Soo-Young Choi, K-Pop Star Turned Actress

Soo-Young rose to stardom in Seoul as a member of the K-Pop group Girls’ Generation, but has recently proved her talents as an actress as well, landing roles in major Korean television dramas and citing Jennifer Lawrence and Friends as her inspirations. She always wanted to be an actress, but was discovered for her voice at a young age and focused on that instead. In 2012, however, she was cast in The 3rd Hospital — the Grey’s Anatomy of Korea — after five years in the girl group. Choi is still trying to juggle both careers, but finds there’s still a taboo in her country regarding K-Pop stars venturing into other creative domains. Somehow, she also makes time to fit in fashion as well, and sat front row at Coach last season in New York and has done collaborations with Seoul-based designers. And as for her future in acting, “Working in the U.S. has always been a dream of mine,” she said.