TWICE debuted in October 2015 and they had already achieved a lot in their five years in the industry. They are the first Kpop female act to achieve Billboard’s World Albums and old Digital Song Sales Chart for their first studio album “Twicetagram” and their tack “Likey”.
Prior to becoming Twice members, the ladies had to undergo a girl group reality survival show called Sixteen, which was created by JYP Entertainment and Mnet. Sixteen aspiring idol trainees competed against each other to land a slot at the girl group. Think Survivor but for Korean Pop.
Celebrating their fifth anniversary this month, let us look closely on the individual members that made the group Twice highly appealing to the Koreans and international fans alike!
JIHYO
Ji Hyo was born Park Ji Soo but changed her name legally to Park Ji Hyo. She became a trainee at the JYP Entertainment when she was just a mere third grader, making her the member who had the longest training prior to debut – 10 years!
Twice members voted her as their leader. She appeared in the MV “Only You” with Miss A, another equally popular girl group. When not performing, she loves to spend her time surfing the world wide web and of course reading webtoons.
NAYEON
Im Na Yeon is the epitome of perseverance. When she was just a child, she joined a model contest and got selected by JYP. Her modeling career then didn’t push through because of her mom’s refusal. She was also in a girl group called 6Mix that disbanded even before they debuted.
Apart from her dancing and singing skills, she has appeared in a lot of MVs due to her stunning visuals. Her appearances in music videos include: “Girls Girls Girls” with GOT7, “Only You” with Miss A, “Please Don’t Go” with SanE.
JEONGYEON
She was born Yoo Kyung Wan before she changed her name legally to Yoo Jeong Yeon because it sounded more of a boy’s name. Her sister is the actress Gong Seungyeon who appeared in the popular reality show “We Got Married”. Her father was the private chef of former president Kim Dae-Jun and also the head chef for Seoul Plaza Hotel.
In the dorms, she is the one in charge of cleaning the place. Not by force, as she really enjoys cleaning. She is also the one in charge of catching bugs, saving her roommates the trouble of fleeing away from unwanted guests!
MOMO
Hirai Momo was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan. She was scouted by JYP through a video of her and her sister dancing. In fact, both of them auditioned but it was only her who landed a spot. Although she was eliminated in the reality show Sixteen, JYP decided to include her in the lineup due to her impeccable dancing skills.
Momo is such a huge fan of food. Her favorite Korean food is jokbal which is pig trotters marinated well in soy sauce and spices. Her ideal guy is someone who eats well and loves food, just like her!
SANA
Minatozaki Sana was born in Osaka, Japan. Scouted while shopping with friends, she got a place as a trainee in 2012 when she passed the auditions.
Her hobbies include calligraphy, which she learned when she was little and collecting perfumes and body mists. When not working, she prefers to go shopping (which is one of her favorite hobbies) and watching movies. In fact she loves horror films and the movie “A Litre of Tears.”
MINA
Myoui Mina was born in Texas, United States to Japanese parents. When she was a child, they moved to Kobe, Japan with her older brother. She was scouted when she was shopping with her mother.
Her dance background is highly impressive. She studied ballet for more than ten years. And expanded her genre to modern dancing when she enrolled herself to another dancing school, Urizip.
DAHYUN
Kim Da Hyun was scouted by JYP Entertainment during a solo performance in her school. In fact she is so good that she passed all the audtions she went to with the top three entertainment companies – SM, JYP and YG. But eventually she chose JYP win the end.
Beyond her role as an idol, she also appeared in several music videos such as “Stop Stop It” by GOT7 and “Rose” by Wooyoung. She also participated in a show called “Replies That Make Us Flutter” where she was paired with Eunwoo from Astro.
CHAEYOUNG
Son Chae Young was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. Raised by her grandmother when she was young, she learned to love vegetables and other healthy food. As such, she generally is not a fan of sweets.
She is among the friendliest in the group. She is friends with Rose from Blackpink, Yeoreum from Cosmic Girl, Jinsol from April and Somi from I.O.I. When not working, she usually spends her time sleeping and washing dishes in their dorm, one of her delegated tasks.
TZUYU
Chou Tzuyu was born and raised in Tainan, Taiwan. JYP discovered her himself when she was in a performance arts workshop that was held in Tainan. As such, she went to South Korea by the last quarter of 2012 to start her training.
Among the members, she is considered one of the visual of the group due to her stunning physique and appearance. In fact, she has been ranking among the tops in charts such as “The 100 Most Beautiful Faces of 2018” (by TC Candler) and “Most Beautiful Faces of 2019”
Now that you know the members, let us support them and the group as they are set to release a new Korean studio album by the end of the month. The album is called “Eyes Wide Open” with the lead song “I Can’t Stop Me”.
