Kim Heechul

Kim Heechul is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor and presenter.
In 2020, it was announced that Kim was one of the MC's of the Mnet program, Produce 5201314. This program will be the fifth season of *Produce 101*.
He is a member of South Korean boy group Super Junior and has further participated in its subgroup, Super Junior-T as well as project group Universe Cowards with Min Kyung-hoon. He is also a former member of Kim Heechul & Kim Jungmo.

Prior to his debut in Super Junior, Heechul began his acting career in 2005, starring in the second season of teen drama *Sharp 2*. Subsequently, this led him to host his first music show *Show! Music Tank [ko]*, appear on advertisements, and host radio shows. However, in 2006, just a year after his Super Junior debut, Heechul was involved in a car accident which fractured his left leg. The accident left him unable to perform Super Junior's strenuous dances and instead focus on contributing as a singer-only to the group. In 2009, Heechul ventured into the soundtrack singing career by releasing his first single "First Star", as part of the soundtrack for his drama *Loving You a Thousand Times*. He also participated in writing the lyrics for not only his band but also for his project groups and other artists. In 2019, Heechul debuted as solo singer by releasing his digital single, "Old Movie".

In 2010, Heechul became a regular cast member in *Radio Star*, where his popularity skyrocketed and he won Best Newcomer Award at the 11th MBC Entertainment Awards. Following that, he made a breakthrough in his television host career after appearing on *Knowing Bros* and *Weekly Idol*. In 2019, He recognized for his role in the reality shows and received the "Excellence Award" at the 13th SBS Entertainment Awards, his first major award as an entertainer.

## Personal Life

He was born in Hoengseong, Gangwon, South Korea.

He has one older sister. He used to have a Russian blue cat named Yamchae given by fans, but it ran away while he was away. On August 10th of 2006, Heechul was involved in a car accident on his way back to Seoul after attending Lee Dong Hae’s fathers funeral. He had metal rods in his leg for his recovery. Even now he still suffers from pain and can’t dance a lot. He carried out mandatory military service between 1 September 2011-30 August 2013. In January 2020, it was announced that he is dating **Momo** of **Twice**. In 2004, Heechul graduated from Sangji Youngsoe College [ko] with a bachelor's degree in English tourism translation. In addition, in 2009, he graduated from Sangji University with a bachelor's degree in informatics through Bachelor's Degree Examination for Self-Education.

## Career

In 2002, after seeing Psy, who was singing "Champion" on a television program, he searched the internet for entertainment companies and found out that SM Entertainment was having open auditions. He moved to Seoul when he was twenty years old, with his friends in order to take part in the auditions. Being unfamiliar with the area, he got lost and missed the open Starlight Casting System audition. However, they still allow him to perform because of his looks. He sang the Korean national anthem and passed the audition. He was cast and signed a contract with SM Entertainment and became an official trainee, being trained in areas of singing, acting, dancing, and other performing talents such as hosting and modeling.

He was initially placed in a four-member group called Four Seasons along with Jaejoong, Yunho and Kangin. The project group was dropped when Yunho and Jaejoong joined TVXQ in early 2003. He was preparing to debut as the main vocalist of Trax, but during his trainee days he had frequent clashes and misunderstandings with the person in charge at SM at the time. He became frustrated and abandoned his Trax debut and returned to his hometown in Gangwon Province. Later with Trax's Jungmo and Jay, TVXQ's Yunho and Donghae encouragement and positivity, he returned to SM. He joined other trainees under SM Entertainment to form the group Super Junior 05, the first generation of Super Junior.

His first acting role was in the second season of teen drama *Sharp 2*, co-starring labelmates Go Ara and Kibum, which was loved by young people in 2005, he played Baek Jin-woo. At that time, he gained popularity among female student fans with his unique appearance that made him seem like he popped out of genuine manga. That same year, he appeared as an extra in the KBS2 TV series *Loveholic* and was a regular MC for the cable music show *Show! Music Tank [ko]*. He also appeared on his first advertisements for Lotte's Pepero.
On November 2, 2005, Super Junior 05 made their official debut as a twelve-member group on SBS' *Popular Songs*, performing their first single "Twins". Their debut album *Twins* was released on December 5 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 the 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. Heechul faced criticism from Super Junior's fans when his voice cracked while performing "U", which negatively affected him and made him wanted to quit singing.

Apart from Super Junior's activities, Heechul has acted in several television series. In 2005, he landed his first leading role in the TV series *Rainbow Romance*, then followed by played a supporting role in *Bad Family* in 2006 and *Golden Bride* at the end of 2007. *Golden Bride* managed to achieve high ratings and Heechul received wider public recognition. In 2007, he made his film debut in *Attack on the Pin-Up Boys*, which was released on July 26. The film failed to attract viewers and was proven to be a big loss for SM Pictures. However, both versions of the film's DVD became a best-selling record and were sold-out in both Korea and oversea markets. In the same year, he stepped into the field of voice-over, contributing his voice for the Korean-dubbed version of the American live action/animated film called *Alvin and the Chipmunks* as the main character, Simon, the eldest and the tallest of the Chipmunks, along with fellow labelmate, Kangin and Shindong.

Heechul also appeared as a radio DJ on SBS Power FM's *Young Street Radio [ko]* with Park Hee-von from November 2005 until mid-2006. Moreover, he co-hosted SBS's weekly live music show Inkigayo as a substitute for Andy of Shinhwa, later going on to become a permanent host starting April 23, 2006. On May 4, 2008, Heechul left his position after hosting the show with Song Ji-hyo.

On February 23, 2007, he debuted as part of Super Junior sub-group, Super Junior-T, performing trot single "Rokuko". The single was Korea's sixteenth best-selling record and the number one best-selling single of 2007. The debut also marked as his comeback performance after recovering from his injury, in which he had gotten in a car accident that occurred in August 2006. In November 2008, the subgroup returned with a debut in the Japanese music industry, releasing the Japanese version of "Rokuko", now titled "ROCK&GO". On August 29, 2007, he won an award under the category "Best Pretty Boy" in the first Mnet 20's Choice Awards.

In May 2008, he played the role of Sonny in *Xanadu*, the first production of SM Art Company, in rotation with his bandmate Kangin. The production ran between September 9 to December 28, 2008 at the Doosan Art Center, Yonkang Foundation, Seoul. Casting was carried out via a reality television programme, *To be Kangin and Heechul*. In the same year, he co-hosted a program called *8 vs 1* but it was canceled due to low ratings. He later became a cast member on the shows *Good Daddy* and *Band of Brothers*.

In 2009, he starred in the surrogacy melodrama *Loving You a Thousand Times*, and it became the first Korean drama exported to Bulgaria. On November 6, 2009, he released his first solo single, "First Star", as part of the soundtrack for his drama *Loving You a Thousand Times*.

In 2010, he returned as a radio DJ for the first time in four years on SBS Power FM's *Kim Heechul's Youngstreet* from March 29, 2010 until mid-2011. On the May same year, he was added as the eighth member of the family on the series *Family Outing 2* along with Jang Dong-min during a recording, but the show was cancelled two months later due to low ratings. And in December Heechul was selected as host for *Radio Star*, the main segment in talk show *Golden Fishery*, to replace Shin Jung-hwan after he left the program following a gambling scandal. Other candidates that were short-listed include Kim Tae-won, Moon Hee-joon and Tony An. His effort gained positive recognition from the viewers and his popularity skyrocketed. It became a factor on his winning the Best Newcomer Award at the 11th MBC Entertainment Awards.
n February 2011, he acted in a supporting role in a Chinese drama *Melody of Youth*, which became his debut in that industry. In the same year, he formed a project group with label mate Jungmo of TRAX, called M&D ("Midnight and Dawn" or "Miari and Dangae-dong", after the members' hometowns). They released their debut single, "Close Ur Mouth" in June 2011. Heechul wrote the lyrics and directed the music video for the song, while Jungmo composed the song and produced it. Their first live performance was at Mnet’s summer awards ceremony 20's Choice on July 7.

Kim Hee-chul carried out his mandatory military service from September 1, 2011 to August 30, 2013. He served as a public service worker for 23 months after undergoing four weeks of basic training at the Nonsan military camp in Chungcheongnam-do. At the time on his enlistment, he was a host in a variety show, *Secret*, as well as the host of a talk show, *Radio Star*. His role in *Radio Star* was taken over by bandmate, Kyuhyun. Shortly after he had enlisted, Kim Jang-hoon released a song titled "Breakups are So Like Me", which is a duet with Heechul. During live performances of the song on *Music Bank* and *Show! Music Core*, Heechul's part was performed by bandmates Yesung, Eunhyuk and Shindong.

In January 2012, Heechul was selected to be an internet broadcast radio DJ on *Space for a Rest-Visible Radio*, which was aired through Seongdong District's homepage every Friday, where he was serving his two-year mandatory military service. He was responsible for filming and editing video footage to advertise the Seongdong District Office, but because of his experience and previous exposure in the media industry, they thought it will be a better fit for him to be a DJ. Therefore, he appeared as a radio DJ from January 20 to May 18, 2012 and from January 14 to July 26, 2013.
n 2013, Heechul chose to appear in *Ssulzun* for his comeback appearance after finishing his military service. *Ssulzun* is a debate program aired on JTBC, which discussed current issues that affect South Korea. He became a regular cast member from September 2013 until July 2014, making his stay in the program two months shy of a full year. In his last recording for the show, he mentioned that he felt pressured to talk about people close to him. On December 11, 2013, Super Junior released their fifth official Japanese single, "Blue World", This was the first song of the group involving Heechul after he came back from the military service.

In January 2014, he appeared on the second season of MBC's reality television program *We Got Married: Global Edition*, as an on-screen couple with a Taiwanese girl group member Puff Kuo. In that year, he returned to the small screen with fantasy comedy drama *Flower Grandpa Investigation Unit*, starring Lee Soon-jae, Byun Hee-bong and Jang Gwang.

In 2015, he became MC on entertainment programs such as *Wednesday Food Talk*, *A Style For You*, *MAPS*, *Knowing Bros* and Korean-Chinese program *With You All The Way*, the latter is the first Chinese variety that he was in charge of since his debut in Korean entertainment in 2005. He also won his first Chinese award at 12th COSMO Beauty Awards. In the same year, M&D released their first EP, *Cottage Industry* with the lead track "I Wish". It was released digitally on April 16 and physically on April 20. The title track was written and composed by the duo, and it peaked at number two on the Gaon album Chart.
With Super Junior on a temporary hiatus for much of 2016 due to the enlistment of four other members, he returned to hosting. In March 2016, Heechul was confirmed to become a temporary host for *Weekly Idol* until October 5, as replacement for Jeong Hyeong-don, who underwent 11-month break from television activities. On April 15, he released a duet with Wheein for SM Station. The single "Narcissus" was written by him and produced by Jungmo, and it was his first collaboration with a female artist. In early July, M&D returned as Kim Heechul & Kim Jungmo, with a second EP, *Goody Bag*, and trot-rock lead track "Ulsanbawi" on July 12. In June, he appeared on the third season of the Chinese dating variety show, *Perhaps Love [zh]* with Chinese actress and singer Li Feier [zh]. This was his second time being in a virtual relationship.

In fall 2016, Heechul and Buzz member Min Kyung-hoon released a duet titled "Sweet Dream". The two stars are known as "Universe Cowards" when they were promoting their music. They came up with the name during recording *Knowing Bros*. Their stage name is a mix of Heechul's nickname "Universe Star" and Buzz's song "Coward". The song proved to be successful, topping the South Korean Gaon Digital Chart, an achievement known as "all-kill", making him the first Super Junior member to achieve "all-kill" in 2016. In 2017, "Sweet Dream" won the Best Rock Song award at the 9th Melon Music Awards. In December 23, he released a single entitled "Melody", a collaboration with the South Korean legendary rock band Eve as a pre-release single on Christmas Eve, a nod to the band's debut on Christmas Eve in 1997.
His career as an MC made a breakthrough after appearing on *Knowing Bros* and *Weekly Idol*. The success of *Knowing Bros* in Korea brought him a new range of fans and is a large part of why the show is so popular. He was named as one of the Top 3 Idol MC's of 2016. After appearing on the show, he earned more recognition and received MC roles from other shows — such as *Phantom Singer*, *Singderella*, *Secretly Greatly*, *Game Show Yoo Hee Nak Rak* and *Lipstick Prince*, earning him the title "Professional MC". In 2017, he became the host of popular programs such as *Life Bar* and *My Daughter's Men*, and some less-popular programs such as *Pot Stand*, *Idol School* and *Perfect on Paper*.

In January 2018, Label SJ announced that Super Junior members will launch their own variety show titled *Super TV*. In the same year, he joined the cast of *1 Percent of Friendship* and TV Chosun's travel-reality show *Where Are You Going, DdaengChul?*. This marked his first fixed travel show since *MAPS* in 2015. He was also cast in his second game show, *Begin A Game* in October 2018.

In February 2018, following the success of "Sweet Dream", Universe Cowards returned with "Falling Blossoms". The song is part of *Knowing Bros* music video competition. Min Kyung-hoon wrote the lyrics to "Falling Blossoms" with his Buzz bandmates Yoo Woo-hyun and Shin Joon-ki. The song peaked at number 15 on Gaon Digital Chart. In November, Heechul & Min Kyung-hoon were again nominated for Best Rock Song at the 10th Melon Music Awards, which they later won on December 1, making them the only artist to win the award two years in a row.

Heechul's debut solo digital single, called "Old Movie", was released on April 24, 2019. It subsequently topped the charts in seven different countries. On May 4 and 5, Heechul held his first talk show event, which sold-out in one minute from the start of the internet ticket booking. In 2019, Heechul appeared in more than ten programs over the course of the year, and became a fixed cast member of the reality program *My Little Old Boy*, *Why Did You Come To My House?*, *A Man Who Feeds The Dog [ko]* and *Delicious Rendezvous*. He recognized for his role in the reality shows, and received the "Excellence Award" at the 13th SBS Entertainment Awards, his first major award as an entertainer. He also starred in the 2019 film *Hello, My Cat*. on December 3, 2019, he has been awarded as "Person of the Year" award at 2019 COSMO Glam Night, one of the most prestigious awards in China. Heechul and *Knowing Bros* co-star Lee Soo-geun collaborated as the project group Woojoo Jjokkomi, and released a cover of Mr. 2's "White Winter" for SM Station's X 4 LOVEs for Winter project.

In 2020, Kim was announced as one of the MC's of Produce 5201314.

## Discography

### Singles

#### As lead artist[edit]

Gaon

#### As featured artist[edit]

 "Barbie Girl"
(Jessica featuring Heechul)
(Defconn featuring Heechul)
(featuring Various Artists)
 "Melody"
(Eve featuring Heechul)

#### Soundtrack appearances[edit]

(Kim Hyung-joong [ko] featuring Cast of *Rainbow Romance*)
(Go Hyun Wook featuring Cast of *Bad Family*)
(with. Kim Seong-gi, Hong Ji Min, Kim Hee-won)

## List of songs written by Kim Heechul

### Compilation albums[edit]

List of compilation albums, with selected details, chart positions, sales, and certifications
* Label: SM Entertainment
* Re-released (*Magic*): September 16, 2015
* Formats: CD, digital download
* JPN: 33,401 (as of 2015)

#### Extended plays[edit]

List of extended plays, with selected chart positions and sales
* Label: SM Entertainment
* Formats: CD, digital download
 *I Think U* | * Released: January 29, 2020
* Label: Avex Trax
* Formats: CD, DVD, digital download, Blu-ray

### Featured singles[edit]

(with TVXQ)
 2009
(with Girls' Generation)

### Soundtrack[edit]

 July 26, 2007
 November 22, 2007
 2010
 October 8, 2010

### Compilation albums[edit]

#### Miscellaneous[edit]

 *heart 2 heart with Super Junior* | March 13, 2008

### Super Junior-T

Album singles

(Korea)
 *Rokuko* (로꾸거!)
* Language: Korean
* Format: CD, DVD
 *ROCK&GO*(with Moeyan)
* Language: Japanese
* Format: CD, DVD
 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Digital singles

### Extended plays[edit]

* Label: SM Entertainment
* Formats: CD, digital download
 *Goody Bag* | * Released: July 12, 2016
* Label: Label SJ, SM Entertainment
* Formats: CD, digital download

### Singles[edit]

 "Close Ur Mouth"
(with. Bae Ki-sung)
 "I Wish"
(with. Zhou Mi)

### Universe Cowards

with Min Kyung-hoon
with Min Kyung-hoon

## Videography

### Collaboration[edit]

 "KoreArirang"
 "Holding Hand"
 "S.E.O.U.L."

### Live albums[edit]

The following releases are in Korean, unless otherwise specified.

### Universe Cowards

with Min Kyung-hoon
with Min Kyung-hoon

## Other Media

#### Radio Broadcasts

 March 29, 2010 – June 26, 2011
 January 20 – May 18, 2012 January 14 – July 26, 2013