Park So-yeon

Biography

Park So-yeon (Korean: 박소연; born Park In-jung on October 5, 1987), referred to as Soyeon, is a South Korean singer and actress. She debuted as a member of girl group T-ara in July 2009. The group went on to become one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.

== Early life and education == Park was born Park In-jung on October 5, 1987, in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. She later legally changed her name to Park So-yeon. On August 30, 2021, she revealed through an Instagram Live broadcast that she is descended from the Miryang Park Clan, whose lineage traces back to the 10th-century prince Pak Ŏnch’im (박언침), a son of King Gyeongmyeong of Silla. Park has studied at the prestigious Anyang High School of Arts in Anyang, Gyeonggi province where she majored in Theater and Film. In an interview with BNT International, Soyeon stated that she developed the desire to become a singer at the age of five. Influenced by veteran performers Park Nam-jung, Yan Soo-kyung, and Uhm Jung-hwa, she aspired to become an all-around entertainer and perform on stage and television. She frequently attended their live performances when she was young.

== Career ==

=== 2007–2009: Career beginnings === In 2005, Park Soyeon participated in the CMB Chin Chin Singing Competition, where she received the Gold Award. She was subsequently scouted by SM Entertainment during the competition’s broadcast and later became a trainee, preparing to debut as the leader and main vocalist of the girl group Girls' Generation, which debuted in 2007. Although she participated in the recording of the group’s debut single Into the New World, she left the company six months before their debut due to personal circumstances. After debuting with T-ara, she later stated on the tvN's program Live Talk Show Taxi that at that time she felt the opportunity had come too easily and that she had been uncertain and not fully prepared for debut.

=== 2007–2011: Official debut ===

Park was the second new member to be added to T-ara after two former members Jiae and Jiwon left the group in mid-2009. In 2010, she was rushed to the hospital after complaints of not feeling well while filming for her cameo role in Master of Study. She was then diagnosed with H1N1 while T-ara was still promoting the follow-up track Like The First Time off of their first full-length album, Absolute First Album. Park participated in the OSTs for the movie Death Bell 2: Bloody Camp and the SBS drama Coffee House. In 2011, she was a fixed cast member for KBS's variety show 100 Points Out Of 100.

=== 2012–2013: Acting roles and QBS ===

Park participated in the musical adaption of T-ara's hit song Roly-Poly, which opened on January 13, 2012, at the Seongnam Arts Center. She has stated that it is one of her dreams to stand on stage and act on it. She replaced Hyomin as T-ara's new leader starting on December 7, 2011, for their Lovey-Dovey promotions. She is the fourth leader of T-ara after Eunjung, Boram, and Hyomin. In July 2013, she stepped down as leader and Qri became the fifth leader. Park appeared in the KBS drama Lovers of Haeundae as Lee Gwan-soon. The drama aired on August 13, 2012. Park along with Qri and Boram formed a sub-group called QBS in May 2013. The sub-group focused on the Japanese market. They released their debut single titled "Kaze no You ni" (風のように, Like the Wind) on June 26, 2013.