Cherprang Areekul

Cherprang Areekul (, ; born 2 May 1996) is a former member of the Thai idol girl group BNK48, an international sister group of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. She is one of the first-generation members of the group, and is also the group's first captain. She had developed her role from captain to general manager (Shihainin) during her late time as an idol and continued such role even after her graduation. In June 2025, she decided to pass on her managing role, after which she moved on to full-time acting. In August 2025, she temporarily moved to Tokyo, Japan, to pursue her one-year MBA program with Globlis University while still traveling back and forth to work in Bangkok.

She was also known as a cosplayer prior to joining BNK48 in 2017. she worked also as a research assistant When asked about what made her decide to become a member of an idol group, she said: "I'm a fan of AKB48. I wanted to know what my idols went through to become famous." She also said that her father initially disapproved of her working as an idol.

Out of the total 1,500 applicants, 300 and 80 girls respectively passed the initial auditions.

When BNK48 was officially debuted in June 2017, Cherprang was named one of the 16 senbatsu members for the group's first single and was also made the captain of the group. Pongchuk Pissathanporn from La-Ong-Fong band, the musical director of the group, described Cherprang as having leadership and responsibilities, saying that was why the management team found her suitable for the captain position.

On 24 December 2017, Cherprang was selected as a member of the first team of the group, Team BIII.

She applied for candidacy in the 2018 general election of AKB48, a polling event to find the 100 most popular 48 Group members to record AKB48's 53rd single. It was the first time that the 48 Group's overseas members participated in the event. The election result announcement event was held on 16 June 2018 in Nagoya, Japan, where she, serving as the centre, performed the song "Koi Suru Fortune Cookie" with members of other 48 Group members. According to the election result, she obtained a total of 26,202 votes and placed 39th, thus qualifying to join the single as part of the Next Girls unit. The single was released on 19 November 2018.

On 9 April 2023, Cherprang announced her graduation from BNK48. Her graduation ceremony was held on 29 October 2023.

Acting

She was given a lead role in a thriller film, Homestay, produced by GDH 559, released on 25 October 2018. The film was directed by Parkpoom Wongpoom and the filming was completed in May 2018.

One Year 365, also produced by GDH 559 and aired in late 2019, marks her first time performing in a series. She co-starred in the series with some of her fellow members of BNK48.

Personal life

Cherprang was born in Hat Yai, Songkhla, Southern Thailand, where her family lived on a hill. Her grandparents were both Chinese, and her family named her in Chinese "Liu Xiumin" . She later moved to Bangkok. She said she grew up as a normal girl not knowing what her life aims should be. After speaking with her mother, she chose the alternative school in order to figure herself out. At the school, she found herself better at mathematics and science than arts, saying that she actually enjoyed scientific experimentation and working, and that she was greatly inspired by her science teacher to become a scientist. she was admitted to the Mahidol University International College, where she was a student majoring in chemistry and minoring in physics.

Due to her background in science, she has been invited to various academic events, such as a panel talk concerning the reentry of the Tiangong-1 space station on 29 March 2018, and the tenth anniversary of the Synchrotron Light Research Institute(th) on 1 June 2018, where it was revealed that a photo of her would be carried in a GISTDA satellite to be launched into space in 2019. She also accompanied the Thai team in the FameLab competition at the 2018 and 2019 Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK.

In 2018, she filed a complaint with the Technology Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok after someone inserted an image of a dildo into one of her Instagram pictures. Her reason for filing the complaint was "to protect her privacy." Bangkok police said that the guilty party would face a jail term of up to three years and/or a fine of (approximately ).

She gave a speech during a special talk session on "Youth Commitment to Sustainable Development Goals" at Sophia University, Japan, in 2019, along with other representatives from UNESCAP & UNESCO.

In March 2023, she faced the most tragic moment in life as her only younger brother, Charn Areekul, passed away unexpectedly. Though hardly spoke about this sentimental incident in public to protect her family's feelings, she handled the situation strongly but admitted this incident left mark forever.

Public image

Cherprang is amongst the BNK48 members with the most followers and usually has the longest queues at handshake events. Many people consider her as the image of BNK48.

When Northeastern Thailand suffered severe floods in August 2017, eight autographed portraits of her and other BNK48 members were auctioned off to raise money for the flood victims. Her photo alone fetched , and the auction gained a total of .

She won the 39th place, the highest among BNK48 members, in the 2018 general election of AKB48, an annual polling event to find the 100 most popular 48 Group members to participate in an AKB48 single.

Honours

On 20 September 2017, Thailand's national youth day, Cherprang was given a Rotary Club of Chatuchak's juvenile award by former deputy prime minister Bhichai Rattakul.

She was appointed the Buddhist ambassador for the Māgha Pūjā Day on 22 February 2018 by Thailand's National Office of Buddhism.

On 9 March 2018, she, along with Kaew and Satchan, her fellow BNK48 members, were announced as role models in education at EduLife Expo 2018 in Bangkok, where they received shield trophies from Princess Soamsawali.

In 2018, her fans also raised money to build a scientific library with a computer chamber at Ban Pa Daet School in Santi Suk, Nan, Northern Thailand, and named it after her.

Works

AKB48 Group general election placements Every member of AKB48 Group who meets the criteria is able to join the general election of AKB48. Cherprang first participated in the 10th edition AKB48 World General Election held in Japan in 2018, in which she was ranked #39. Her first domestic election was in the following year, which she won. Here are her placements: BNK48 Senbatsu General Elections Edition Year Final rank Number of votes Position on single Single Ref 1 2019 1 84,195 Senbatsu "Beginner" 2 2020 2 71,352 Senbatsu "Heavy Rotation"

AKB48 General Elections Edition Year Final rank Number of votes Position on single Single Ref 10 2018 39 26,202 Next Girls "Tomodachi ja nai ka?"

Discography

BNK48 singles

Year No. Title Role Notes 2017 1 "Yak Cha Dai Phop Thoe" A-side Also sang "Ko Chop Hai Ru Wa Chop" and "Sam Roi Hoksip Ha Wan Kap Khrueangbin Kradat". 2 "Khukki Siangthai" A-side Also sang "BNK48 (Bangkok48)" as centre. 2018 3 "Wan Raek" A-side Also sang "Prakai Namta Lae Roiyim" as part of Team BIII. 4 "Thoe Khue Melodi" A-side 5 "BNK Festival" A-side Also sang "Thung Mae Cha Mi Nam Ta". 2019 6 "Beginner" A-side Ranked 1st in General Election 2019 (first Kami 7 position) as centre. 7 "77 no Suteki na Machi e" A-side Also Sang on "It's Life" (first solo song) 2020 8 "High Tension" A-side 9 "Heavy Rotation" A-side Ranked 2nd in General Election 2020 (Kami 7 position) 2021 10 "D.AAA" A-side 2022 11 "Sayonara Crawl" A-side

BNK48 Album Year No. Title Role Notes 2018 1 "River" A-side 2019 2 "Jabaja" A-side Also sang "Bye Bye Plastic" as centre. 2021 3 "Warota People" A-side Also sang "Can you ...?"

AKB48 singles Year No. Title Role Notes 2018 53 "Sentimental Train" Next Girls Sang in the single "Tomodachi Janaika?"

Filmography Films

TV series & dramas

Awards and nominations Note: Awards for BNK48 as a group is not listed here. Year Award Category For Recipient(s) Result 2018 GQ Thailand Men of the Year Awards 2018 Woman of the Year Cherprang Areekul 2019 Daradaily Awards 8 Top Newcoming Girl of the Year 2018 Homestay Cherprang Areekul