Irene (Bae Joo-hyun) Wiki, Height, Age, Boyfriend, Family, Biography & More

Irene is a South Korean singer, television host, and actress. She is famous for being a member of the popular South Korean girl group ‘Red Velvet’ under the record label SM Entertainment.

Wiki/Biography

Irene was born as Bae Joo-hyun on Friday, 29 March 1991 (age 32 years; as of 2023) in Daegu, South Korea. Her zodiac sign is Aries. She spent her childhood in the Buk-gu district in Daegu. She went to attended Haknam High School in Daegu.

Physical Appearance

^[1]Koreaboo Height: 5′ 2″

Weight (approx.): 45 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Figure Measurements (approx.): 28-26-30

Family

Parents & Siblings

She has a younger sister. Her family has a restaurant in Daegu, South Korea.

Husband

She is unmarried.

Signature/Autograph

Career

K-pop Trainee

In 2009, she joined SM Entertainment as a trainee and did training for five years. In 2014, when she was a member of the pre-debut team of trainees ‘SM Rookies’ under SM Entertainment, she was featured in The Celebrity magazine with her bandmate Seulgi and members of the labelmate group NCT’s members Johnny and Taeyong.

 

Singer

Red Velvet

On 27 July 2014, she was chosen as the leader of the girl group ‘Red Velvet’ consisting of three other members Seulgi, Wendy, and Joy. On 1 August 2014, they debuted with the single song ‘Happiness.’

The original music video of the song ‘Happiness’ received over two million views on YouTube within the first 24 hours of its release; however, it was later removed due to controversy surrounding certain background images; an edited version of the music video was uploaded later. In August 2014, ‘Happiness’ became the second-most viewed K-pop music video worldwide. Red Velvet achieved the distinction of being the first K-pop girl group to have a debut single ranked on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, reaching number four. On 13 September 2014, the group released their second single digital single ‘Be Natural.’

Red Velvet – Irene & Seulgi (sub-unit)

On 6 July 2020, Irene debuted with Seulgi as the first sub-unit of Red Velvet and released the EP ‘Monster.’

In the same year, they appeared in a spin-off version of KBS and tvN’s reality TV show ‘Level Up Thrilling Project!’

Host

Between May 2015 and June 2016, Irene co-hosted the music show Music Bank alongside actor Park Bo-gum. Their chemistry and talent in singing and hosting earned them considerable attention, with the press calling them one of the best partnerships in the show’s history. In 2017, she hosted the KBS Song Festival with Jin of the boy band BTS, Sana of the girl group Twice, and Chanyeol of the boy band Exo.

Actor

Music Video

When she was a trainee, Irene made an appearance in the music video of the 2013 South Korean song ‘1-4-3’ by Henry Lau.

 

In the same year, she appeared in the music video of the South Korean song ‘Why So Serious?’ by her labelmate boy band ‘Shinee.’

Film

In 2015, she appeared as herself in SM Entertainment’s documentary film ‘SMTown: The Stage.’ In 2020, she lent her voice to the character of Baby Bun in the American animated musical comedy film ‘Trolls World Tour.’ She played the lead role of Lee Hyun-ji in the 2021 South Korean film ‘Double Patty.’

Television

In 2016, she appeared in a cameo role with her group Red Velvet in episode 16 of KBS2’s popular South Korean TV series ‘Descendants of the Sun.’

 

Web Series

In 2016, she made her web series debut as Ah-reum with Naver TV’s ‘Women at a Game Company.’

Controversy

Accused of Mistreatment and Rude Behaviour

In October 2020, Irene faced severe criticism for mistreating and verbally attacking a fashion editor named Kang Kook-hwa (according to Kang’s now-deleted Instagram post). ^[2]Sports Kyunghyang In response, Irene posted an official statement on social media, apologizing for her inappropriate words and actions. ^[3]Billboard SM Entertainment, her agency, also released a statement expressing regret for the concern this incident had caused. ^[4]My Daily This controversy sparked significant public reaction and led to broader discussions about the prevalent “gapjil” culture in South Korean society. “Gapjil” refers to abusive behaviour and bullying by individuals in positions of power or seniority. Many experts and spokespersons from various political movements in South Korea believed that the public outrage towards Irene was linked to the country’s efforts to address and reduce “gapjil” issues. ^[5]South China Morning Post However, several stylists, dancers, and makeup artists who had previously worked with Irene shared on social media that they had never encountered the reported rude behaviour of Irene. ^[6]Huffington Post Later, Kang Kook-hwa also addressed the rumours circulating online and urged people to stop speculating. She also clarified that there was no financial settlement involved, and when they met again, there was only a sincere exchange of apologies. ^[7]Naver

Awards, Honours, Achievements

Awards

• 2015: Rookie Award at the Golden Disc Awards
  

  Red Velvet after winning the Rookie Award at the Golden Disc Awards 2015

• 2015: Best Rookie Award at the Korean Entertainment Arts Awards

• 2015: Best Female Dance Award for the song ‘Ice Cream Cake’ at the Melon Music Awards

• 2016: Digital Bonsang for the song ‘Ice Cream Cake’ at the Golden Disc Awards

• 2016: Netizen’s Choice Award at the Korean Entertainment Arts Awards

• 2016: Main Award at the Seoul Music Awards

• 2017: Summer Queens of the Year by Dong-A.com’s Pick newspaper

• 2017: Ceci Asia Female Icon Award Golden Disc Awards

• 2017: Best Female Group at the Korean Entertainment Arts Awards

• 2017: Seoul Mayor’s Award at the Seoul Conference on Social Welfare

• 2018: Digital Bonsang at the Golden Disc Awards

• 2018: Performer of the Year – Singer (Daesang) at the Korea PD Awards

• 2018: Group Dance Award for the song ‘Power Up’ at the Korea Popular Music Awards

• 2018: Best Pop Song Award for the song ‘Red Flavor’ at the Korean Music Awards

• 2019: Grand Prize (Daesang) – Song of the Year Award for the song ‘Umpah Umpah’ at the Asia Artist Awards
  

  Red Velvet after receiving the Song of the Year Award at the Asia Artist Awards 2019

• 2019: Best Female Group Award at the Korean Entertainment Arts Awards

• 2019: Choice Electronic/Dance Song for the song ‘Close to Me (Red Velvet Remix)’ at the Teen Choice Awards

• 2019: Artist of This Year and World Wide Icon at the The Fact Music Awards

• 2020: Best Music Video (Overseas) for the song ‘Psycho’ and Outstanding Group of the Year (Overseas) Award at the Asian Pop Music Awards

• 2020: Most Influential Female Idol Award at the Brand Customer Loyalty Awards

• 2020: 20th Anniversary Awards – Most Loved Music for the song ‘Red Flavor’ at the Bugs Music Awards

• 2020: Main Award at the Seoul Music Awards

• 2020: This Year’s Artist at The Fact Music Awards

• 2021: Best Group (Overseas) Award and Top 20 Albums of the Year (Overseas) Award for the album ‘Queendom’ at the Asian Pop Music Awards

• 2021: Digital Bonsang for the song ‘Psycho’ at the Golden Disc Awards

• 2021: Artist of the Year (Digital Music) – August for the song ‘Queendom’ at the Circle Chart Music Awards

• 2022:  Best Female Performance Award at the Genie Music Awards
  

  Red Velvet after winning the Best Female Performance Award at the Genie Music Awards 2022

• 2023: Generation Icon Award at the Hanteo Music Awards

Honours

• 2018: Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation by South Korea
  

  Red Velvet after receiving the Culture Minister’s Award in 2018

Achievements

• 2018: Ranked 11th on Korea Power Celebrity list by Forbes

• 2019: Ranked 5th on Korea Power Celebrity list by Forbes

• 2020: Listed among 100 Digital Stars (Asia) by Forbes

Favourites

• Singer: BoA

• Film: ‘The Notebook’ (2004)

• Clothing: Jeans

• Food: Spicy rice cakes with pork belly

• Colour: Purple

• Number: 43

Facts/Trivia

• Irene is considered one of the most beautiful female K-pop idols.

• She has many nicknames such as Baechu (meaning cabbage in Korean), Baetokki (Bae, her last name, and ‘tokki’ means bunny in Korean), Baephrodite (a combination of Bae and Aphrodite), Baeby, Hyun-ah, and Irin. ^[8]Koreaboo

• Her stage name Irene means ‘Goddess of peace’ in Greek mythology.

• According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), her personality type is ISFJ (Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Judging). ^[9]Koreaboo

• Irene shares a close friendship with BLACKPINK’s Jennie.

• Irene has earned the title of ‘CF Queen’ because of her significant marketing influence and numerous endorsement deals. These deals span various products, including cosmetics, luxury fashion items, and everyday goods. ^[10]Star Today

• She is a skilled cook and is known for making delicious seaweed soup, especially on birthdays.
  

  Irene making macaroons

• In Red Velvet, Irene represents the colour pink according to the group’s concept and imagery.

• In her spare time, she likes to do laundry and iron clothes.

• In 2017, she was chosen as the official endorser of the Auto Advantage program of Hyundai Motors.

• She has a talent for imitating the sound of Doraemon, a popular fictional character.

• In her earlier years, Irene gained fame as an ‘Ulzzang’ (a term for individuals known for their good looks and fashion sense) in Daegu. ^[11]KBIZoom

• She is allergic to chicken and gets sick whenever she eats it. She also does not like to drink coffee. ^[12]Koreaboo

• She likes to collect everything which is purple in colour.

• Her widespread popularity has led to numerous brand endorsements, and she has consistently ranked within the top three in the ‘Individual Girl Group Members Brand Power Ranking’ published by the Korean Corporate Reputation Research Institute, with several top-three placements in 2018. ^[13]Sports Q

• In 2018, She, along with her Red Velvet group members, performed in front of Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of North Korea, at a concert by South Korean musicians held at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre in Pyongyang, North Korea.

• In a 2019 survey conducted among soldiers serving their mandatory military service in South Korea, Irene was recognized as the third most popular female K-pop idol. ^[14]La Republica

• In February 2019, she became the first Asian to be announced as the first muse of Damiani, an Italian luxury jewellery brand. In the same year, she was chosen as the face of the Italian high-end fashion brand Miu Miu.

• Her dream is to go on a solo trip.

• In Gallup Korea’s Idol Preference poll (which was discontinued in 2020), Irene was consistently ranked as one of the most beloved idol celebrities in South Korea in 2020. ^[15]Gallup ^[16]Gallup ^[17]Gallup

• In 2020, she became the brand ambassador of luxury fashion house Prada.
  

  Irene modelling for Prada

• In 2020, she made a donation of 100 million won to the Community Chest of Korea to support people who were facing problems during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. ^[18]Naver

• She follows a non-vegetarian diet. ^[19]Koreaboo
  

  Irene having her non-vegetarian meal

• She consumes alcohol occasionally. In an interview, her groupmate, Yeri, revealed that whenever Irene got drunk she sent her selfies to her group members. ^[20]Koreaboo