Who is Hyoyeon?

Hyoyeon, also known as HYO, debuted in 2007 as a member of the group Girls’ Generation. The girl group released numerous hits including “Gee” (2009), one of the earliest examples of a catchy K-pop hook, and is still together as a group.

Known for her powerful vocals and dancing, Hyoyeon has been part of subunits and project groups such as Girls’ Generation-Oh!GG and GOT the beat.

In 2026, she formed another subunit, Hyorisoo, with fellow Girls’ Generation members Yuri and Sooyoung through her YouTube channel “Hyo’s Level Up,” which quickly gained traction. While the trio has not yet released music on any streaming platforms as of July, it unveiled a song in June as part of the soundtrack for a parody drama series on the official YouTube channel of MBC’s variety show “Hangout with Yoo” (2019–).

She launched her EDM career in 2018 and started using the alias HYO as a DJ. Since then, she has experimented with various EDM subgenres through solo releases including “Sober” (2018), “Badster” (2019), “Dessert” (2020), “Second” (2021), “Deep” (2022) and, most recently, “Moveurbody,” a hybrid of Brazilian phonk and techno released in March.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]