Kim Woo-seok

Biography

Kim Woo-seok (Korean: 김우석, born October 27, 1996), formerly known by the stage name Wooshin (우신), is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actor. He debuted as a member of South Korean band Up10tion in 2015. In 2019, he rose to prominence after finishing second on Produce X 101, which made him a member of X1. He debuted as a solo artist with the release of his first extended play, 1st Desire (Greed), on May 25, 2020.

Early life

Kim was born on October 27, 1996, in Daedeok District, Daejeon, South Korea. He is the only child in his family.
On February 28, 2016, Kim was enrolled at Dong-ah Institute of Media and Arts, majoring in acting and K-pop. He later transferred to Global Cyber University, enrolling in the Department of Entertainment and Media.

2015–2018: Debut with Up10tion and solo activities

Kim first appeared in Up10tion's pre-debut program, "Masked Rookie King Up10tion" in 2015. He was the first member to be introduced to the group. He made his official debut in South Korea on September 11, 2015, with their first EP, Top Secret.
On October 6, 2016, he was selected as the host of SBS MTV's The Show alongside Jeon Somi. They had their first broadcast on October 11. Six months later, on April 25, 2017, the duo officially left their position.
Kim went on hiatus on June 6 of the same year due to mental health issues, returning nine months later for the release of the group's first studio album, Invitation.

2019–2022: Produce X 101, X1, solo artist and acting debut

In March 2019, Kim was revealed to be a contestant of Produce X 101, along with his fellow Up10tion member, Lee Jin-hyuk. Kim placed second in the final episode with 3,120,276 votes, earning a spot in the final lineup. He debuted with X1 on August 27, 2019, with the release of their first EP, Emergency: Quantum Leap. Following revelations of the Mnet vote manipulation investigation, X1 announced that they were to disband on January 6, 2020.
On March 4, 2020, Playlist Studio's CEO, Park Tae-won, announced that Kim would be the male lead of the web drama Twenty-Twenty. The whole cast would begin the filming later in April. On August 15, 2020, the first episode was premiered on Naver TV Cast. The series then also became available on YouTube and JTBC on August 22 and September 6, respectively. On April 23, Kim announced that he would release his solo debut EP, on May 25. On May 25, 2020, he debuted as a solo artist with his debut extended play 1st Desire (Greed) along with the lead single "Red Moon". On August 13, he was awarded the New K-Wave Voice Award at the 4th Soribada Best K-Music Awards in 2020.
On January 18, 2021, it was announced that Kim would make his comeback with a new album in February. On February 8, 2021, Kim released his second EP 2nd Desire (Tasty) along with the lead single "Sugar". On February 18, 2021, Kim received his first music show win on M Countdown, becoming the first Up10tion member to get a music show win. Thereafter, he went on to receive another music show win on Music Bank in February 2021. On March 17, tvN released the full main casts for new drama, Bulgasal, which Kim was selected to be part of. He played as Nam Do-yoon, a high school student who constantly follows Dan Hwal and has an upbeat appearance. It was scheduled to premiere on December 18, 2021, on tvN.
On March 7, 2022, Kim released his third EP 3rd Desire (Reve) along with the lead single "Switch". He received another music show win for "Switch" on Music Bank on March 18. On July 23, Kim held a fan meeting 'KIM WOO SEOK 1ST FANMEETING: NNN'.

2023–present: Departure from Up10tion, label change and continued solo career and acting activities

In February 2023, it was confirmed that Kim would release his fourth EP Blank Page×Blank Page3 April 2023 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Intro: Blank Page1:322Dawn3:053Love and Hate3:294Heaven, Are you there2:455Slip3:016Missing You3:46 in March, but was moved to April. On February 28, it was announced that Kim would be leaving Up10tion. On April 3, Kim released his 4th mini album Blank Page, with "Dawn" as the title track. On April 14, Kim took on the role of Baek Woo-hyun, the main character in the healing romance drama, Finland Papa.
In May 2023, Kim embarks on his Asia Fancon tour, The Siren. On June 17, Kim performed as one of the acts at the 2023 Seen Festival in Hoi An, Vietnam. On June 23, Kim successfully ended his Fancon tour with a spectacular finale in Bangkok, Thailand. The concert was held in 5 Asian countries, starting in Seoul, followed by Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tokyo, Japan, Taipei, Taiwan, and Bangkok, Thailand. Just like the name of his concert, The Siren, Kim completely mesmerized fans all over the world with his unique charm. On December 4, Kim starred in LG U+'s Night Has Come, in which he was Nominated Best New Actor at the 3rd Blue Dragon Series Awards.
On March 5, 2024, Kim's exclusive contract with TOP Media expired and confirmed has signed an exclusive contract with Blitzway Studios on the same day. BLITZWAY had a merger acquisition with H& Entertainment last year, home of Ju Ji-hoon, Woo Do-hwan and more. On May 27, Kim's agency Blitzway Studios announced his Japan Fancon "AWAKEN" along with a poster, he visited major cities Tokyo and Osaka. On July 25, Kim had confirmed to appear in the series Social Savvy Class 101. On November 13, Kim has released a tribute song to fans for all their support over the years. "In The End" lyrics written by himself and was first revealed at his "October, the twenty-seventh afternoon" fan meeting back in October, before beginning his mandatory military service.

Military service

On September 27, 2024, Blitzway Studios announced that Kim had started the enlistment process to carry out his mandatory military service and would begin his service in the army as an active duty soldier on November 4.
On November 19, 2024, it was reported that Kim had been appointed Company commander of the trainees at Nonsan Training Center. After completing his training, he serves at the Military Band and Honor Guard of the Army Personnel Command in Gyeryongdae. He was officially discharged on May 3, 2026.

Relationship

On October 25, 2024, it was revealed that Kim is dating actress Kang Na-eon. They became a couple after the filming of Social Savvy Class 101 ended.