Kim Se-jeong

Kim Se-jeong (born August 28, 1996), known mononymously as Sejeong, is a South Korean singer and actress. She finished second in Mnet's girl group survival show Produce 101, becoming a member of the project girl group I.O.I. She was also a member of Jellyfish Entertainment's girl group Gugudan. She is currently active as a solo artist and actress, best known for her lead roles in the television series School 2017 (2017), The Uncanny Counter (2020–2023), and Business Proposal (2022).

Early life and education
Kim Se-jeong was born on August 28, 1996, in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, but moved to Anyang, Gyeonggi where she stayed with her mother and older brother at her aunt's house. Her parents split when she was a child, leaving her mother to single-handedly raise her and her brother. She has previously stated that she did not contact her father until she was in her third year of middle school. Before her debut, Kim participated in track and field competitions in elementary and middle school and was part of the Theatre Club in her high school. Kim passed Jellyfish Entertainment's auditions through a competition of 3,000 to 1 ratio, thus becoming a trainee. Kim studied practical music at Hanyang Women's University.

2012–2016: First television appearances and debut with I.O.I
In 2012, Kim participated in the second season of competition television show K-pop Star 2 at the age of 16. She did not make it through the second round of the ranking audition, but Yang Hyun-suk brought her back as a wildcard for the casting round where Kim performed a duet of Taeyang's "I Need A Girl" with fellow contestant Jo Yoo-min. They both made it to the final casting round along with contestants Nicole Curry and Lee Soo-kyung where Kim was eliminated from the competition.



In January 2016, Kim represented Jellyfish Entertainment together with fellow trainees Kim Na-young and Kang Mi-na on the reality survival show Produce 101 for the chance to debut in an Mnet Project girl group. All three were assigned to "Group A" in the first episode of the program and Kim achieved the first-place ranking on several episodes. Kim was the runner-up contestant of the season, garnering 525,352 votes, officially becoming a member of the girl group I.O.I. They debuted on May 4, 2016, with the lead single "Dream Girls" from the album Chrysalis. I.O.I disbanded in January 2017 and the members returned to their respective agencies at the end of their contracts.

2016–2018: Gugudan and early acting roles
On June 10, 2016, YMC Entertainment revealed that Kim would return to her agency to join and promote its upcoming girl group. On June 28, 2016, while still members of I.O.I, Kim and Kang Mi-na joined Gugudan with the lead single "Wonderland". On November 23, 2016, Kim participated in Jellyfish Entertainment's music channel project Jelly Box and released the single "Flower Way", produced by Zico, along with a music video. The single peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and Kim received her first solo artist music program trophy for the single on the November 30 episode of Show Champion. On January 12, 2017, Kim released the song "If Only" for the soundtrack of The Legend of the Blue Sea. Later that year, she collaborated with Lee Tae-il of Block B for the digital single "I Like You, I Don't", which charted at number 8 on the Gaon Music Charts. Kim also collaborated with NCT's Doyoung on a song titled "Star Blossom" for the SM Station Season 2 music project.

Kim hosted the new KBS show Talents for Sale alongside Kim Jong-kook, Lee Seo-jin and Noh Hong-chul in 2016. She would later get a "Rookie Variety" nomination in the 15th KBS Entertainment Awards. In March 2017, she joined the reality-documentary Law of the Jungle in Sumatra. She was awarded with a "Best Challenge" Award on the 11th SBS Entertainment Awards.

In July 2017, she took on her first major acting role as the lead character Ra Eun-ho in KBS2's teen drama School 2017 where she won the "Best New Actress" award at the 31st KBS Drama Awards. She also was a vocalist for the series' soundtrack titled "Believe in this Moment". In September 2017, she was announced to star in Netflix's first Korean variety show Busted! That month, she also starred on OnStyle's show Get It Beauty. In January 2018, Kim became the first special co-host of Baek Jong-won's Alley Restaurant.

Kim and LEO were chosen to sing the official cheer song entitled "We, the Reds" for the South Korea national football team for the 2018 World Cup Tournament. In June 2018, she was cast for tvN's sci-fi variety program Galileo: Awakened Universe, which was filmed using the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), the largest and longest-running Mars surface simulation facility in the world. They were the first Korean entertainment crew to set foot on the Research Station.



In June 2018, she formed Gugudan SeMiNa with fellow Produce 101 alumni members Mina and Nayoung. They debuted on July 10, 2018, with the single "SeMiNa". In September 2018, Kim released the song "Paramour" for the Mr. Sunshine soundtrack.

2019–present: Solo career, stage debut, and commercial success
In 2019, Kim took her second leading role in the mystery romantic-comedy drama I Wanna Hear Your Song where she played a timpanist who lost her memories due to traumatic events. She would later win the K-Drama Hallyu Star Award on the 2019 KBS Drama Awards for the role. After a year of hiatus as a singer and three years since her solo debut song, Kim released the single "Tunnel" in collaboration with Dingo Music on December 2, 2019, followed by her first self-written and composed extended play titled Plant, with its lead single of the same name, released on March 17, 2020. She wrote and composed all the tracks from her EP, except for the lead single. She received her second music award show trophy on The Show for the single. Kim released the song "All of My Days" for the drama Crash Landing on You, which charted at number 50 on the Gaon Digital Chart, followed by "What My Heart Says" for Record of Youth. She later released the digital single "Whale" on August 17, 2020.



Kim made her musical debut as the female lead in Return: The Promise of the Day, an original army musical that deals with the topic of excavating the remains of the heroic soldiers who sacrificed themselves to protect their country during the Korean War. On July 15, 2020, she was confirmed to star in The Uncanny Counter, where she played the role of Do Ha-na. The drama became the highest-rated OCN series of all time. Kim also contributed to the drama's OST through her self-written and composed song "Meet Again" which charted at 147 on the Gaon Digital chart. After two years of inactivity, on December 31, 2020, Jellyfish Entertainment disbanded Gugudan and on May 11, 2021, Kim renewed her contract with the company as a solo artist and actress.

On March 9, 2021, it was revealed that she was preparing for a comeback. On March 29, 2021, Kim released her second self-written and composed EP titled I'm with its lead single "Warning." Later that year, she featured in MC Mong's Flower 9 album with the song "Can I Go Back." On April 5, 2021, it was announced Kim would make her second musical appearance through Red Book, a feminist musical drama set in the Victorian era, as the main protagonist Anna. Kim performed from June 7 to August 24, 2021, for a total of 28 shows. Red Book Musical received a viewer rating of 9.9 out of 10, the highest among the top 20 2021 Musicals. The musical would later win the Best Picture Award, as well as Best New Musical Actress nomination for Kim at the 2022 Korean Musical Awards.

On May 4, 2021, Kim and the members of I.O.I celebrated their fifth debut anniversary with a reunion live stream show called "Yes, I Love It!". On July 23, 2021, Kim collaborated with Municon and released the digital single "Baby I Love U", a remake of the same song by Japanese singer TEE. At the end of 2021, Kim hosted the 2021 MBC Entertainment Awards with Jun Hyun-moo and Lee Sang-yi.



In February 2022, Kim starred as the female lead for the SBS romantic comedy Business Proposal alongside Ahn Hyo-seop. The drama attained the highest viewership ratings (11.6%) for a terrestrial Mon-Tue drama in 2022 and was the fourth overall most watched drama on National TV. It is the first Korean-made TV series that was simultaneously shown on a local TV channel and Netflix to rank No. 1 on the official viewership chart and ranked eighth overall in Netflix's Most Popular Non-English Shows for 2022. Kim's performance drew praise from viewers and critics. An acoustic version of "Love, Maybe" sung by Kim was released as a bonus track. The track peaked at number 108 and 92 on the Gaon Digital Chart and K-pop Hot 100 respectively.

Kim also starred in another SBS television series Today's Webtoon alongside Choi Daniel and Nam Yoon-su that year. Kim's first solo fan meeting was scheduled to be held at Yes24 Live Hall on March 26, 2022, but was later postponed to April 23, 2022, after she tested positive for COVID-19. Kim held her first overseas fan meetings in Indonesia, Thailand and Japan from November 4 to 11, 2022. At the end of the year, Kim won the Popularity Award and the Best Actor Award at the 2023 Asia Artist Awards. Kim hosted the 2022 SBS Drama Awards with Business Proposal costar Ahn Hyo-seop and comedian Shin Dong-yup. For her performance in Business Proposal, Kim won the Top Excellence Award, the Actress in a Miniseries Romance/Comedy Drama Award, and Best Couple Award with Ahn.

In July 2023, Kim appeared in the second season of The Uncanny Counter, reprising her role as Do Ha-na. In August 2023, it was announced that Kim would embark on her first solo concert tour across 10 countries, kicking off in Seoul on September 23 and 24. That same month, Kim was announced as one of mentors of the reality competition series Universe Ticket (2023). Kim released her first studio album, Door, on September 4, 2023. In October 2023, it was announced that Kim would be debuting as a theater actress in the play Temple.

Ambassadorship
Kim was selected as an ambassador for the 2022 Hanoi Hallyu Expo. In October 2023, Kim and Choi Young-jae were chosen as public relations ambassadors for Korea-Thailand Mutual Visit Year. Kim also participated in the Korea Health Promotion and Development Institute's campaign "Online Smoking Cessation", the Korea Creative Content Agency's campaign "Eradicate the use of Illegal Webtoon Distribution Sites" and the National Health Insurance Corporation's campaign "Smoking Cessation Treatment".

Endorsements
Kim was considered 2021's Top CF Star for her work as an advertising model in various fields such as food, architecture, home appliances, games, and public service advertisements. She also took first place in 2017's Female Advertising Model Brand Reputation survey for the months of June and July.

She was the global advertising model for Crocs' "Come As You Are" campaign alongside actors Natalie Dormer, Zooey Deschanel, Gina Jin, and Japanese model Suzu Hirose. In 2018, she was selected as the brand model for Coca-Cola's spring/summer campaign with actor Park Bo-gum. She modeled for Lotte High-Mart and was paired with Cha Eun-woo for Lotte's popular Waterpark commercial film. In January 2019, she became the face of the alcoholic beverage, Good Day Soju, alongside celebrity chef Baek Jong-won. Kim was also featured in an advertisement for Dong Won Tuna together with actor Jo Jung-suk. In 2020, she and her The Uncanny Counter cast mates, Yeom Hye-ran and Moon Suk, modeled for Dyson Coral hair straightener product. Kim and Yeom participated in a three-episode web variety show titled The Uncanny Touch for the product's promotion.

In 2022, Kim was the endorser for cosmetic and clothing brands O!geti, Julie's Choice, and Roem; food and beverage products such as Goobne Chicken and Lotte's Starlight Cheongha Sparkling Alcohol; Living Workshop Household Goods and popular video game Nexon's MapleStory where she was chosen to sing the theme song for Cygnus Knights. In October 2022, Kim and Ahn Hyo-seop were chosen as brand ambassadors for Indonesian food and drink product Realfood. They collaborated with Indonesian actor Chicco Jerikho on a series of mini-commercial episodes to promote the brand. In 2023, Kim was the endorser for Namyang Dairy Products as the model for its flagship brand 'Delicious Milk GT'. In February 2023, Kim was chosen as the first Asian global ambassador for the French luxury brand Longchamp.

In January 2024, Kim was chosen as PlayStation's Asian model, as well as an advertising model for the clothing brand itMICHAA's second campaign "Do it all!".

Over the course of her career, Kim has also endorsed beauty products such as Manyo Factory Brand Cosmetics, Acwell, and Myskin Solus; food and beverage products such as Cocolab, Sunkist Fruit Cider, and Viyotte; online and RPG games Sudden Attack, Destiny Child: Defense War, and Armis. She appeared in other popular advertisements campaigns for various products such as Samsung's virtual assistant Bixby, Oella, and GH Basic Housing.

Philanthropy
On March 8, 2022, Kim donated million to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association to help the victims of the massive wildfire that started in Uljin, Gyeongbuk and has spread to Samcheok, Gangwon. On March 31, Kim donated million to Fruit of Love, Community Chest of Korea to help war refugees in Ukraine. On August 19, Kim donated to the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association to help those affected by the 2022 South Korean floods. On September 7, Kim donated to the Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association to support those who suffered damages due to Typhoon Hinnamnor.

On February 10, 2023, Kim donated to the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association to help victims of the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake.

On December 22, 2023, the Korean Autism Love Association announced that Kim has donated  for individuals with autism (autistic individuals) and their families. Through character research and acting practice for the play 'Temple', Kim developed an interest in and understanding of autism, expressing the narratives of characters with diverse histories convincingly. Her journey led her to donate to autism and families, delivering a message of hope and support.

Image and influence
Kim was the vocalist for both I.O.I and Gugudan and is known for her sweet powerful raspy voice as well as for her emotional healing songs. Kim cites IU, Girls' Generation's Taeyeon and Ailee as her role models in singing and often uses their songs in her practice sessions. Kim is often called the icon of "Flower Way" through broadcasts and media after her famous speech to her mother, "I will only let you walk on the flower road from now on," during the first elimination round of Produce 101 where she won first place. Her first solo song "Flower Way" was based on the letter Kim wrote for her mother in Talents for Sale where she was a host. In August 2021, she won the Multi-tainer Award at 2021 Brand of the Year Awards for her works on various entertainment field such as music, drama, variety and musicals.

Aside from singing and acting, Kim is a sports enthusiast and known for her athletic skills and strong physique and have been featured on various entertainment shows and headlines thus receiving the tag "Strong Female Idol." Kim together with her group Gugudan are three-time gold medalists in three consecutive years and record holders for the Women's Archery Competition in Idol Star Athletics Championships and a gold medalist and record holder with her I.O.I and Gugudan member Mina in Women's Bowling Competition.

Composition credits
All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database under Kim Sejeong unless otherwise noted.