Choi Si-won

Choi Si-won is a devout Protestant Christian who said in an interview that after his entertainment career, he would become a missionary. He posts Bible quotes on his Twitter and Weibo accounts. He has often collaborated with Christian singing group ‘Third Wave Music’.

He was enlisted for his mandatory military service as a conscripted policeman on November 19, 2015 and was discharged on August 18, 2017.

Since 2010, he has joined many UNICEF campaigns. On November 12, 2015, he was appointed as the special representative of the South Korea committee for UNICEF.

Choi Si-won was born on April 7, 1986, in Seoul, South Korea. He has a younger sister Ji-won. He father was the President of Korean Slim Fashion, before becoming CEO of Boryung Medicine in 2011.

Choi’s family also owns the Hyundai Department Store, one of the largest supermarket chains in Korea. His father owns a trading company in Japan as well. His mother too has her own company.

He graduated from Apgu Jeong High School in February 2006 and from Inha University in February 2012.

He can play the drum and piano. He is a Taekwondo expert, and was once the youngest in Korea to hold the fourth rank in the black belt.

When Choi Si-won was 16, an SM Entertainment talent agent discovered him while he was waiting for his friends in front of his high school. The agent suggested that he audition for the company's ‘Starlight Casting System’. He auditioned without taking his parents’ approval.

After he was selected in the audition, his parents allowed him to sign a contract with SM Entertainment on the condition that he will continue his studies. They also did not give him any financial support, as they wanted him to take responsibility for his actions.

He moved into the agency’s dormitories with fellow trainees, and was trained in singing, acting, and dancing. In 2003, during his training period, he was featured as a solo singer in a music video of The Grace's ‘Dana’. In 2004, he made a brief appearance in a drama, ‘Precious Family’ and in 2005, in KBS drama ‘Eighteen, Twenty-Nine’, where he played young Kang Bong-man.

He officially debuted as one of the 12 members in a boy band called ‘Super Junior’ and also joined its subgroup Super Junior-M’. A few months before debuting with the band, he made his first official media appearance with bandmate Han Geng, as one of the models in a fashion show by Bum Suk.

On November 6, 2005, he performed with the band on SBS's music program ‘Popular Songs’, and performed their first single, ‘Twins (Knock Out)’. They released their debut album ‘SuperJunior05 (Twins)’ on December 5, 2005.

The album ‘SuperJunior05 (Twins)’ debuted at number 3 on the monthly MIAK K-pop album charts in December 2005. The album sold over 28,000 copies within a month of its release and has since surpassed sales of over 100,000 copies.

In 2015, he released a single for the drama, ‘Only You’, which got positioned atop the music charts.