Chuu (Hangul: 츄)[3] is a South Korean singer, actress, YouTuber, and television personality. She was the tenth revealed member of LOONA and a member of its third sub-unit, yyxy until she was removed from the group on November 25, 2022.
She was born as Kim Ji-woo (Hangul: 김지우) on October 20, 1999, in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea.
She debuted on December 14, 2017, as a member and subsequently released her solo single album Chuu on December 28, 2017. Chuu released her first solo mini album [Howl], alongside the title track of the same name on October 18, 2023.
History
Early life
Chuu was born and raised in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea, with her parents and two younger brothers. She attended Saet-byul Elementary School (샛별초등학교) and San-nam Middle School (산남중학교).[4][5]
Growing up, Chuu had always wanted to be a singer. She would often attend recitals of her mother, a classically trained vocalist.[6] However, because her mother was aware of the difficulties a singing career carried, she did not support Chuu. Despite that, Chuu continued to pursue her dream with the approval of her father.[7]
In order to become a singer, Chuu applied and was accepted as a singer major at Hanlim Multi Arts High School in Seoul in 2015. She gets the opportunition to sing an OST for Princess Pring, titled “Wanna Grow Up (어른이 되고 싶어)”.
Later, she became a trainee at FNC Academy in 2016.[8] Sometime after, she left FNC Academy and joined Music Works. It was also around this time that Chuu started her popular Instagram account. Wanting to further challenge herself, Chuu departed from Music Works to seek for a new agency. Although she auditioned for JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment’s The Black Label, she was not accepted into either. She joined BlockBerryCreative as a trainee in September of 2017.
On November 11, 2017, Chuu made her final post on Instagram before disappearing. Seemingly unrelated, a member of LOONA, Yves, appeared in episode 230 of LOONA TV on December 6. A day later, the teaser for LOONA’s 10th member was released. Not until days after the episode of LOONA TV, a fan of Chuu’s noticed that Yves’s phone had a sticker given to Chuu on her birthday two months before. As a result, many fans predicted that the new member would be the well-known Instagrammer Kim Ji-woo. These theories were later confirmed on December 13, when it was announced the new member was Chuu.[9]
2017: Reveal, solo debut
On December 14, 2017, Chuu was revealed as the tenth member of LOONA. On December 28, 2017, she released her solo single album Chuu, alongside its title track “Heart Attack”.[10] The album reached number 8 on the Circle Album Chart.[11]
2018: “One & Only”, “Egoist”, yyxy, debut in LOONA
On January 30, 2018, Chuu appeared in Go Won’s music video for “One & Only”. On March 30, she also made a cameo in HyeJu’s “Egoist” music video.
On February 9, Chuu graduated from Hanlim Multi Arts School alongside Kim Lip.[12]
On May 30, Chuu debuted as a member of yyxy with members Yves, Go Won, and HyeJu with the mini album beauty&thebeat.[13] It peaked at number 4 on the Circle Album Chart,[14] and reached number 6 on Billboard’s World Albums chart, as well.[15]
On August 18, Chuu officially debuted as a member of the completed group LOONA. She and her members released the mini album [+ +], featuring the title track “Hi High”.[16] Their debut album reached number 2 on the Circle Album Chart[17] and number 4 on Billboard’s World Albums chart.[18]
2019: Dating Class, Insane Quiz Show Season 2
On May 10, 2019, Chuu made her acting debut and starred in the web drama Dating Class along with Gyuri of fromis_9 and Seoham from KNK.[19]
From July to September, Chuu co-hosted the second season of the variety show Insane Quiz Show with MJ of ASTRO and Ilhoon of BTOB.[20]
2020: Running Girls, Chuu Can Do It
In December 2020, Chuu co-starred in Mnet’s reality show Running Girls, alongside Sunmi, YooA of OH MY GIRL, Hani of EXID, and Chungha. In the show five K-pop idols form a running team and try out different running courses in South Korea.[21]
On December 28, Chuu opened her YouTube channel with a teaser for the upcoming project Chuu Can Do It, a web series where Chuu would raise awareness about environmentally-friendly practices to help protect the Earth. The series began airing on Korean television on January 7, 2021, and a second season was announced at the end of the first season.[22]
2021: Steel Troops
From February to December 2021, Chuu was the host for a South Korean web series Hauteur which was made in collaboration with Lotte Department Store to help promote their store among generation Z.[23]
In March 2021, Chuu became a panelist on the Channel A show Steel Troops where she comments on teams from Korea’s armed forces competing against each other.[24]
2022: Acitivities absence, expulsion and removal from LOONA, BY4M Studio
On June 3, 2022, BlockBerryCreative announced that Chuu would not be taking part in LOONA 1st World Tour: [LOONATHEWORLD] due to schedule conflicts.[25]
On July 25, BlockBerryCreative announced that Chuu would not be participating in LOONA’s second Japanese album LUMINOUS nor their Japanese promotions.[26]
On November 25, BlockBerryCreative released a statement about Chuu’s expulsion and withdrawal from LOONA, stating “there have been reports of abuse of power, including verbal abuse […] the Company has decided to take responsibility by expelling Chuu from LOONA”.[27][28]
However, numerous people from the industry defended Chuu, claiming that she is not what BlockBerry was attempting to portray her to the public.[29] On December 18, 2022, South Korean media outlet Dispatch released a dossier on the subject, including texts alleged to be between Chuu and members of BlockBerryCreative staff, as well as details about her exclusive contract.[30]
Dispatch article
According to phone calls and DMs obtained by Dispatch, the situation between Chuu and BlockBerryCreative seems to be as follows:
- On December 4, 2017, Chuu signed an exclusive contract with BlockBerryCreative. Among other terms, the contract stipulated that Chuu, like the other members of LOONA, was entitled to 30% of money earned through her activities, and that she was personally responsible for 50% of expenses incurred. BlockBerryCreative would receive the remaining 70% of earnings and pay 50% of expenses.
- A staff member confirmed to Chuu that the money she earned would not be shared with the rest of the members; it would solely be split between Chuu and the company.
- Chuu explained to Dispatch directly that she was unhappy with the 70/30 and 50/50 terms, because if she were, for example, to earn ₩100, ₩70 would go to the company and ₩30 would go to her. However, if she incurred ₩70 worth of expenses at the same time, ₩35 would be paid by the company and the remaining ₩35 would come out of her payment, meaning her labor would actually cost her ₩5.
- Representatives of BlockBerryCreative stated that this earnings/expenses split was done for budgetary reasons and that the members agreed to the terms.
- According to Dispatch, LOONA has earned ₩18.2 billion (approx. US$14 million) and spent ₩16.9 billion (approx. US$13 million) as of 2022. When the 70/30 and 50/50 terms are applied to these amounts, rather than earning any money, LOONA has accrued ₩3 billion (approx. US$2.3 million) in debt, or about ₩200 million (approx. US$150,000) per member. This substantiates member YeoJin’s previous statement that the members have not been paid since debut.[31] Chuu seems to have paid off her debt in January of 2022 due to her new contract.
- In April of 2022, Chuu renegotiated her contract with BlockBerryCreative, reversing the 70/30 split in her favor. Additionally, she and her mother (who is also her business partner) included a clause allowing Chuu to miss up to three LOONA schedules and three album activities per month in order to attend her own individual schedules. In the event that a predetermined Chuu schedule unexpectedly overlapped with a LOONA schedule, Chuu’s solo appointment was to take priority. If the company failed to allow Chuu to go to her solo schedule, she and her mother would be entitled to ₩50 million (approx. US$38,000) for the violation.
- On May 25, 2022, Chuu’s mother complained to BlockBerryCreative that filming for the “Flip That” music video was interfering with an advertisement shoot Chuu had that day. Filming had begun on May 24th, but was delayed and ran past midnight on the 25th, putting Chuu’s schedule that day in jeopardy according to her mother. Chuu’s mother demanded the agreed upon ₩50 million payment for violation of contract terms.
- It seems once the music video shoot went past midnight, Chuu informed staff and the other members of LOONA that she would be leaving to prepare for her next appointment. Upon learning this, an unnamed member of LOONA called one of BlockBerryCreative’s CEOs to ask about the sudden change and what they were going to do with only eleven members.
- The CEO negotiated with Chuu’s mother for Chuu to stay and complete filming, which she did, in exchange for the violation fee. Reportedly, Chuu returned home at 3AM; the start time of her following schedule is unknown.
- Chuu stated to Dispatch that her demand on May 25th for the ₩50 million fee was due to an existing pattern of schedule conflicts, not solely because that particular shoot went a few hours late. She claimed their invocation of the clause was a “warning” to BlockBerryCreative.
- At some point, communications between Chuu and BlockBerryCreative deteriorated. Chuu, who claims to have finally lost faith in the company in 2021, was impatient and sarcastic over KakaoTalk with various BlockBerry representatives. In turn, an unnamed director spoke to her condescendingly, saying, “You finished grade school right? Haha. It’s not like you didn’t finish, right?”[note 2] in a recorded phone call.
- Chuu herself admits that her words with the company could be harsh, but that she was hurt, distrustful, and felt unheard at the time.
- The conflict between Chuu and BlockBerryCreative ultimately culminated in Chuu’s termination from the company and removal from LOONA on November 25, 2022. BlockBerryCreative’s official statement was that Chuu’s interactions with staff were the cause of her expulsion.
On November 28, Chuu has been reported to have signed with a new agency BY4M Studio.[32]
2023: Continuing dispute with BlockBerryCreative, ATRP, final hearing, [Howl], another lawsuit
On March 14, 2023, it was revealed that a hearing for the lawsuit filed by Chuu against BlockBerryCreative to confirm the non-existence of her exclusive contract with the agency, which was scheduled for March 16, was referred to mediation and therefore postponed.[33] The mediation was held a week later on March 27, which failed after both parties were unable to reach a mutual agreement.[34]
On April 7, Chuu signed an exclusive contract with ATRP, making it her the first person to do so.[35]
On June 1, Chuu’s lawsuit against BlockberryCreative continued with its fourth hearing, where it was determined that the case would conclude on August 17.[36]
On July 25, Chuu announced her official fandom name, KKOTI. A teaser for her official lightstick, KKUKA was released the following day. Pre-orders opened on August 4.
On August 17, Chuu has won her case against BlockBerryCreative, gaining complete freedom from the company.[37] The company filed an appeal regarding this decision, the hearing for which was held on the 8th of December.[38]
On August 29, it was reported Chuu is preparing for the release of her solo album in October.[39] Later that day, ATRP sent an official response confirming that they are “preparing in order to release Chuu’s solo album in October”.[40]
On September 18, the first teaser was revealed, announcing that her comeback mini-album [Howl]'.
On October 5, “CHUU 1ST TINY-CON ‘My Palace’” was announced on Chuu’s official social media. On October 18, Chuu released her first mini-album [Howl], alongside the title track of the same name.[41] On October 25, fromm released the official announcement for “2023 CHUU <Howl> in USA” poster on social media and WEVERSE.
Chuu’s mother lawsuit
On November 23, Chuu’s mother was countersued by BlockBerryCreative for false allegations.[38]
- In January, Chuu’s mother sued BlockBerryCreative for spreading false information stating that “Chuu hurt the other members by leaving a music video filming set on her own before filming was completed, and that Chuu’s family directly sent text messages to other LOONA members to take issue with their attitudes during activities”.[38]
- According to the filed complaint against Chuu’s mother, BlockBerryCreative stated that her complaint “was clearly false in claiming that the described events never happened, claiming to have the Kakaotalk content in which Chuu’s mother took issue with the members’ attitudes and the Kakaotalk content regarding what happened on the music video filming set, and asserted that her suing for false allegations was clear grounds for a lawsuit”.[38]
2024: “Chocolate”, [Strawberry Rush], My Girlfriend Is a Real Man
On February 13, 2024, Chuu released her first digital single “Chocolate” for Valentine’s Day. An English version of the song was released the next day.[42]
On May 22, ATRP confirmed Chuu was filming a music video in Australia for her second album, to be released in June.[43] On May 29, it was officially announced that Chuu would be releasing her second mini album [Strawberry Rush] on June 25.[44] The music video for the lead single of the same name was released together with the album.[45] “Honeybee” received its own music video on July 1.
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.[46]
Discography
KoreanMini albums
Single albums
Digital singles
Collaborations
|
OSTs
Remakes
|
English
Digital singles
- “Chocolate (English Version)” (2024)
Events
Tours
Americas tours
- 2024 CHUU FAN-CON [Strawberry Rush] in AMERICAS (July 17–, 2024)
United States tours
- 2023 CHUU <Howl> in USA (December 3–17, 2023)
Concerts
- CHUU 1ST TINY-CON ‘My Palace’ (2 days, November 4–5, 2023)
Concert participations
- 2024 Weverse Con Festival (June 16, 2024)
- Waterbomb Seoul 2024 (July 5, 2024)
Filmography
Web dramas
| Year | Name | Channel/Platform | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Part-Time Idol | SBS | Student in front of the agency (guest) |
| 2019 | Dating Class | tvN D | Han Eun-sol (하은솔; main) |
| 2024 | My Girlfriend Is a Real Man (내 여자친구는 상남자) |
TBA | Kang Min-ju (강민주; main) |
Variety shows
As main cast
| Year | Name | Channel/Platform |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Running Girls | Mnet |
| 2020–2023 | Chuu Can Do It | DIA TV on YouTube |
| 2021 | Hauteur | YouTube |
As main host
| Year | Name | Channel/Platform |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Steel Troops | YouTube |
Music video appearances
As cameo
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | “One & Only” | Go Won |
| “Egoist (feat. JinSoul)” | Olivia Hye |
Credits
Songwriting
| Year | Song | Album | Artist(s) | Lyrics | Composition | Arrangement | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | “Number 1” | [#] | LOONA | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ◯ |
| 2021 | “PTT (Paint The Town)” | [&] | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ◯ | |
| “WOW” | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ◯ | |||
| 2022 | “lullaby (자장가)” | — | B.I, Chuu | ◯ | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ |
| 2024 | "PINK CLOUD" | - | Chuu | ✖ | ✖ | ✖ | ◯ |
Endorsements
- Nature Republic (with LOONA) (2018)
- Lotte Department Store Mobile Application (with LOONA) (2018)
- Skoolooks (with LOONA) (2019)
- Pocari Sweat (2021)
- Samsung Galaxy Store (2021)
- Chicken Maru (2021)
- Warpath (2021)
- BC Card (2021)
- ABC Mart LOONA ✕ NIKE (with LOONA) (2021)
- Nongshim Neoguri (2021)
- Seoltab (2021)
- Sugarlolo Sparkling (2022)
- Albamon (2022)
- Little Three Kingdoms (2022)
- Eclipse Chewy Mints (2023)
- Taylor Farms (2023)
- Community Chest of Korea (2023)
- Hong Rui Zhen (2023)
- Yanolja (2023)
- BREWGURU ✕ Chuu: Chuu★HI (2023)
- iMBank (2024)
- Google Play Korea: Code Quest (with various others) (2024)
- Senka Perfect Whip (2024)
- LifePet (2024)
Notes
- ↑ Sometimes appears as “Hope (소망)” (eg. 2018 tweet). Her emotion is stated to be “Love (사랑)” in the “one” special video and LOONA’s 2019 10Star interview.
- ↑ Korean: “너 초등학교 나왔지? 하하. 안 나온 거 아니지?”
- ↑ Credited as Kim Ji-woo.
References
- ↑ loonatheworld. “211126 VLIVE” at 23:31. VLIVE. 2021.11.26
- ↑ @ChuuCanDoIt. “(ENG) 링피트 도전해봤는데요... 건강 안 지켜도 될 것 같아요....” at 1:15. YouTube. 2022.11.11
- ↑ /t͡ɕʰju/, CHOO
- ↑ Lee Chang-kyu. “[KOR] "도벽도 있었다" 이달의 소녀(LOONA) 츄 학폭 추가 폭로글 등장…김립도 가담?”. topstarnews. 2021.02.23
- ↑ Kim Su-hyoung. “[KOR] '이달의 소녀' 츄, 진짜 김재원이랑 잇몸까지 똑 닮았네! ('라디오스타')”. OSEN. 2021.07.08
- ↑ ize. “[KOR] 스포트라이트│이달의 소녀 츄 ② "'복면가왕' 멜로디 편곡을 3분 만에 끝냈어요."”. Daum. 2019.04.01
- ↑ @orrerynim. “[ENG SUB] 180910 LOONA on SBS Love FM OldSchool”. YouTube. 2018.09.12
- ↑ @FNCacademy. “FNC 아카데미 2016 드림콘서트”. YouTube. 2017.03.08
- ↑ @caskerbox. “A megathread | "History of Chuu" 🍓”. Twitter. 2018.07.14. Archived from the original on February 8, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
- ↑ Jeong Hee-yeon. “[KOR] 이달의 소녀 츄, 러블리걸 출격..타이틀곡은 '하트 어택'”. OSEN via ChoSun. 2017.12.23
- ↑ “Album Chart – Week 10, 2020”. Circle Chart
- ↑ Seo Bo-hyoung. “[KOR] [포토]이달의소녀 츄-김립 '이 구역 귀요미들'”. Herald POP. 2018.02.09
- ↑ Ahn Jin-yong. “[KOR] ‘빌보드가 주목한’ 걸그룹 이달의 소녀, 30일 새 유닛 베일 벗는다”. Munhwa. 2018.05.30
- ↑ “Album Chart – Week 22, 2018”. Circle Chart
- ↑ “World Albums Chart – June 9, 2018”. Billboard
- ↑ Park Se-yeon. “[KOR] 이미 뜨거운 이달의 소녀…데뷔 D-1 단독콘서트 `성료`”. MK Star Today. 2018.08.20
- ↑ “Album Chart – Week 34, 2018”. Circle Chart
- ↑ Jeff Benjamin. “LOONA’s Long-Awaited Debut Scores Top 5 Entries on World Albums & Song Sales Charts”. Billboard. 2018.08.29
- ↑ Jeong Hee-yeon. “[KOR] 웹드라마 ‘필수연애교양’ 10일 첫 공개…강의로 연애 배웠어요”. Sports Donga. 2019.05.02
- ↑ Kim Na-hee. “[KOR] '이세퀴2' MC=비투비 정일훈..아스트로 MJ·이달의소녀 츄 패널 합류 [공식]”. OSEN via Naver. 2019.06.21
- ↑ Park Seo-yeon. “[KOR] '달리는 사이' 선미-하니-유아-청하-츄, 러닝 크루 확정..12월 9일 첫 방송(공식)”. Herald POP. 2020.11.25
- ↑ Hong Hye-min. “[KOR] "지구를 지켜츄"...이달의 소녀 츄, 에코 라이프 도전”. Hankook Ilbo. 2021.01.07
- ↑ Lee Byung-joon. “[KOR] 웹드라마·예능 만드는 백화점, 왜?…"소비자를 팬으로 바꾼다"”. JooAng Ilbo. 2021.06.02. Archived from the original. Retrieved on September 27, 2024.
- ↑ Kim Min-ju. “[KOR] ‘강철부대’ 250kg 미션 기구 등장에 김희철X츄X김동현 경악”. The Seoul Economic Daily. 2021.04.13
- ↑ Sarah Cho. “LOONA’s Chuu To Not Participate In Group’s Upcoming 1st World Tour”. soompi. 2022.03.02
- ↑ “Notice of activities”. loonatheworldjp. 2022.07.25
- ↑ lucy. “[ENG] 221125 Fancafe Notice: Blockberry Creative expels and removes Chuu from LOONA”. Team Subbits. 2022.11.25. Translation of the original.
- ↑ Baek Seung-hoon. “[KOR] "츄, 스태프에 갑질+폭언"…이달의 소녀 제명·퇴출 [공식입장]”. iMBC. 2022.11.25
- ↑ @loonapress. “Thread with every post defending Chuu after the removal announcement. Twitter. 2022.11.25
- ↑ lucy. “[ENG] 221219 Dispatch Article on Chuu and Blockberry Creative”. Team Subbits. 2022.12.18. Translation of the original.
- ↑ @litelljohnn. “Yeojin confirms that earnings distributions have not begun”. Twitter. 2022.09.23
- ↑ @theseoulstory. “[UPDATE] Chuu to reportedly have a fresh start with new agency BY4M Studio after recently been removed from LOONA by BlockBerry Creative”. Twitter. 2022.11.28. Translation of the original.
- ↑ “[News] Star News: Chuu vs Blockberry Contract Lawsuit Referred to Mediation (230314)”. Team Subbits. 2023.03.14. Translation of the original.
- ↑ lucy. “[News] Star News: "Mediation between Chuu and Blockberry falls through" (230327)”. Team Subbits. 2023.03.27. Translation of the original.
- ↑ litelljohnn. “[News] [Official] Chuu signs exclusive contract with newly formed agency (230407)”. Team Subbits. 2023.04.07. Translation of the original.
- ↑ lucy. “[News] Star News: Chuu’s lawsuit to conclude on August 17 (230601)”. Team Subbits. 2023.06.01. Translation of the original.
- ↑ litelljohnn. “[News] Star News: Chuu wins contract lawsuit against Blockberry (230817)”. Team Subbits. 2023.08.17. Translation of the original.
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 38.3 litelljohnn. “[News] Sports kyunghyang: "LOONA Chuu’s mother countersued by former agency" (231123)”. Team Subbits. 2023.11.23. Translation of the original.
- ↑ @orrery_nim. “According to a SportsDonga report, plans are underway for #Chuu's solo debut in October”. X. 2023.08.29. Translation of the original.
- ↑ @orrery_nim. “ATRP sent an official response confirming that they are "preparing in order to release Chuu's solo album in October"”. X. 2023.08.29. Translation of original.
- ↑ Myung Hee-sok. “[KOR] '솔로 데뷔' 츄, 다크한 비주얼로 변신…파격적 가사까지”. Xports News via Naver. 2023.10.06
- ↑ Seon Mi-gyeong. “[KOR] 츄, 오늘(13일) 츄표 러브송 'Chocolate' 발매..밸런타인데이 선물”. OSEN via Naver. 2024.02.13
- ↑ Kim Ji-won. “[KOR] 츄, 6월 솔로 컴백 확정 "호주서 MV 촬영 중"”. Tenasia via Naver. 2024.05.22
- ↑ Seon Mi-gyeong. “[KOR] 츄, 6월 25일 컴백 확정..'Strawberry Rush' 발매[공식]”. OSEN via Naver. 2024.05.29
- ↑ Jang Woo-young. “[KOR] 히어로 소녀 츄의 질주, 꿈을 향해 'Strawberry Rush' [퇴근길 신곡]”. OSEN via Naver. 2024.06.25
- ↑ Kang Ga-hee. “[KOR] '내 여자친구는 상남자' 윤산하X아린X유정후X츄, 대환장 로맨스 기대 UP”. Herald POP via Naver. 2024.08.02
