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Kim Ji-woo (Korean:김지우;pronounced[kimd͡ʑiu], born October 20, 1999), known professionally as Chuu (츄), is a South Korean singer and actress. She is a former member of the South Korean girl group Loona and its sub-unit, yyxy.
Early life
Kim Ji-woo was born on October 20, 1999, in Cheongju, South Korea. She is the eldest of three children and has two younger brothers. For her audition, she sang "Halo" by Beyoncé. Her stage name "Chuu" is derived from saying her given name quickly. She graduated from Cheongju's Saet-byul Elementary School[ko] and San-nam Middle School[ko].
Career
2017–2020: Debut with Loona and solo activities
On December 14, 2017, Chuu was revealed as the tenth member of the Korean idolgirl groupLoona. As part of the group's pre-debut release strategy, on December 28, she released her self-titled single album with "Heart Attack" as its title track. Chuu reached number 8 on the Gaon Album Chart. She was introduced as part of Loona's third sub-unit Loona yyxy. The sub-unit includes members Yves, Gowon, and HyeJu, and their EP, Beauty & the Beat, was released on May 30, 2018 and reached number 4 on the Gaon Album Chart. She officially debuted with the entire group on August 20 with the EP [+ +], which peaked at number 2 on the Gaon Album Chart.
On May 10, 2019, Chuu made her acting debut and starred in the web drama Dating Class as Han Eun-sol. In July to September, she co-hosted the second season of the variety show Insane Quiz Show with MJ of Astro and Il-hoon of BtoB. The show brings in two celebrity guests each episode and has them partake in various challenges with the hosts.
In January 2020, Chuu appeared at MBC's 2020 Lunar New Year Idol Star Championships. However, MBC was inundated with criticism because it was discovered that a male staff pulled her hair. In March 2020, Chuu competed in King of Mask Singer under the name "Spring Girl", a character who dressed in a spring outfit with flowers in her hair and a flat paper mask that covers her eyes and mouth. She was eliminated in the second of the two days of competition. In December 2020, she co-starred in Running Girls, a Mnet show where five K-pop idols form a running team and try out different running courses in South Korea.
2021–2022: Web series and Blockberry Creative departure
Chuu in June 2022
In 2021, Chuu started to host her own web series on YouTube called Chuu Can Do It where she spreads awareness about the need to protect the Earth through environmentally friendly practices. Chuu also hosted Hauteur, a web series that was made in collaboration with Lotte Department Store to help promote their store among generation Z. In March 2021, Chuu was a regular panelist in the Channel A show Steel Troops where she comments on teams from Korea's armed forces competing against each other. She appeared as a model for a television commercial of Dong-a Otsuka's Pocari Sweat. She also appeared in a television commercial of Samsung Galaxy Store in May 2021, South Korean chicken brand "Chicken Maru", mobile RTS game "Warpath", and BC Card. She participated in the reality documentary show Law of the Jungle for the episodes titled "Spring Special in Jeju". At the end of 2021, Chuu filed an application for a provisional injunction against her agency, Blockberry Creative, to suspend the exclusive contract. It was also reported that in April 2022, she had founded her own company, with herself as the CEO.[needs update?]
On June 27, 2022, Chuu released the single "Lullaby" with B.I as a collaboration with Dingo Music. On August 11, it was announced that Chuu would release "One and Half", a remake of the 1994 track by Two Two, on September 4. On October 16, Chuu released a remake of the 1999 Park Hye-kyung song "Confession" as the theme song of the 2022 film Similar. On November 25, Blockberry Creative announced on the official fancafe that Chuu had been expelled from Loona, citing "reports of abuse of power, such as Chuu's abusive language towards our staff." Chuu was then caught up in rumors of power abuse, transfer, and bullying within her company. Blockberry Creative refused to reveal evidence concerning the rumors of power abuse to the public, facing criticism and skepticism from fans, with some industry professionals who had previously worked with Chuu questioning the allegations made against her. On December 5, Chuu released "Dear My Winter" with South Korean R&B singer George as part of Lotte Shopping's "Songs for You" series.
2023–present: Solo debut with Howl
On February 23, 2023, Chuu released "Let's Love" with Kim Yo-han, which is part of Project Restless. In April 2023, Chuu signed an exclusive contract with a new entertainment company, ATRP. On September 18, ATRP announced that Chuu would be making her debut as a solo artist on October 18, with her first extended play Howl and the lead single of the same name.
Chuu during the "Strawberry Rush" fan-con in Tacoma in July 2024
On February 13, 2024, Chuu released a digital single "Chocolate", with an English-language version of the song being released the next day. On May 22, ATRP confirmed Chuu was filming a music video in Australia for her second album, to be released in June. On May 29, it was officially announced that Chuu would be releasing her second extended play Strawberry Rush on June 25. The music video for the lead single of the same name was released together with the album. On August 2, it was announced that Chuu would be returning to acting in the fantasy romance drama My Girlfriend Is the Man!, based on webtoon of the same name.
On March 28, 2025, ATRP announced that Chuu's third extended play Only Cry in the Rain would be released on April 21. On December 15, it was announced that Chuu would release her first studio album XO, My Cyberlove in January, with the lead single of the same name. A music video for the title track was released alongside the album on January 7. On May 7, singer Hanhae and comedian Moon Se-yoon released the song "Airplane" featuring Chuu, a cover of the song originally by the band Turtles.
On April 28, 2026, Lezhin Entertainment announced that Chuu would be starring in a webtoon based short-form drama Wild Eyes.
Philanthropy
On December 28, 2022, Chuu announced through her YouTube channel that all proceeds from the merchandise sold at the Jiwoo store were donated to the Korea Music Power Plant to improve the welfare of musicians.
In February 2021, in the wake of a wave of bullying allegations against various stars in the K-pop industry, Chuu was falsely accused of bullying when she was in school. The accuser apologized for the false claims and Blockberry Creative announced that they would be taking legal action against them.
Discography
Studio albums
List of studio albums, showing selected details, chart positions, and sales figures
Released: April 21, 2025 Label: ATRP, KT Genie Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming Track listing"Only Cry in the Rain" "Back in Town" "Kiss a Kitty" "Je T'aime" "No More"
15
KOR: 32,642
Singles
As lead artist
List of singles as lead artist, showing year released, chart positions, and name of the album
