Overview of LOONA

LOONA is a South Korean girl group formed under Blockberry Creative. The group debuted in the year 2016. However, the group members made their debuts step by step under three sub-groups. LOONA consists of 11 members: Heejin, Hyunjin, Haseul, Vivi, Yeojin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry, Yves, Go Won, and HyeJu (Olivia Hye). At the time of the group’s debut, it was a 12-member group, with Chuu as one of its members. Later, on 25 November 2022, Chuu cut off her ties with BBC and walked out of the group.

The first sub-group of LOONA is LOONA 1/3, and the group members are HeeJin, HyunJin, HaSeul, and Vivi. LOONA 1/3 debuted on 13 March 2017 with the extended play (EP) ‘Love & Live’.

The second sub-group, LOONA Odd Eye Circle, consisting of Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry, made their debut on 21 September 2017. They debuted with the EP ‘Mix & Match’.

The third sub-group is LOONA yyxy. The abbreviation ‘yyxy’ expands as Youth youth by young. It is composed of the rest of the members, Yves, Go Won, Chuu, and Hyeju. The girls made their debut on 30 May 2018 with the EP ‘Beauty & the Beat’.

Finally, on 19 August 2018, LOONA, including all three sub-groups, debuted with the EP ‘[+ +]’.

It is only for a short period of time that the girls worked together under BBC. In 2022, the girls expect Hyunjin and Vivi approached the court to suspend their contracts with BBC. Gradually, the court granted them preliminary injunctions. The first order of preliminary injunction was granted to HeeJin, Choerry, JinSoul, and Kim Lip on 13 January 2023. After ending their contract with BBC, they joined MODHAUS on 17 March.

HyunJin and Vivi signed in with CTDENM soon after they were granted the preliminary injunction on 9 May 2023.

Finally, every member of LOONA terminated their contract with BBC, which led to Haseul’s new contract with MODHUS on 21 June. Later, YeoJin, HyeJu, and Go Won signed in with CTDENM on July 5. Yves decided to grow her career as a soloist.

The group LOONA has not disbanded, though the members moved out of the agency and signed in with other agencies.

History & Formation

LOONA is the first girl group of Blockberry Creative. Through the online platform Never, Blockberry announced the ongoing preparations to introduce their first girl group to the K-pop industry. Before their debut, the members went through an 18-month pre-debut activity.

In August 2019, Jaden Jeong, LOONA’s creative director, resigned from his position.

Debut & Initial Performances

LOONA, as a complete group, debuted with the EP ‘[++]’ (Plus Plus). ‘Hi High’ is the title track, and ‘Favorite’ is the lead single of the EP. The EP secured the second position in the Gaon Album Chart. Later, on 19 February 2019, the girls released a repackage of [++] in the name [XX] (pronounced as multiply multiply) after adding 6 more songs. The group made their official stage appearance at KCON in Los Angeles.

The single ‘365’ released on 13 December 2019 was dedicated to their fans as an appreciation for their support.

BBC announced the Japanese official debut of LOONA on 27 June 2021. According to the announcement, the group planned to debut on 15 September.

Members

Haseul

Haseul is famous for her stage name, Cho-Ha-seul. She is the leader of both the girl groups, LOONA and LOONA 1/3. She celebrates her birthday on 18 August 1997. She was born in Gyeonggi, a province in South Korea. She is the vocalist and the rapper of LOONA. Blockberry Creative announced her name as the third member of LOONA on 8 December 2016.

Haseul is popular for her unique vocals. She has a dimple on one of her cheeks and is confident about her charming eyes and voice. Her ears are not identical in shape. She suffered from anxiety issues and did not participate in the promotion of their extended play ‘#’ and the album ’12:00:’. Consequently, she went on a hiatus for 1 year and 6 months.

She closed her contract with BBC on 16 June 2023. Later, on 21 June 2023, she signed in with MODHAUS and became a member of ARTMAS.

Hyunjin

Hyunjin, or Kim Hyun-jin, was born on 15 November 2000, in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. She is the visual, rapper, dancer, and vocalist of LOONA. BBC revealed her name as the second member of LOONA on 28 October 2016. She chose her career as a K-pop idol due to her passion for music.

Hyunjin once opened up, saying that the one-sided love that she experienced during her school days gave her confidence to act in the LOONA webdrama. She is interested in sports and has participated in sports activities, especially swimming, during her school days. Her other hobbies include exercising and making choreographies.

She eats a lot and is fond of bread. Due to her love for bread, she is nicknamed BreadJin. Her other nicknames are Kim Jin and Meow Jin.

Heejin

Jeon Hee-jin is known by her stage name, Heejin. She was born on 19 October 2000 in Seongnam, South Korea. She is the dancer, vocalist, visual, center, and rapper of LOONA. BBC announced her name as the first member of LOONA on 26 September 2016.

She joined BBC after getting a bunch of rejections from other agencies. She trained for a year under BBC. After joining LOONA, she created a special bond with each of its members and knows deeply about her teammates. When she was a trainee, she struggled to reach the practice room since she lived in the countryside. She likes calling their fans ‘full moon’.

She loves things like spicy food, body lotions, and eco-bags. Her hobbies include eating alone, calligraphy, and playing sudoku.

Vivi

The birthname of LOONA’s Vivi is Wong Kahei. She was born on 9 December 1996, in Hong Kong. Vivi is the vocalist and rapper in the group. BBC disclosed her as the fifth member of LOONA on 5 April 2017.

Before joining BBC, Vivi was an active participant in the modelling field. She stepped into the modelling field at the age of 17, in the name Viian Wong. Pya Pya and Hwang Ara are her other nicknames.

Her dad opposed her decision to fly to Korea when she was selected by BBC but later agreed. Vivi is confident about her cooking skills. Once she said, “I am always sharing food because I like to cook and I’m good at it”. She revealed her new contract with CTD E&M on 11 June 2023. Later, she made her debut as a Loossemble member on 15 September 2023.

Yeojin

Yeojin was originally named Im Yeo-jin. She celebrates her birthday on 11 November 2002. She was born in Seoul, South Korea, as the only child of her parents. In the group, she serves as the rapper, vocalist, and maknae.

Yeojin was revealed as a member of LOONA on 4 January 2017, therefore she is nicknamed ‘January girl’. She was introduced as the fourth member of LOONA.

Unlike the other members, she does not know which facial feature is her charming point. The members consider her as the vitamin of their group. Yeojin’s favourite hobbies are sleeping, playing, eating, and lying down on her bed.

She loves food, and she likes her fandom to be named Tteokbokki, which means Korean spicy rice cake. She has the tattoos of a butterfly, the letter ‘J’, and a satellite on her body.

Kim Lip

Kim Jung-eun is famous by her stage name, Kim Lip. She was born on 10 February 1999, in Chungju Province, South Korea. She is the leader of the sub-group, Odd Eye Circle. In LOONA, she plays the roles of vocalist and dancer. The agency announced her name as the sixth member of the group.

Kim Lip and the ex-member Chuu did their schooling together. Under BBC she trained for fourteen months. She likes to clean and organise her room in her free time. Her other hobbies are shopping, eating sweet food, and playing Sudoku.

She does not like places that are unorganised and noisy. She loves lip care products and also, owns a lot of lip makeup products. She likes to dance, and she started dancing for the sake of losing weight.

Jinsoul

Jinsoul, or Jeong Jin-sol, was born on 13 June 1997, in Seoul, South Korea. She is the rapper, visual, and vocalist of LOONA. Since her name as a LOONA member was announced on 13 June 2017, she is the June Girl in the group. She is the 7th member of LOONA.

Before joining BBC, she was a trainee at DSP Entertainment. She has cute dimples on her cheeks. She says her charming point is dumbness. She knows how to play piano and has attended piano classes for 9 years.

She is conscious of her fitness and workouts to maintain her abs. She said she would like to be a member of Red Velvet when she was asked which group she would choose apart from LOONA.

Choerry

Choerry, or Choi Ye-rim, was born on 4 June 2001, in Bucheon, South Korea. She is the vocalist, dancer, and rapper of LOONA. BBC disclosed her name as the 8th member of LOONA on 12 July 2017.

According to Yeojin, Choerry is the most cheerful member among them, and her attractive point is her positivity. Haseul and Choerry joined BBC as trainees almost at the same time. It is her dream to collaborate with Ariana Grande.

Choerry loves babies and kids. She is good with English in the group. She does not like cherries among fruits.

Yves

Ha Soo-young is famous for her stage name Yves, which is pronounced as ‘Eve’. She was born on 24 May 1997, in Busan, South Korea. In LOONA, she plays the roles of yyxy leader, rapper, vocalist, and dancer. BBC announced her name as the 9th member of LOONA on 14 November 2017. She trained for 3 weeks in the agency.

Chuu, the ex-member of LOONA, was impressed by her pretty face when they met for the first time. The nicknames that the group members give her are Hasu, Subongi, and Suguyam. The nicknames that her fans have given her are Soobong-i, Ha Ibeu, Soft Jaguar, Topema, Sooyooe, Ha Soo, Sugu, and Eevie.

Her passion for dance and songs was not appreciated by her mother at first. Therefore, she hid her involvement in the dance team from her mother when she was in high school.

Go Won

Go Won or Park Chae-won, was born on 19 November 2000, in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. She was the vocalist, rapper, and dancer of LOONA. She was revealed as the 11th member of LOONA on 15 January 2018.

Go Won used to attend dance classes at LP Dance Academy. Her dream is to make a comeback with a magical concept.

Her favourite K-pop girl group is Oh My Girl. She likes every member of Oh My Girl. Knowing her love for the group, her fans gift her plenty of Oh My Girl and merchandise.

She has a silver tooth. She gets easily irritated when she is hungry, gets disturbed in her sleep, and if bugs are in her room.

HyeJu (Olivia Hye)

Son Hye-ju is famous for her stage name, HyeJu. She was born on 13 November 2001, in Seoul, South Korea. She is the vocalist, rapper, and dancer in the group. She used to attend FNC Academy before joining BBC.

It was her dream to become a K-pop idol. She achieved her dream when BBC announced her name as the 12th member of LOONA. Nonetheless, she was a little shy in her initial days as a LOONA member. It was the members who gave her confidence. In her opinion, she is not a warm-hearted person. She takes care of the fellow members when she feels clumsy or when the members annoy her. She likes to watch the cherry blossom with the members.

Soso, the ex-member of GWSN, is her close friend. Calling her by her real name makes her happy.

Chuu – Ex-member

Chuu, or Kim Ji-woon, was an ex-member of LOONA. She moved out of the agency on 25 November 2022, regarding her contract dispute. While she was a member of LOONA, she played the roles of a vocalist, rapper, and face of the group. BBC recruited her as the 10th member of the group. While in the group, she released her first mini-album, ‘Chuu’ on 27 December 2017.

Discography

Awards

• Newsis K-EXPO Cultural Awards 2021
  Seoul Mayor Award
• Golden Disc Awards 2021
  Next Generation Award
• Asia Model Awards 2020
  Popularity Award
• Brand Customer Loyalty Awards 2020
  Female Idol Rising Star Award
• Soribada Best K-Music Awards 2020
  New K-Wave Rising Artist Award
• Asia Artist Awards 2019
  Focus Award (Singer)
  STARNEWS Popularity Award (Girl group)
• Korea First Brand Awards 2019
  Female Rookie Idol Award
• MTN Ad Festival Awards 2019
  Commercial Star Rookie
• Soribada Best K-Music Awards 2019
  Performance Award
• MTV Europe Music Awards 2018
  Best Korean Act

Interesting Facts about LOONA

1. Haseul is good at imitating Vivi.
2. Big Bang and 2NE1 inspired Vivi to become a K-pop idol.
3. After joining LOONA Haseul helped Vivi learn Korean.
4. Among the members, Yves is the best cook.
5. Yves is ‘LOONA’s Baby Apple’.
6. Due to a traumatic experience in the past Yeojin is scared of bicycle rides.
7. Yeojin has a pet snail called Marimo.
8. HyeJu says the charming point of Go Won is her sense of humor.
9. The activities that HyeJu likes the most are meeting her fans and eating her favourite food.
10. HyeJu wishes she could add 2-3 inches to her height.
11. Hyunjin has strong hands and can break apples with her bare hand.
12. Heejin always carries her favourite doll with her.

FAQs

1. When was LOONA debuted?
   LOONA debuted in 2016.
2. How many members are there in the group LOONA?
   11 members.
3. Who is the oldest member of LOONA?
   Vivi is the oldest member of LOONA.
4. What is the Instagram ID of Vivi?
   @vivikhvv.
5. What is the Instagram ID of Yves?
   @yvesntual.
6. What is the Instagram ID of HyeJu?
   @lnxexu.
7. What is the Instagram ID of Go Won?
   @novvog.
8. What is the Instagram ID of Choerry?
   @cher_ryppo.
9. What is the Instagram ID of Jinsoul?
   @zindoriyam.
10. What is the Instagram ID of Kim Lip?
    @kimxxlip.
11. What is the Instagram ID of Yeojin?
    @yeojin._.o_x.
12. What is the Instagram ID of Haseul?
    @withaseul.
13. What is the Instagram ID of Hyunjin?
    @hyunjinab.
14. What is the Instagram ID of Heejin?
    @0ct0ber19.