Yuju

Choi Yu-na (; born October 4, 1997), better known by her stage name Yuju , is a South Korean singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in 2015 as a member of the South Korean girl group GFriend and became known for her vocals, having participated in various singing competitions. After GFriend's exclusive contract ended, Yuju debuted as a solo artist with the extended play (EP) Rec. in 2022 and took creative control over her works.

Yuju's accolades include individual awards from the K-Global Heart Dream Awards, Hanteo Music Awards, and Seoul Music Awards. Her chart-topping duet song "Spring Is Gone by Chance" for the television series A Girl Who Sees Smells soundtrack won Best OST at the 2015 Melon Music Awards.

Early life and education Yuju was born Choi Yu-na on October 4, 1997 in Goyang, South Korea, as the youngest of two daughters in her family. From an early age, Yuju enjoyed sports, dancing and singing. In her first year of middle school, Yuju won a singing contest encouragement award without formal training. Afterwards, Yuju attended a vocal academy to pursue singing and learned to play guitar due to her interest in composing. Yuju gained more performance experience in city and provincial competitions since her second year of middle school.

After graduating from the School of Performing Arts Seoul, Yuju enrolled at Sungshin Women's University to study Contemporary Practical Music.

Career 2011–2014: Pre-debut In 2011, Yuju competed in the first season of K-pop Star, where she was eliminated in the first round. That same year, Yuju became a trainee at Cube Entertainment, but she left after four months when her vocal project team was cut. Yuju then trained for around a year and a half at LOEN Entertainment. Concurrently, Yuju showcased her vocal improvement at music events, winning the Gyeonggi Arts Festival excellence award and grand prize in 2011 and 2012, respectively. After leaving LOEN, Yuju won gold in the solo category of the 2013 Dong-A Student Song Festival, a nationwide competition. She eventually auditioned for and signed with Source Music in 2014, totaling around three years of training at agencies.

2015–2021: GFriend

In January 2015, Yuju made her debut as a member of GFriend with the lead single "Glass Bead" from EP Season of Glass. Her stage name, given by the CEO, signifies "owner" and has the added meaning of being an owner of powerful singing ability. The song placed first on the Music Bank OST chart for ten consecutive weeks, won Best OST at the 2015 Melon Music Awards, and was the fourteenth best-performing single in South Korea that year. An acoustic version of the song was also released. Moreover, "Spring Is Gone by Chance" regularly re-enters domestic music charts in spring, establishing itself as a seasonal song. The soundtrack later achieved 100 million streams and 2.5 million downloads on Gaon.

In July 2015, Yuju drew interest on MBC's King of Mask Singer for her singing prowess as the youngest contestant at the time. Soon after, GFriend released their second single "Me Gustas Tu". During the promotions of the song, a fan-taken video of members falling eight times while performing on a slippery stage went viral, gaining international attention. The group was praised for their professionalism, especially Yuju, who suffered a twisted finger during the performance. The event boosted the group's popularity, and Gfriend continued to see commercial success as their next song "Rough" won 15 times on music show programs.

Yuju recorded "Billy & The Brave Guys" for the soundtrack of the animated movie Chicken Hero, which was released on February 18, 2016. In March 2016, she collaborated with Sunyoul of Up10tion for a song called "Cherish".

In October 2017, Yuju and Wheesung were declared as the final winners of SBS' Fantastic Duo 2 stars special, performing their winning piece "Even Thought of Marriage". She was the first and only K-pop female idol to win on the said television show's special. Following that, Yuju's collaboration song with Jihoo of IZ titled "Heart Signal" was released.

In June 2018, Yuju released her first solo digital single "Love Rain" featuring Suran.

In May 2021, Yuju became the host and protagonist of web show Yuju is Halli Queen, as the defending champion in Halli Galli. On May 5, Yuju served as MC for the KBS Korean Children's Song Contest. On May 22, Yuju left Source Music upon the end of GFriend's exclusive contract.

2021–present: New agency, solo debut with Rec., and O On September 1, 2021, Yuju signed an exclusive contract with Konnect Entertainment, following GFriend's dissolution and departure from Source Music. On November 24, Yuju released a remake of Jo Sung-mo's "By Your Side", a Lovers in Paris soundtrack hit, as part of the "Cyworld BGM 2021" project.

Yuju debuted as a soloist on January 18, 2022, with the extended play Rec. and its lead single "Play" . In July 2022, music production and publishing company MZMC Inc. Korea shared that Yuju joined the team, having written Yurina Kawaguchi's "Look at Me" Korean version lyrics. On July 28, 2022, she released her second digital single "Evening" featuring rapper Big Naughty. From August to December 2022, Yuju was a fixed radio DJ at KBS Cool FM's Station Z. In December 2022, it was revealed Yuju sang the main theme song for Lotte World's Magic Matches and the Dreaming Night, a stage adaptation of "The Little Match Girl".

On February 13, 2023, it was announced Yuju would be releasing her second extended play titled O, alongside the lead single "Without U" on March 7. On August 16, 2023, Yuju released the single "Rewind" as part of the +memory project. On September 8, 2023, it was announced that Yuju would be releasing her new single "Dalala" on September 20. Yuju decided not to renew her contract with Konnect after it expired mid-April 2024. In late 2024, Yuju became a mentor for the Korean-Taiwanese boy group survival program Scool.

In early 2025, Yuju participated in GFriend's tenth anniversary reunion, which included the single album Season of Memories and concert tour. On March 12, Yuju signed an exclusive contract with At Area. On August 12, Yuju released her third extended play In Bloom, with the lead single "Reply".

On April 29, 2026, Yuju released the single "First Love Is a Curse".

Artistry Yuju didn't aim to become a singer-songwriter professionally at first. She started writing lyrics and composing for her own satisfaction by writing notes, recording melodies on her phone, and experimenting with self-recording in a studio. After signing as a soloist in 2021, Yuju said her deeper involvement in music-making came naturally, with encouragement from company employees and composers. She co-wrote each song on her solo debut EP Rec. and was the sole lyricist on her second EP O. A major turning point was Yuju's digital single "Dalala," her first lead single as the main composer and sole lyricist. The appeal of creating "Dalala" influenced Yuju's career direction: "I want my songs to go through my hands. I want to be an artist who is not too dependent."

Yuju explained she actively writes lyrics since "singing is ultimately about putting sound into words." She tries not to differentiate lyrics from her usual way of speaking. Yuju's songwriting is also inspired by personal experiences. Her debut lead single "Play" reflected her mixed emotions at the time of leaving her previous company.

Discography

Extended plays + List of extended plays, showing selected details, selected chart positions, and sales figures Title Details Peak chartpositions Sales KOR Rec. Released: January 18, 2022 Label: Konnect Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 15 KOR: 27,727 O Released: March 7, 2023 Label: Konnect Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 15 KOR: 13,267 In Bloom Released: August 12, 2025 Label: At Area Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 24 KOR: 13,742

Singles As lead artist + List of singles as lead artist, showing year released, selected chart positions, sales figures, and name of the album Title Year Peak chart positions Album KOR "Love Rain" 2018 — "Play" 2022 — Rec. "Evening" — "Without U" 2023 — O "Dalala" — "Reply" 2025 — In Bloom "First Love Is a Curse" 2026 — "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Collaborations + List of collaboration singles, showing year released, selected chart positions, sales figures, and name of the album Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Album KOR "Cherish" 2016 31 KOR: 224,943 "Heart Signal" 2017 — "The Last Exam" 2018 — Monthly Project 2018 Yoon Jong-Shin "Happiness Index" 2023 — "No Way" — "This Isn't the End" 2025 — Scenes of a MOMENT "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

As featured artist + List of singles as featured artist, showing year released, selected chart positions, sales figures, and name of the album Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Album KOR "First Love" 2017 38 KOR: 63,398 Cherish "So Silly" 2021 180 "Destiny" 2023 — Colors "It's Not That I Don't Love You" 2024 — Sommelier "Sweaty" — RAP:PUBLIC Episode.2 "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Promotional singles + List of promotional singles, showing year released, selected chart positions, sales figures, and name of the album Title Year Peak chart positions Album KOR "By Your Side" 2021 — Cyworld BGM 2021 "Rewind" 2023 — "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Soundtrack appearances + List of soundtrack appearances, showing year released, selected chart positions, sales figures, and name of the album Title Year Peak chart positions Sales(DL) Album KOR "Spring Is Gone by Chance" 2015 5 KOR: 2,500,000 A Girl Who Sees Smells OST Part 2 "Spring Is Gone by Chance" (Acoustic Ver.) — KOR: 14,981 "Just This Song" 2018 — Let's Eat 3 OST Part 3 "Snowflake Love" — My Strange Hero OST Part 5 "This Way That Way" 2020 — Yoobyeolna! Chef Moon OST Part 1 "First Day" — Was It Love? OST Part 3 "Secret" — Alice OST Part 1 "I'm in the Mood for Dancing" — True Beauty OST Part 2 "Falling" 2021 — Run On OST Part 10 "Comfort" — Bossam: Steal the Fate OST Part 11 "Comfort" (String Ver.) — "Stay (Prod. by Jinyoung)" — Police University OST Part 5 "My Americano" 2022 — Kiss Sixth Sense OST Part 1 "Tell Me This Is Real" — My Chilling Roommate OST Part 1 "Paradise" — Closers OST: Paradise "Real Love" — Love in Contract OST Part 1 "My Whole World Is You" 2023 — The Story of Park's Marriage Contract OST Part 3 "Rest In You" 2025 — This is a Campus Romance Series OST "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Compilation appearances + List of compilation appearances, showing year released, selected chart positions, sales figures, and name of the album Title Year Peak chart positions Album KOR "I Love You" 2015 — King of Mask Singer Vol. 16 "Without a Heart" — King of Mask Singer Vol. 17 "Play" 2023 — Begin Again Open Mic Episode 39 "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Composition credits All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise. + List of songs, showing year released, artist name, name of the album, and credited roles Title Year Artist Album Composer Lyricist "Hope" 2019 GFriend Fever Season "Apple" 2020 回:Song of the Sirens "Eye of the Storm" "Tarot Cards" "Mago" 回:Walpurgis Night "Night Drive" "Bad Blood" (Intro) 2022 Yuju Rec. "Play" "Cold Winter" Yuju "The Killa" Yuju "Blue Nostalgia" "Look at Me" (Korean Ver.) Yurina Kawaguchi Cherish "Evening" Yuju "9 Years" 2023 Yuju O "Without U" "Dreaming" "Peach Blossom" Yuju "Full Circle" Yuju "Destiny" Babylon Colors "Dalala" Yuju "No Way" Yuju "It's Not That I Don't Love You" 2024 Kid Wine Sommelier "Always" 2025 GFriend Season of Memories "Orion" Yuju In Bloom "Reply" "Sequence" Yuju "Moonstruck Love" Yuju "No Matter" Yuju "Sunset" Yuju "First Love Is a Curse" 2026

Videography Music videos

Other videos Title Year Director(s) Love Rain (Feat. SURAN) (Lyric Video) 2018 이브닝(Feat. BIG Naughty)_MV_Storyboard.mov 2022 Jan' Qui (KEEPUSWEIRD) 복숭아꽃 ART FILM 2023 Kang Su-jeong (546Focus)

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2023 Ma'am Chief: Shakedown in Seoul Herself Philippine film cameo

Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2015 King of Mask Singer Contestant Episodes 15-16 Immortal Songs 2 Contestant Episode 326 2024 Scool Mentor

Web shows Year Title Role Notes 2021 Yuju is Halli Queen Herself 5 episodes

Radio shows Year Title Role Notes 2022 Yuju's Night View DJ August 9 – December 27

Awards and nominations

+ Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result Melon Music Awards 2015 Best OST Award "Spring Is Gone by Chance" K Global Heart Dream Awards 2022 K Global Vocal Award Yuju Hanteo Music Awards 2023 Top Trending Artist Award Seoul Music Awards 2024 New Wave Star