Joy is a South Korean singer, 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.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Joy was born as Park Soo-young [1]Korea JoongAng Daily on Tuesday, 3 September 1996 (age 27 years; as of 2023) in Jeju Island, South Korea. Her zodiac sign is Virgo. When she was a child, Joy was drawn to modern trot music. Her interest in becoming a singer was sparked when she was praised for her performance of the Korean rock band Cherry Filter’s song ‘Flying Duck’ at a grade school festival. In February 2015, she completed her high school at the School of Performing Arts Seoul.
A childhood image of Joy
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 6″
Weight (approx.): 55 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Body Measurements (approx.): 30-26-30
Family
Parents & Siblings
She has two younger sisters named Ji Yeong and Min Ji.
Husband
She is unmarried.
Relationships/Affairs
On 23 August 2021, it was confirmed that Joy was in a relationship with the South Korean R&B and hip-hop singer-songwriter Crush. [2]Naver
Joy and Crush
Signature/Autograph
Career
K-pop Trainee
In 2012, she joined SM Entertainment as a trainee after she was selected in the SM Global Audition in Seoul.
Singer
Red Velvet
On 29 July 2014, she officially became the fourth member of the K-pop girl group Red Velvet, consisting of three other members Seulgi, Wendy, and Irene. On 1 August 2014, they debuted with the single song ‘Happiness.’
Poster of the 2014 South Korean 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.’
Solo
On 31 May 2021, she made her solo debut with the release of the EP ‘Hello.’
Poster of the 2021 album ‘Hello’ by Joy of Red Velvet
Acting
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 Ari in the American animated musical comedy film ‘Trolls World Tour.’
Television
TV Shows
In 2015, she, along with groupmates Seulgi and Wendy, appeared as a contestant on KBS’s popular South Korean television music program ‘Immortal Songs.’ She has appeared in many South Korean reality and variety TV shows such as ‘We Got Married’ (2015-2016), ‘King of Mask Singer’ (2017), ‘Pajama Friends’ (2018), and ‘Handsome Tigers’ (2020).
TV Series
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.’
In 2017, she played the lead role of Yoon So-rim in tvN’s South Korean series ‘The Liar and His Lover.’
Web Series
She appeared in a cameo role as herself in Naver TV’s South Korean web series ‘The Boy Next Door’ released in 2017.
Joy in a still from the 2017 web series ‘The Boy Next Door’
She was cast to play the lead role of Ahn Ja-yeong in Kakao TV’s original South Korean web series ‘Once Upon a Small Town’ in 2022.
Host
In 2018, Joy was selected for her initial regular hosting role as the co-host of the second season of JTBC’s ‘Sugar Man,’ alongside well-known TV personalities Yoo Jae-suk, You Hee-yeol, and Park Na-rae.
Controversies
Absent from the Red Velvet performance in North Korea
In 2018, Red Velvet was chosen to visit Pyongyang along with other South Korean artists for a historic performance scheduled from 31 March to 3 April. Controversy arose when, a day before the performance, media reports revealed that Joy would not be part of Red Velvet for this event. Allegedly, a media outlet had disclosed that the South Korean government was unaware of Joy’s absence, and SM Entertainment had informed the press before officially notifying the government the day before departure. The situation escalated with reports of Joy attending the Red Velvet Concert in Japan (March 28-29) and the SM Town Concert in Dubai (April 6) after adjusting her drama schedule. Despite efforts, Joy couldn’t attend even the SM Town Concert in Dubai due to her drama commitments. It was also reported that SM Entertainment had informed the government during discussions that Joy might not be able to attend the Pyongyang event and had received approval to send Red Velvet as a 4-member group. [3]Koreaboo
Allegedly misbehaved with airline employees
In March 2022, some airline employees accused Red Velvet’s Irene, Joy, and Yeri of alleged rude behaviour at the airport and on the plane. A flight attendant of Korean Air shared a post on the internet, which read,
I was on the same flight with Red Velvet once and Irene, Joy, and Yeri were very impolite. They treated flight attendants as if we were their servants. The other 2 members were kind. But I don’t understand why idols, in general, think they’re something special.” [4]KBIZoom
Awards, Honours, Achievements
Awards
Red Velvet
- 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
Solo
- 2015: Best Couple Award (with Yook Sung-jae) for the South Korean reality TV show ‘We Got Married’ at the MBC Entertainment Awards
Joy and Yook Sung-jae after receiving the Best Couple Award at the MBC Entertainment Awards 2015
- 2015: New Star Award for the TV show ‘We Got Married’ at the MBC Entertainment Awards
- 2017: Newcomer Award for the South Korean TV series ‘The Liar and His Lover’ at the OSEN Cable TV Awards
- 2020: Best Female Variety Idol (Daesang) Award for ‘Get It Beauty’ and ‘Handsome Tigers’ at the Brand Customer Loyalty 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
Car Collection
She owns a Mercedes-Benz car.
Joy while driving her car
Net Worth
In 2023, her net worth was estimated to be $5 million. [5]Lifestyle Asia [6]KBIZoom
Favourites
- Singer: Ariana Grande
- Film(s): The Way Home (2002), Transformers (2007)
- Food: Sushi, chicken, pizza (without the crust), and grilled eel
- Ice cream Flavour: Mint choco
- Flower: White Heath Aster
- Colour: Red
- Number: 31
Facts/Trivia
- Her stage name ‘Joy’ was given to her by a vocal coach during her two years of training at SM Entertainment. [7]Chosun Biz
- Since her debut as a member of Red Velvet, she wanted to be called ‘Malgeumi.’ [8]YouTube – W Korea
- In Red Velvet, Joy represents the colour Green according to the group’s concept and imagery.
- She likes to collect hair accessories.
- In February 2020, Joy contributed 10 million won to the Community Chest of Korea, aiming to aid those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. [9]Newsen
- She is an animal lover and has a pet dog named Haetnim. She has also volunteered at many animal shelters.
Joy with her pet dog
- In 2019, Joy secured a place in Gallup Korea’s annual data list of the Top 20 Most Popular Idols. [10]Gallup
- In a 2019 survey conducted among soldiers fulfilling mandatory military service in South Korea, Joy was ranked among the Top 5 most popular female K-pop idols. [11]La Republica
- She has earned first rank multiple times in the ‘Individual Girl Group Members Brand Power Ranking’ published by the Korean Corporate Reputation Research Institute. [12]Naver News
- In April 2020, Joy joined other prominent Korean artists in the collaborative project ‘Evergreen Tree’ to show support for medical professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. [14]Naver News
- In 2020, Joy achieved the distinction of being the first female artist from SM Entertainment without a solo debut to receive a Bonsang (Main Prize) nomination. [15]Melon
- She is the face of Hogan, which is the Italian luxury brand of Tod’s.
Joy at a Tod’s event
- In 2021, Joy made history as the first female soloist from SM Entertainment to be nominated for the Album of the Year Daesang (Grand Prize) at the Melon Music Awards. [16]Melon
- She once revealed that if she had not become an entertainer, she would be a kindergarten teacher.
- On 21 October 2022, Joy and Wonstein released the single ‘Love Song’ as part of the ‘World Peace Project,’ and the proceeds from the release were donated to UNICEF Korea. [17]Naver [18]Dispatch
- In November 2023, she was featured on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar.
Joy on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar
- She follows a non-vegetarian diet.
Joy having a non-vegetarian burger
- She consumes alcohol occasionally.
Joy holding a glass of red wine
References
