Kim Ryeowook

Kim Ryeowook (born June 21, 1987), better known by the mononym Ryeowook, is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the South Korean boy band Super Junior and its subgroups, Super Junior-K.R.Y. and Super Junior-M. Along with four other Super Junior members, he is one of the first Korean artists to appear on Chinese postage stamps. He made his solo debut and released first solo album The Little Prince in 2016. He released his duet Cosmic with Bada in 23 September 2016 before he went for enlistment in 11 October 2016 .

Pre-debut

Ryeowook was discovered through the CMB Youth ChinChin Festival in 2004 and signed a contract with SM Entertainment soon afterwards impressing the judges with his singing talent. Trained in areas of singing, dancing, and acting, Ryeowook placed particular efforts into his vocal training and music composition. He plays piano, and plays accompaniment for fellow members during their solo stages at their concerts.

Before Kyuhyun was added in 2006, Ryeowook was the last to join Super Junior several weeks before their official debut in 2005. Having undergone only two months of training, Ryeowook's late addition was rumored to be a replacement of a previous SM trainee that was supposed to debut as a member of Super Junior 05, the first generation of Super Junior.

2006–09: Debut with Super Junior, K.R.Y and Super Junior-M

Ryeowook officially debut as part of 12-member project group Super Junior 05 on 6 November 2005 on SBS's music programme Popular Songs, performing their first single, "Twins (Knock Out)". 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.

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 7 June 2006, which was their most successful single until the release of "Sorry, Sorry" in March 2009. 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.

In late 2006, Ryeowook, along with fellow Super Junior members Kyuhyun and Yesung, formed a subgroup called Super Junior K.R.Y., a group specializing in R&B ballads. The trio debuted on November 5, 2006 on KBS's Music Bank with performing Hyena soundtrack called "The One I Love". Ryeowook made his acting debut in 2007, in the film, Attack on the Pin-Up Boys, a high-school comedy/mystery film, in which he plays the eccentric vice president of the student council. . He was nominated Best Supporting Actor and Best Comedic Performance at the Korean Movie Awards.

In April 2008, he 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.

In November 2012, Super Junior K.R.Y. held a concert tour in Japan, Super Junior K.R.Y. Special Winter Concert. They announced that they would be releasing their first single 6 years after debut. The teaser for Promise You was released on November 21, 2012, followed by the single on 23 January 2013. It debuted at number two on the Oricon’s daily singles chart.

2009-2015: Solo activities

Ryeowook's first composition to be officially released was "Love U More", in the repackaged Sorry, Sorry Version C. He co-wrote the lyrics with fellow Super Junior member Sungmin. Ryeowook is also credited for musical arrangement in the liner notes of the album.

Ryeowook is featured in K.Will's 2009 song "Dropping the Tears". He is also the first member of Super Junior to sing a solo track included in their album, "One Fine Spring Day" was released in Bonamana.

Ryeowook made his musical theatre debut in Temptation of Wolves alongside Park Hyung Sik of ZE:A and Lim Jeong Hee. It ran from 14 July to 30 October 2011 at the COEX Artium.

On 16 and 23 June, following the footsteps of band mates Yesung and Kyuhyun, Ryeowook joined KBS's Immortal Songs 2 with Sunggyu of Infinite, where singers render their own versions of songs from music legends and winners are selected by voting. He took first place in the 11 August episode where singers Lee Sang-woo and Lee Sang-eun were guests. He recorded his last episode on 16 August, which was broadcast on 25 August.

On September 28, 2014, Ryeowook made a leave to Japan to perform in "The Goddess is Watching (여신님보고계셔)" in Setagaya Public Theatre in Tokyo. He performed from September 30 to October 2 with total five performances. He acted as Ryu Sun Ho, a teenage North Korean soldier which suffered from PTSD and was abandoned in an uninhabited island after an unexpected storm with three other North Korean soldiers and two South Korean soldiers.

On January 8, it was revealed that Ryeowook had been cast in the musical Agatha as the lead role of Raymond.In 2015 Ryeowook starred in the theatrical play "The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time" playing the lead role of Christopher.

2016–present: Solo Debut and Military Service

It was reported that Ryeowook would be making his solo debut in 2016.

Ryeowook debut solo album's title was The Little Prince. The release of The Little Prince was not only anticipated as Ryeowook's first official solo album since his debut 11 years ago but also because it was the first release under Super Junior's own label, Label SJ, established by SM Entertainment in 2015 during the group's 10th anniversary.The title track bearing the same name as the album was a ballad inspired by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novel "The Little Prince". The title track "The Little Prince" was a ballad song and a conversation between a man in pain from love and The Little Prince.

In addition to Ryeowook's solo promotions and album release, he hold his first solo concert through SMTOWN's The Agit series called "Ever Lasting Star - RyeoWook" from February 19th until the 21st for three days at the SMTOWN's Coex Artium in Samseong-dong, Seoul.

Ryeowook enlisted for his military service on 11 October 2016.

On 24 February 2012, Ryeowook graduated from Inha University with a major in theater and film studies.

Extended plays

• The Little Prince (2016)

Collaborations

Soundtrack appearances

Film

Variety shows

Musical Theatre

Radio

Music videos appearance

• The Agit: Ryeowook Everlasting Star (2016)

19-21 February 2016 and 11-13 March 2016