Choi Young-jae

Choi Young-jae (; born 17 September 1996 ), professionally known by the mononym Youngjae, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actor. He is a member of the South Korean boy band Got7.

Biography Choi started dreaming of becoming a singer in his childhood, when he sang with his older brother. When the latter enlisted in the military, he joined a practical music academy in his hometown, Mokpo, to learn more professionally, In 2011, he won the Vocal Excellence Award at Mokpo Youth Music Festival.

Career 2013–2020: Debut and solo activities After one month of training in Seoul, Choi was added to the project group to form JYPE new boy band. After a total of 7 months of training, In early times after the debut, Choi mentioned his dream was to become a music therapist.

He has been writing songs and lyrics under the name Ars since 2016, starting with "Rewind" in Got7's extended play Flight Log: Departure.

Choi had a collaboration with Sanjoy and Elliott Yamin in 2017 on the song "Victim of Love", while he recorded "I'm All Ears" with Park Ji-min for the Life Insurance Social Philanthropy Foundation's youth suicide prevention campaign in 2018. The song was released on 15 October alongside its music video.

In the spring of 2019, he joined Jus2 in their 'Focus' Premiere Showcase in Asia, acting as the MC for Tokyo (10–11 April) and Osaka (17–18 April) stops.

In 2018 and 2020, he sang "At the Usual Time" (그 시간에) and "Fall In Love" (빠져드나봐) for the original soundtracks of TV dramas Wok of Love and When My Love Blooms. The first season of the show ended on 25 September.

On 25 May 2020, in collaboration with Howlpot, a pet product design brand, he launched Ars X Coco, a clothing store for people and dogs, which ran for two weeks until 8 June . The proceeds, amounting to 15 million won, were donated to Korea Animal Rights Advocates's The Bom Center, a non-profit care center for abandoned dogs. In the same year, Choi competed in the Idol Star Dog Championships, a dog agility competition, which aired as a Chuseok special on MBC on 2 October.

On 25 September 2020, he was cast in Netflix's new sitcom So Not Worth It, which tells the stories of a group of multicultural students living in a college dorm. The series became available on 18 June 2021, and he sang the homonymous OST for it. With his portrayal of Sam, the son of the CEO of a food chain based in Australia, he drew attention, and was praised for his acting, communication skills, vocalization and pronunciation, which, along with Choi's facial expressions, realistically expressed the character's emotions.

2021–2022: Departure from JYPE, Midnight Sun and solo debut Following the expiration of his contract with JYP Entertainment, he signed an exclusive contract with Sublime Artist Agency on 20 January 2021.

On 9 March 2021, it was announced that Choi had joined the cast of Midnight Sun, a musical adaptation of Japanese movie A Song to the Sun, in the leading role of Ha-ram. Midnight Sun was performed from 1 May until 25 July at the Kwanglim Arts Center. Two of the songs, "Meet Me When the Sun Goes Down" and "Good-bye Days", were also released as singles by each main actor: Choi's version of "Meet Me When the Sun Goes Down" was released on 9 April as part 1 of the musical's soundtrack, while his collaboration with Lovelyz' Kei on "Good-bye Days", on 7 June.

On 1 April, it was confirmed that Choi was selected as campaign artist for Levi's Red alongside Lim Na-young. On 20 April, he took part in Levi's 501® Day Music Concert, where he performed self-written song "Lonely", Sole's "Ride" and Christopher's "Bad".

On 7 May, he released the soundtrack "Pop Star" for the web series So I Married the Anti-fan.

On 5 October, he made his solo debut with his first extended play, Colors from Ars, and its title track "Vibin". Six days later, he released a fall-winter clothes collection in collaboration with Korean casual brand Plac. He then performed at K-pop cheering concert, We All Are One 2021 to overcome COVID-19 on 31 October.

In November, he was confirmed to play his first lead role, Kim Seung-hyu, in the upcoming Cine de Rama rom-com web series Love & Wish, based on the webtoon of the same name. Love & Wish was released through domestic and overseas OTT platforms between 24 and 25 December along with the original soundtrack, for which Choi sang "Day by Day".

On 15 December, he released the digital single "Walk With Me".

On 28 March 2022, Choi became the new fixed DJ of MBC Radio's Best Friend. which debuted at #5 on the Circle Chart. Between 23 July and 7 August, Choi held the Sugar mini concert tour in Manila, Singapore and Bangkok. On 6 August 2022, he was awarded the Best Asia Artist and Actor Award at Ganesha Awards, as well as being appointed Ambassador of Cultural Friendship and Tourism Promotion to ASEAN. Part of the profits was donated to patients of Lou Gehrig's disease.

2023–present: Do It On 12 March 2023, Choi released the digital single "Errr Day". On 3 May, he was announced as part of the line-up of the 10th anniversary run of the musical The Days, in the role of Moo-young, which was played from 12 July to 3 September. He was praised for his stability in singing, acting performance and dialogue delivery.

On 3 October 2023, he was named honorary ambassador of the Korea-Thailand Mutual Visit Years by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of South Korea.

On 6 November 2023, Choi released his first full album Do It. Between February and March, he performed in Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand and Japan for the Inside Out Asia Tour. On 2 April 2024, it was announced that he had parted ways with Sublime after three years. Two months later he signed an exclusive contract with AndBut Company. On 1 July Choi announced the Once in a Dream Asia Tour, to be held in August and September.

In January 2025 he was cast as Song Sam-dong in the show musical Dream High, which was performed in Seoul from 5 April to 1 June. He also played Nam Byung-jin in the series Friendly Rivalry, gaining favorable reviews for his acting and the drastic image change.

On 9 July 2025, Choi released the digital single Fermata, embarking on an Asia tour in September and October. On 10 September 2025, he became the Asia ambassador of Thai mattress brand Lunio.

Personal life Education Choi studied shipbuilding machinery at Mokpo Technical High School, then, in 2012, he moved to Seoul's Korean Arts High School, from which he graduated in February 2015. then he moved to and graduated from International Cyber University. As of 2021, he's enrolled at Hanyang Cyber Graduate School. In May 2021, he participated in the "I Rose You" campaign planned by the Love Organ Donation Movement Headquarters to promote organ donation, and to express gratitude, respect and condolences to organ donors and their families.

In December 2025, he donated to the Korean Dogs Rainbow Shelter for abandoned dogs, where he was also volunteering.

Military service Choi announced during a solo concert in Thailand on 26 October 2025 that he would begin his mandatory military service on 27 November. He would serve as a social service worker.

Discography

Studio albums +List of studio albums, with selected details, peak chart positions and sales Title Details Peak chart positions SalesKOR Do It Released: 6 November 2023 Label: Sublime Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 13 KOR: 20,163

Extended plays +List of extended plays, with selected details, peak chart positions and sales Title Details Peak chart positions Sales KOR JPNDown. Colors from Ars Released: 5 October 2021 Label: Sublime Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 6 41 KOR: 77,138 Sugar Released: 21 June 2022 Label: Sublime Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 5 59 KOR: 65,632

Single albums +List of single albums, with selected details, peak chart positions and sales Title Details Peak chart positions Sales KOR T.P.O Released: 9 July 2024 Label: AndBut Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 23 KOR: 7,825 Fermata Released: 9 July 2025 Label: AndBut Formats: digital download, streaming —

Singles Title Year Peak chart positions AlbumKOR As lead artist"My Day" (내 하루)2016 — "Trauma""Call Button" (통화버튼) 2017"I Want to Fall Asleep" (잠들고 싶어) "Everything for You" 2020 — "Vibin" 2021 124 Colors from Ars"Walk with Me" (같이 걸어가줘요) — "Sugar" 2022 — Sugar"Errr Day" 2023 — Do It"Best Friend" (친한 친구) — "T.P.O" 2024 — T.P.O "Escape To Me" (도망치는 건 부끄럽지만) 2025 — FermataCollaborations"I'm All Ears" (다둘어줄게)(with Jamie)2018 —Ready to Listen Part 2"Irreplaceable"(with F.Hero feat. The Toys)2022— "Colors"(with Yerin)—"Old Song" (오래된 노래)(with Ken, Hui and Choi Sang-yeop) 2025 —As featured artist"One Dream One Korea" (Various artists)2015— "Victim of Love"(Sanjoy feat. Ars, Stephen Rezza and Elliott Yamin)2017—"Hurry" (우린 서둘러)(Lovey feat. Youngjae)2021—:)"Finale"(Loops feat. Youngjae)2023—WET! FinalSoundtrack appearances"At the Usual Time" (그 시간에) 2018—Wok of Love OST Part 2"Fall in Love" (빠져드나봐)(with Choi Jung-yoon) 2020—When My Love Blooms OST Part 2"Meet Me When the Sun Goes Down" (태양이 지면 널 만나러 갈게)2021—Midnight Sun OST Part 1"Pop Star"—So I Married the Anti-fan OST Part 1"Good-bye Days"(with Kei)—Midnight Sun OST Part 5"So Not Worth It" (내일 지구가 망해버렸으면 좋겠어)—So Not Worth It OST"You and I" (그대와)(with Laboum's Soyeon)—My Roommate Is a Gumiho OST Part 7"Day by Day"—Love & Wish OST"Closer"(with Jay B)2022—Good Job OST Part 1"On My Way"—The Golden Spoon OST Part 7"Starlight" 2025— Dream High OST"Highlight" 2026 — The Practical Guide to Love OST Part 1"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Songwriting credits All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database, unless otherwise noted.

Filmography

Dramas Variety shows

Radio presenting

Hosting Year Title Note 2024 33rd Seoul Music Awards with Lee Seung-gi, Tiffany, and Got7's BamBam

Theater Year Title Role Notes 2021 Midnight Sun Jung Ha-ramLead role 2023 The Days Moo-youngLead role

Music videos

Awards and nominations