Kim Ye-won (; born December 5, 1989), also known mononymously as Yewon, is a South Korean actress, singer and entertainer. She was a former member of K-pop girl group Jewelry from 2011 until they disbanded in 2015. Alongside her singing career, she appeared on television in dramas, sitcoms and variety shows.
Early life and education Kim Ye-won was born in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. She attended Myongji College where she studied Applied Music.
Career 2011–2014: Debut with Jewelry, minor acting roles
Yewon made her debut on 8 January 2011, with Star Empire Entertainment's girl group Jewelry. A digital single, "Back It Up" was released on January 27 along with its accompanying music video. Yewon made her first appearance on stage with the performance on M! Countdown.
On 20 September 2011, Yewon, together with bandmate Semi, formed a sub-unit called "Jewelry S". They debuted with "Ames Room Vol.2", the title track being the song "Forget It".
Soon after her debut with "Jewelry S", she was invited to join her first variety show as a cast member on "Invincible Youth". Yewon also landed her first acting role in the SBS Plus drama, Oh My God. Yewon also played some minor roles in "Standby" and "Reply 1997".
Yewon made her film debut in Gladiators of Rome with Korean dubbing.
2015–present: Disbandment of Jewelry, solo activities On January 7, 2015, the group was officially confirmed as disbanded.
After the disbandment of the group, Yewon joined the reality programme titled We Got Married, pairing with Canadian-born singer and actor, Henry Lau.
In November 2016, Yewon left Star Empire Entertainment and joined Jellyfish Entertainment as an actress. She later signed Jellyfish Entertainment in November 2016.
On December 13, 2016, together with other Jellyfish Entertainment's artists such as Seo In-guk, VIXX, Gugudan, Park Yoon-ha, Park Jung-ah, Kim Gyu-sun, and Jiyul, released their Jelly Christmas 2016 single album with the song, "Falling", as part of their digital music channel project Jelly Box.
In 2018, Yewon joined the cast of What's Wrong with Secretary Kim.
In 2022, she signed a contract with Andmarq in May 2022.
Controversies In March 2015, while filming the Korean TV show My Tutor Friend Lee Tae-im and Yewon had a fight, with Lee Tae-im reportedly swearing at Yewon. After the incident, Lee Tae-im claimed that Yewon initiated the fight by using informal speech to address her, as informal speech is considered rude to be used while addressing older people and seniors in Korean culture. Despite her claims, Lee Tae-im received public backlash, which caused her to withdraw from My Tutor Friend and other TV shows she was in. She publicly apologized to Yewon and announced hiatus.
However, less than a month later, video footage of Lee Tae-im and Yewon quarreling began circulating on the Internet, proving Lee Tae-im's claims that Yewon used informal speech to address her. This caused the public sentiment to shift, with Yewon's remarks from the footage becoming a subject of various parodies. After the backlash, Yewon ultimately apologized to Lee Tae-im.
Discography
Collaborations Year Song title Artist Notes2011 "Bad Habits" Soul Dive feat. Yewon Track 6 from EP Bad Habits "I Can Only See You" Yewon and Hwang Kwanghee Track 5 from Protect the Boss OST "5 Minute Standby" Jiggy Dogg feat. Yewon Single 2012 "Destiny Love" Park Se-mi and Kim Ye-won Standby OST Part 1 single 2016"Falling" ()With Seo In-guk, VIXX, Gugudan, Park Yoon-ha, Park Jung-ah, Kim Gyu-sun, Jiyul Jelly Christmas 2016
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 2013 Gladiators of Rome 3D Diana voice, Korean dubbing
Television series Year Title Role Notes 2011 Oh My God Kim Ye-won2012 Oh My God 2 Standby Reply 1997 Sung Song-joo Cameo / Episode 3-4 and 92013 The Clinic for Married Couples: Love and War Yoo Eun-chae Episode 62 "Fair Love" Pure Love PE trainee teacher Cameo Miss Korea Lee Young-sun2014 Hotel King Yoon Da-jung Plus Nine Boys Music program host/radio DJ Cameo (Episode 1) 2018What's Wrong with Secretary Kim Sul Ma-eum Feel Good to DieYoo-mi 2019 Class of Lies Sin Hye-soo 2020 She Knows Everything Women's society manager 2020–2021 Run On Choi Tae-ri 2024 Wedding Impossible Ahn Se jin 2025 Nine Puzzles Lee Mi-young Cameo My Girlfriend Is the Man!Mina unnie
Web series Year Title Role 2022 Narco-Saints Jeon Yo-hwan's wife
Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2011–2013 Gourmet Road 2011 Idol Chart Show Star King Young Street DJ 2011–2012 Invincible Youth - Season 2 Cast member 2012–2013 The Romantic & Idol - Season 22013 Awkward School Millionaire Game: My Turn Chuseok Special: Star Love Village2014 A Celebrity Is Living in Our House Awkward School 2 The Tree That Won't Fall Even If You Strike It 10 Times2015 My House Host Three Wheels Hiking with You We Got Married Season 4 Cast member with Henry Lau 2016Saturday Night Live Korea Cast member
References
External links