in Korean). Insight. April 2023.
^"'방과후 설렘' 비주얼 원탑 4학년 김유연·윤채원·전유은의 미래는?" [What is the future of Kim Yoo-yeon, Yoon Chae-won, and Jeon You-eun, the top 4 visuals of 'After School'?] (in Korean). Media Pen. October 13, 2021.
^ ab"김유연 "삼수해 이대 합격→바로 오디션 나와 걸그룹 데뷔" (케바케 식당)" ["Kim Yoo-yeon was accepted to Ewha Womans University → went straight to the audition and debuted in a girl group" (Kebake Restaurant)] (in Korean). Star News. 26 January 2024.
^"'방과 후 설렘', MBC 흑역사 지울 오디션 끝판왕 [첫방](종합)" ['Excitement after school', MBC audition to erase dark history [First broadcast] (comprehensive)] (in Korean). OSEN. 29 November 2021.
^""이화여대 김유연 탈락"…'방과후 설렘' 1차 평가, 탈락 참가자 누구?" ["Ewha Womans University Kim Yoo-yeon dropped out"... 'After School Excitement' 1st evaluation, who was eliminated?] (in Korean). Top Star News. 29 November 2021.
^ ab"김유연, 8위로 데뷔 실패 "'방과후 설렘' 덕분에 유명해져 짜릿"" [Kim Yoo-yeon failed to debut in 8th place "It's thrilling to become famous thanks to 'After School Excitement'"] (in Korean). Newsen.
^"'이대 여신' 김유연, 트리플에스 새 멤버 합류" ['Ewha Uni Goddess' Kim Yoo-yeon joins tripleS as a new member] (in Korean). Star News.
^"트리플에스 AAA, 가요계 출격...팬들이 탄생시킨 걸그룹" [Triple S AAA, a sortie to the music industry... A girl group created by fans] (in Korean). Dailysports Hankook. 28 October 2022.
^"트리플에스, 첫 자연발생 10인조 디멘션 '어셈블' 활동 마무리" [Triple S, the first spontaneously occurring 10-member dimension 'Assemble' activity endS] (in Korean). MK. 13 March 2023.
^ abc"'이대여신' 김유연→버스터즈 출신 명형서…'방과후 설렘' 비주얼 5인방 화제" ['Goddess of Ewha' Kim Yu-yeon → Myung Hyeong-seo from Busters... 'After School Excitement' Visual Top 5 Topic] (in Korean). My Daily. 9 January 2022.
^"'방과후 설렘' 이대 여신 김유연, 걸그룹 트리플에스 합류" ['After School Excitement' Goddess Kim Yoo-yeon joins girl group Triple S] (in Korean). TV Daily. 12 July 2022.
^ ab"'방과후 설렘' 이대 여신 김유연, 다이아 정채연 닮은꼴 화제" ['After School Excitement' Goddess Kim Yoo-yeon and DIA's Jung Chae-yeon look-a-like topic] (in Korean). TV Daily. 28 December 2021.
^"'방과후 설렘' 비드라마 화제성 전체 1위…김유연 여전한 인기" ['After School Excitement' ranked #1 in non-drama topicality overall... Kim Yoo-yeon remains popular] (in Korean). Xports News. January 18, 2022.
^"'방과후 설렘' 비드라마 화제성 1위, 김유연→윤채원도 순위권 진입" ['After School Excitement' No. 1 in non-drama topicality, Kim Yoo-yeon → Yoon Chae-won also entered the rankings] (in Korean). TV Daily. February 4, 2022.
^"방과후 설렘 비드라마 화제성 1위로 종영, 김유연 10위" [After School Excitement ended in first place, in non drama topicality, Kim Yoo-yeon in 10th place] (in Korean). TV Daily. March 3, 2022.
^"오디션 탈락 후 더 빛난다…전소연부터 류진‧허윤진까지[초점S]" [After School Excitement ended in first place, in non drama topicality, Kim Yoo-yeon in 10th place] (in Korean). Spo TV. April 24, 2023.
^"걸그룹 개인 브랜드평판 6월 분석결과 1위 아이브 장원영, 2위 안유진, 3위 에스파 카리나" [Girl group individual brand reputation analysis results for June 1st place: Ive's Jang Won-young, 2nd place: An Yu-jin, 3rd place: Aespa Karina] (in Korean). GP Korea. June 16, 2024.
^"'이화여대' 트리플에스 김유연, "다시 수능보고 대학 갈 자신 있어"…엄친딸 맞네" ['Ewha Women's University' Triple S Kim Yoo-yeon, "I'm confident to go to college after taking the CSAT again"... It's my mother's daughter] (in Korean). Top Star News. 22 November 2022.
^"'방과후 설렘', 데뷔조VS도전조…파이널 1라운드 결과는?" ['After School Excitement', debut group vs challenge group... What was the final round 1 result?] (in Korean). Star News. 27 February 2022.
^"'방과후 설렘' 파이널 경연 신곡 음원 공개" ['After School Excitement' final contest new song sound source released] (in Korean). MK. 28 February 2022.
^"'등교전 망설임' 명형서·김유연 연습생, 오은영에게만 털어놓은 진심은?" ['Hesitation before school' Myung Hyeong-seo and Kim Yoo-yeon trainees, what is the truth that only Oh Eun-young confided in?] (in Korean). Star MBN.
^"신동 "메시지 한 달 동안 안 읽은 후배 있다" 폭로('아이돌리그4')" [Shindong reveals, “I have a junior who hasn’t read my messages for a month” (‘Idol League 4’)] (in Korean). Spotvnews. 10 February 2023.
^"'아는 형님' 이장원·미미미누·허성범·김유연 출격…'수능특집' 편" ['Knowing Brothers' Lee Jang-won, Mimiminu, Heo Sung-beom, Kim Yooyeon appear... 'College Scholastic Ability Test Special'] (in Korean). News1. 7 November 2024.