Choi Soo-young (born February 10, 1990) is a South Korean idol singer, actress, dancer, spokesmodel, TV presenter, and RJ. She is the lead rapper and lead dancer of the girl group Girls' Generation. Soo-young also speaks fluent Japanese as well as little English. Sooyoung is the only Asian girl appearing in Complex's Hottest '90s Babies
Sooyoung was born in Seoul, South Korea on February 10, 1990. She has an older sister, Choi Soo Jin, who is a musical actress. Her father, Choi Jungnam, who is an architect as well as a manager of a contracting company. Her mother, Moon Soohee, is a housewife, but she has taught opera classes.
She was discovered on SM Casting System via the 2000 SM Open Audition. She then auditioned for the 2002 Korea-Japan Ultra Idol Duo Audition and won first place, marking her debut into the Japanese music scene with the band Route θ.
After winning first place in the 2002 Korea-Japan Ultra Idol Duo, Sooyoung was sent to Japan and debuted as a member of the duo Route θ, alongside Marina Takahashi. The band released three singles: "Waku! Waku! It's Love", "Start", and "Painting", and 3 B-Sides : Go Go Happy!!, Kimi Ni Ae Ta Kara (君に会えたから) and Onna No Ko Magic (女の子マジック). The group was later disbanded in 2003.