Choi Min-ho

Choi Min-ho
Choi in January 2022
Born (1991-12-09) December 9, 1991 (age 32)
Incheon, South Korea
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
Parent
Musical career
GenresK-pop
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active2008–present
LabelsSM
Member ofShinee
WebsiteOfficial website
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationChoe Min-ho
McCune–ReischauerCh'oe Minho
Signature

Choi Min-ho (Korean최민호; born December 9, 1991), better known by the mononym Minho, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter and actor. In May 2008, he debuted as a member of South Korean boy group Shinee which later became one of the best-selling Korean artists. Aside from group activities, he debuted as an actor in November 2010 in KBS2's drama special Pianist. He has since landed roles in television series such as Salamander Guru and The Shadows (2012), To the Beautiful You (2012), Medical Top Team (2013), My First Time (2015), and Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (2016). He made his feature film debut in 2016 with Canola. As a soloist, he has released the digital singles "I'm Home" (2019) and "Heartbreak" (2021). He released his debut solo EP Chase in 2022.

Career

2008–2009: Career beginnings and Shinee

Choi was discovered at the SM Casting System in 2006 and modeled for Ha Sang-beg's Seoul Collection F/W 08–09 in March 2008. One month later, Choi was chosen as a member of the group Shinee. The five-member boy group debuted on May 25, 2008, on SBS' Inkigayo. The group's first EP, Replay, was released on May 22 and debuted on the Korean music charts MIAK at number ten, peaking at number eight. Choi began participating in the rap making of Shinee's songs with their first studio album The Shinee World, under the guidance of rap instructor JQ. JQ praised Choi's writing ability and pointed out that he has many good ideas and "a few genius moments here and there". He was especially pleased with Choi's rap lyrics for Shinee's 2009 single "Juliette".

In 2009 and 2010, Choi appeared in both the Korean and Japanese versions of Girls' Generation's music video "Gee". He was also featured in the music video of VNT's debut song "Sound" in 2010. In 2009, Choi joined the popular show Let's Go! Dream Team as a regular cast member.

2010–2015: Acting debut

In 2010, Choi joined the variety show Oh! My School as a cast member and began hosting the music program Show! Music Core alongside bandmate Onew, Miss A member Suzy and T-ara member Jiyeon. He made his acting debut in KBS2's drama special, entitled Pianist, with actress Han Ji-hye. In 2011, Choi was cast in SBS' sitcom, Salamander Guru and The Shadows. He played the role of a genius hacker.

In 2012, Choi was confirmed to take on the lead role, alongside f(x)'s Sulli and Lee Hyun-woo, in To the Beautiful You, a Korean adaptation of the manga Hana-Kimi. The drama started broadcasting on August 15, 2012, on SBS. In preparation for his role as a high jump gold medalist, Choi received personal training from coach Kim Tae-young, former national high jump athlete and a member of the Korea Association of Athletics Federations, for a month and a half. His personal record was 175 cm. In December 2012, Choi joined dance project group SM The Performance alongside labelmates from TVXQ, Super Junior, Shinee, and Exo.

Choi began hosting the variety show Mamma Mia in April 2013, but departed after a month due to Shinee's touring schedule. He resumed his role as an MC on Show! Music Core after a two-year absence, this time hosting alongside Kim So-hyun and Noh Hong-chul. In July 2013, Choi returned to the small screen with MBC's Medical Top Team. The drama received low ratings and was criticized for trying to tell too many stories at once and losing the main focal point of the story. However, Choi's acting performance received a positive response and was praised for his growth as an actor. In August, he participated in the reality series Star Diving Show Splash, but it was cancelled after four episodes after several contestants were injured.

In 2015, Choi was cast as the lead in OnStyle's drama My First Time together with actress Park So-dam, which was broadcast in September. It was the first drama premiered by OnStyle, with a total of eight episodes.

2016–2020: Big screen debut, solo music and military enlistment

Choi at the press conference for the movie Derailed in November 2016

In early 2016, Choi extended his popularity as an actor. He was cast in several projects, including a historical Korean drama entitled Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth, which began airing on December 19, 2016, on KBS2. His debut movie project titled Canola, alongside Youn Yuh-jung and Kim Go-eun and directed by Yoon Hong-seung (pseudonym Chang), was filmed in 2015 and released on the big screen in May 2016. He was cast in a supporting role in a film entitled The Princess and the Matchmaker, led by Lee Seung-gi and Shim Eun-kyung. The movie is the second installment in a planned trilogy by Jupiter Films after the 2013 box-office hit The Face Reader. Choi was then cast in the movie Derailed alongside veteran actor Ma Dong-seok, which was directed by Lee Seong-tae and premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. The movie had its world premiere screening at the 21st Busan International Film Festival in October 2016.

In 2017, Choi took part in the JTBC web drama entitled Somehow 18 alongside Lee Yu-bi. As a result of high online viewer ratings of more than 870,000 views, the web drama was announced to be broadcast on television through JTBC on 8 October. After receiving a positive response for his acting performance in Derailed, Choi was cast in science fiction action thriller Illang: The Wolf Brigade, the Korean adaptation of the Japanese anime Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade. Choi stated that he chose the role because he wanted to work with director Kim Jee-woon. The film released on July 25, 2018. In September 2017, Choi received the Special Award at the Indonesian Television Awards 2017 due to his widespread popularity in the country as well as for his performances in various dramas. Choi was the first Korean artist to be presented an award at the show. On November 15, Choi was included in Vogue's list of the "Sexiest Men Alive". Later that year, Choi was cast in a four episode mini drama The Most Beautiful Goodbye, which is a remake of the 1996 drama of the same name.

In 2019, Choi held a fan meeting tour, Best Choi's Minho, covering four cities: Seoul on February 16, Tokyo on February 23–24, Bangkok on March 2 and Taipei on March 3, 2019. He concluded his tour with an additional fan meeting in Seoul on March 30. Choi released his debut solo single, "I'm Home", as part of SM Station on March 28. He joined the Marine Corps on April 15 for his mandatory military enlistment. The Republic of Korea Marine Corps recognized Choi as an "exemplary marine soldier" for forgoing early discharge to participate in defense drills. Choi completed his military service on November 15, 2020.

2021–present: Further acting roles and Chase

In January 2021, Choi resumed activities as part of Shinee. He also ramped up participation in various shows including a special appearance in web series Lovestruck in the City and main role in reality show Law of the Jungle – Pioneers. In September 2021, Choi debuted as a radio host on Naver Now's broadcast of Best Choice, a sports talk-variety where Minho, well known as an "athletic idol," delivers various sports news and talks with fans and various guests about "his favorite things." He made a special appearance in Yumi's Cells as Chae Woo-gi, the titular character's co-worker and crush. On December 21, 2021, Choi held the fan meeting Best Choi's Minho 2021 offline in Seoul and online through Beyond Live. Choi released the digital single "Heartbreak" on the same day.

In May 2022, Choi held a solo fan meeting, Shinee World J Presents "Best Choi's Minho" 2022, in Japan, in addition to performing two new songs. He appeared in the horror film New Normal, directed by Jeong Beom-sik. It was selected as the closing film of the 26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. His first Japanese songs, "Romeo and Juliet" and "Falling Free", were digitally released on August 24. He released his debut solo EP, Chase, on December 6, 2022. Choi starred in the Netflix series The Fabulous alongside Chae Soo-bin later that month. He embarked on a fan meeting tour in January 2023, beginning at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines and continuing on to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. He will hold his first fan concert, 2024 Best Choi's Minho Fan-Con Multi-Chase, on January 6–7, 2024, at Jangchung Arena in Seoul.

Personal life

"I wanted to become a professional football player like my dad, [...] But when I was a fifth grader, he told me he would kick me out of the house if I pursue that dream. That was the first time he disapproved of something I did so I decided to give up the dream."

–Minho about his dreams and the relationship with his father.

Choi graduated from Konkuk University's affiliated high school on February 10, 2010. After taking the college admissions test the previous year, he was admitted in 2010 to Konkuk's part-time admittance for the arts and culture film major and graduated in 2015. His father, Choi Yun-kyum, is a well-known South Korean soccer coach. Choi inherited his father's ability and showed his skills in shows like KBS2's Our Town's Physical Variety and won high praise from Lee Young-pyo, a retired member of the national team. Choi also led his team to victory at the Idol Futsal World Cup Competition. Originally, Choi wanted to become a professional football player like his father but he disapproved of his decision stating: "Frankly, I didn't want him to follow my path, [...] Back when I was playing, it was difficult to make it in that world, very abusive back in those days. I would stay home for a couple of hours and then be off to training camp. It pained me to see my son asking me to stay over for the night." His father also added that from the football manager's point of view, he didn't think his son had it in him to make it in that field, stating Minho is a strong-willed person, but has a small frame.

Other ventures

Endorsements and ambassadorships

In 2011, he was named an Honorary Ambassador for Youth 2011. In 2014, Choi and Yoona were appointed as UNICEF Unihero Campaign Ambassadors "Giving Hope to the Children". In the same year, he was listed among the highest paid advertising models, receiving 300 million won as his annual advertising rate. In 2016, Choi was part of UNICEF's "#Imagine" campaign, which was first introduced in November 2014 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In 2015, Choi was selected as a model for NY luxury fashion brand Coach alongside Choi Soo-young and Victoria Song. He attended the Coach 2016 S/S fashion show in New York. Furthermore, he attended Gucci's 2017 F/W fashion show in Milan and Givenchy's 2018 fashion show in Paris, where he was listed among the best dressed celebrities. In November 2017, Choi together with the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump attended the "Girls Play 2" campaign at the US embassy in Korea, an event organised to promote the 2018 Winter Olympics. In 2018, Choi was chosen as the official face of the Korea Sale Festa, the largest shopping event in Korea, becoming the first-ever Korean idol to promote it. In July 2021, the Korean Professional Football Federation appointed Choi as one of five K-League Ambassadors to help promote the league to the public.

In 2022, the Korea Creative Content Agency together with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism unveiled the second part of their immersive cultural project "Age of Light" in which Choi had appeared as a virtual figure in the artificial intelligence experience booth, "Gwanghwa In". Pernod Ricard Korea announced in January of the same year that they selected Ju Ji-hoon and Choi as the new brand ambassadors of the modern classic scotch whisky brand Ballantine's and launched the new global campaign "Time Well Spent". In 2023, he was named the new face of Godiva, and participated in campaigns for Valentine's Day and White Day. He was selected as an "Olympic friend" by the International Olympic Committee to promote the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon. He participated in the Olympic torch relay in Chuncheon on December 5.

Philanthropy

In March 2023, Choi donated 5 million won to Cheongju North Chungcheong Province for the love hometown project.

Discography

Extended plays

List of extended plays, showing selected details, chart positions and sales
Title Details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
JPN
Hot

Chase 4 17
  • KOR: 76,139

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
KOR
US
World

As lead artist
"I'm Home" (그래) 2019 12 SM Station Season 3
"Heartbreak" 2021 144 9 Non-album singles
"Romeo and Juliet" 2022
"Falling Free"
"Chase" (놓아줘) 94 Chase
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Music videos

Title Year Director(s)

Ref.

"I'm Home" (그래) 2019 Un­known
"Heartbreak" 2021 96Wave
"Chase" (놓아줘) 2022

Songwriting credits

All songwriting credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database and liner notes unless otherwise noted.

List of songs credited as lyricist
Song Year Artist Album Co-written with
"Love's Way" 2008 Shinee The Shinee World Wheesung, JQ (Makeumine Works)
"Love Like Oxygen" Young-hu Kim, Kwon Yoon-jung, JQ
"One for Me" Wheesung, JQ
"Graze" Kim Jeong-bae, JQ, John Hyunkyu Lee
"Best Place" Hong-seok, Park Hae-hyung, JQ
"Juliette" 2009 Shinee Romeo Jonghyun
"Get Down" Key & Minho (feat. Luna) 2009, Year of Us Minho, Key, JQ, Bigtone, Ryan S. Jhun, Script Shepherd, Antwann Frost
"Obsession" 2010 Shinee Lucifer Jonghyun
"Shout Out" JQ, Shinee, Misfit
"Wowowow" Kim Jin-hee, JQ
"Your Name" Onew
"Hello" Shinee Hello Kim Eana
"One" Park Sung-soo
"Get It" Ceejay (Fresh Boys), Gilme, Key
"Alarm Clock" 2012 Shinee Sherlock Jonghyun
"Stranger" Kim Jeong-bae
"Honesty" Jonghyun
"Dream Girl" 2013 Shinee The Misconceptions of Us Jeon Gan-di
"Girls, Girls, Girls" Jeon Gan-di, Key
"Beautiful" Tesung Kim (Iconic Sounds)
"Dynamite" Kim Boo-min
"Shine" (Medusa I) Misfit
"Orgel" Jonghyun, Key
"Excuse Me Miss" Kim Boo-min, JQ
"Sleepless Night" Max Changmin
"Better Off" Jonghyun
"Destination" Shinee Everybody Jeon Gan-di
"Close the Door" Jinbo (Superfreak Records)
"Colorful" Jeon Gan-di, Key
"Romance" 2015 Shinee Odd Kim In-hyung
"Farewell My Love" Jeon Ji-eun, Hwang Seon-jeong, Kim Jeong-mii (January 8th (lalala Studio)
"Don't Let Me Go" 2016 Shinee 1 of 1 Jo Yoon-kyung, Key
"Lipstick" Oh Min-joo
"Don't Stop" Jonghyun, Key
"U Need Me" Agnes Shin (MonoTree)
"Good Evening" 2018 Shinee The Story of Light Jo Yoon-kyung, Key
"Chemistry" Jo Yoon-kyung
"Our Page" Shinee, Kenzie
"Sunny Side" Shinee Non-album single Shinee
"I'm Home" 2019 Minho SM Station Season 3 Jayins, Soo-chang, Lim Soo-ah
"Area" 2021 Shinee Atlantis JQ, Cha Yoo-bin, Lee Yeon-ji
"Runaway" 2022 Minho (feat. Gemini) Chase Gemini, Kwaca

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2012 I Am Himself SM Town documentary
2015 SM Town the Stage SM Town concert film
2016 Canola Han-i
Derailed Jin-il
2018 The Princess and the Matchmaker Seo Ga-yoon Special appearance
Illang: The Wolf Brigade Kim Cheol-jin
2019 The Battle of Jangsari Choi Seung-pil Second installment in a trilogy following Operation Chromite
2023 New Normal Hoon Closing film at 26th BIFF

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2008 My Precious You Himself Special appearance [citation needed]
2010 Pianist Oh Je-ro Drama special
2012 Salamander Guru and The Shadows Choi Min-hyuk Sitcom
To the Beautiful You Kang Tae-joon
2013 Medical Top Team Kim Seong-woo
2015 My First Time Yoon Tae-oh
2016 Drinking Solo Himself Cameo
2016–2017 Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth Kim Soo-ho
2017 Somehow 18 Oh Kyung-hwi
The Most Beautiful Goodbye Jung Soo Four-episode mini series
2020–2021 Lovestruck in the City Oh Dong-sik Cameo
2021 Yumi's Cells Chae Woo-gi Special appearance
2022 The Fabulous Ji Woo-min

Variety shows

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2009–2012 Dream Team Main cast
2010 Oh! My School
2013 Mamma Mia Host
Star Diving Show Splash Contestant
2010–2011 Show! Music Core Host with Bae Suzy, Onew, Park Ji-yeon
2013–2015 with Kim So-hyun, Noh Hong-chul, Zico, N, Yeri
2015 Exciting India Main cast
2021 Law of the Jungle – Pioneers
Extreme Debut: Wild Idol Trainer Corps
Legendary Actors Main cast Chuseok special program
2021–2022 King of Golf Season 2 episode 1–13
2022 Run for the Money: Battle Royal Contestant

Web shows

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2022 Chang Min-ho's Buddy Buddy Host with Changmin
2023 Bros On Foot Cast member with Ju Ji-hoon, Ha Jung-woo, and Yeo Jin-goo
Webtoon Singer Host with Yoo Se-yoon and Jang Do-yeon

Radio

Year Title Role Ref.
2021 Best Choice Host
2023 Kim Eana's Starry Night Special DJ

Hosting

Year Title Notes Ref.
2011 Hallyu Dream Concert with Park Shin-hye and Ok Taec-yeon
2014 28th Golden Disc Awards with Jung Yong-hwa, Yoon Doo-joon, Taeyeon, Tiffany Young, Oh Sang-jin
2016 Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards with Han Chae-ah
2017 One K Global Peace Concert with Kim Seol-hyun (at Manila, Philippines)
2018 DMC Korean Music Festival with Jo Bo-ah
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival with Lim Ji-yeon
MBC Gayo Daejejeon with Noh Hong-chul, Im Yoon-ah, Cha Eun-woo
2023 32nd Seoul Music Awards with Kim Il-joong and Lee Mi-joo

Music video appearances

Year Title Artist Ref.
2009 "Gee" Girls' Generation
2010 "Gee" (Japanese version) Girls' Generation
"Sound" VNT
2016 "Miro" Romeo

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 Ref.
Asia Artist Awards 2018 Asia Brilliant Award Choi Min-ho Won
Baeksang Arts Awards 2014 Most Popular Actor (TV) Medical Top Team Nominated
Buil Film Awards 2018 Popularity Award Illang: The Wolf Brigade Nominated [citation needed]
Busan International Film Festival 2017 Marie Claire Asia Star Awards: Face of Asia Award Choi Min-ho Won
Golden Cinema Film Festival 2021 Jury's Special Prize The Battle of Jangsari Won
Grand Bell Awards 2016 Best New Actor Canola Nominated
2017 Derailed Nominated
Indonesian Television Awards 2017 Special Award Choi Min-ho Won
MBC Drama Awards 2013 Best New Actor Medical Top Team Nominated
MBC Entertainment Awards 2014 Popularity Award (Music Talk Show) Show! Music Core Won
2015 Won
SBS Drama Awards 2012 New Star Award To the Beautiful You Won
Best Couple Award Choi Min-ho (with Sulli)
To the Beautiful You
Won
Netizen Popularity Award Choi Min-ho Nominated [citation needed]
SBS Entertainment Awards 2010 Best Newcomer in a Variety Show Star King Won

This page was last updated at 2023-12-12 09:49 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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