Since the early 2010s, Chanyeol has been making his way towards becoming a household name not just in South Korea and Asia but around the world. In 2016, the rapper, singer, and actor certainly did himself no harm by earning a feature in the song “Freal Luv” by American hip hop group Far East Movement and electronic musician Marshmello. This went a long way in introducing him to a wider audience and got him one step closer to achieving his ultimate goals.
Chanyeol Biography
On the 27th of November, 1992, Chanyeol was born as Park Chan-yeol in the South Korean capital of Seoul. While details of his childhood are few and far between, it is said that the young boy first gained interest in music and acting like an elementary school student after listening to Unconditional Kismet by Yoo Young-jin and watching Jack Black and Sarah Silverman in School of Rock (2003).
According to his academic records, he attended Hyundai High School in Apgujeong-dong before he was enrolled in a private acting school when he turned 16. The aspiring musician would go ahead to compete at the 2008 Smart Model Contest where he finished second place and thus earned a spot under SM Entertainment as a trainee.
Chanyeol spent the next few years honing his craft as he began to focus on rapping instead of singing. In February 2012, SM Entertainment officially introduced him to the public as a member of the nine-member strong South Korean-Chinese boy band, Exo. The band went on to release their debut EP titled Mama in April that year.
In 2013, the musician who had previously made cameo appearances in a number of other television dramas joined the cast of the SBS reality TV show Law of the Jungle. He would also appear as himself in JTBC’s Royal Villa. The following year, he became a regular cast member of another SBS reality TV show, Roommate, but ended up having to leave due to conflicts in schedules.
2015 saw Chanyeol take things up a notch in regards to his acting as he went on to make his big-screen debut in the South Korean film Salut d’Amour (2015) where he played the supporting role of Min-sung and appeared alongside actors like Park Geun-Hyung and Youn Yuh-Jung. He then played the lead male role in the web drama series Exo Next Door alongside fellow Exo members and actress Moon Ga-young. On the music front, he co-wrote a song on his group’s re-released second album as well as a rap verse for the group’s promotional single for the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens titled “Lightsaber”.
In the following years, Chanyeol continued to combine both music and acting, releasing his first solo song in 2019 and starring in a number of projects. Some of the films and television dramas he appeared in include the South Korean-Chinese film So I Married an Anti-fan (2016) alongside Yuan Shanshan and label-mate Seohyun, Missing 9 (2017), and Memories of the Alhambra (2018).
Other Facts About The South Korean Rapper
1. While the identity of Chanyeol’s parents is unknown, and the exact number of his siblings is not public knowledge, it is public knowledge that he is not the only famous member of his family. The rapper has a sister named Park Yoo-Ra who worked as an announcer at South Korean broadcasting station YTN and at MBC.
2. The rapper first met and became friends with Block B’s P.O at the private school they attended as teenagers.
3. Chanyeol has received wide praise for his fashion sense. In addition to appearing in magazines such as L’Officiel Hommes and attending high-end fashion shows by designers like Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, and Prada, he has participated in a photoshoot sponsored by Tommy Hilfiger.
In 2018, after attending Tommy Hilfiger’s Shanghai fashion show where he again received praise, he appeared in Vogue Korea’s October 2018 issue with a 16-page pictorial.
4. Despite having seemingly achieved huge fame and fortune, the rapper still looks to further his education as he takes online classes at Kyung Hee Cyber University for Culture and Arts Department of Business Administration. He is also said to be attending a graduate school at Inha University where he is taking an interior designing course.
5. In early 2019, SM Entertainment announced that he would be a part of the Exo sub-unit Exo-SC which would comprise him and Sehun. The duo released their debut EP What a Life, which peaked at number one on South Korea’s Gaon Music Chart, in July 2019.
