Yukika Teramoto

Biography

Yukika Teramoto (寺本 來可, Teramoto Yukika; born February 16, 1993), also known mononymously as Yukika (Korean: 유키카; Japanese: ユキカ), is a Japanese singer and actress based in South Korea. She is also a former model and voice actress.
After successfully auditioning for Nicola in 2006, Teramoto modeled exclusively for the magazine until 2009. In 2007, she made her acting debut in the live-action drama adaptation of ChocoMimi. From 2009 to 2012, she provided voice acting for several anime and video game series, most notably Rouge Clafoutis from Dog Days, Chiri Nakazato from Seitokai Yakuindomo, and Kaname Nonomiya from Gal Gun.
After taking a hiatus in 2012 to focus on her university studies, Teramoto returned to entertainment in 2015. In 2016, Teramoto starred in the South Korean drama The Idolmaster KR and debuted in the tie-in Korean idol girl group "Real Girls Project", jumpstarting her career in South Korea. In 2019, she released her first Korean solo single, "Neon". She released her debut album, Soul Lady, in July 2020.

2006–2009: Modeling and acting debut

In 2006, Teramoto was one of the Grand Prix winners in the 10th model auditions for pre-teen fashion magazine Nicola out of 5,986 applicants. She began working as an exclusive model for Nicola beginning in the September 2006 issue until March 2009 issue. She made her acting debut in the live-action adaptation of ChocoMimi in 2007. In addition to playing the lead character Choco, Teramoto also released music as her character along with Kayano Masuyama under the name Choco & Mimi. Their first single, "Happy Happy!", was released in 2008 as the opening theme song to ChocoMimi and reached #175 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.
In 2008, Teramoto made her film debut with a minor role in Handsome Suits. She also appeared in commercials for Pocari Sweat from Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Baskin Robbins, and Bandai Namco Entertainment's Happy Dance Collection for the Nintendo Wii.

2009–2012: Voice acting career and hiatus

After graduating as a model from Nicola, Teramoto enrolled in the agency I'm Enterprise as a voice actress and debuted with a minor role in K-On! She began attending the voice acting school NichiNare. Aside from providing additional voices in various anime and video game series, Teramoto also had a recurring role on Dog Days as Rouge Clafoutis, Seitokai Yakuindomo as Chiri Nakazato, and Gal Gun as Kaname Nonomiya. On December 28, 2011, Teramoto resigned from I'm Enterprise, effectively putting her voice acting career on hiatus, in order to attend university.

2015–2023: Real Girls Project, solo music debut, and retirement

Teramoto returned to the entertainment industry in August 2015 and appeared in commercials and stage plays. She stated she had been interested in South Korean culture since listening to "Gee" by Girls' Generation. She also grew up listening to Korean artists such as Girls' Generation, Kara, and BoA. In 2016, she auditioned for The Idolmaster KR, a South Korean drama adaptation of the original game series. She was the only Japanese cast member to be selected. Aside from playing a fictionalized version of herself in The Idolmaster KR, Teramoto was also part of the Real Girls Project, a Korean idol group formed for the drama. Teramoto was also a contestant on the reality show Mix Nine along with other members of Real Girls Project; she finished in 34th place.
After Real Girls Project disbanded, Teramoto left Mole Entertainment and signed with Estimate Entertainment. In 2018, Teramoto was cast as Yui, a supporting role for the South Korean web drama Hello, Stranger! She provided the voice to Athena and Palas in the mobile game Destiny Child; she also provided a new version of the game's theme song, "Da yo ne Da yo ne."
On February 22, 2019, Teramoto released her debut Korean solo single "Neon", which had a "new retro girl" concept based on the city pop genre. Later that year, her followup single "Cherries Jubiles" was released on July 9. In preparation for her first solo album, Soul Lady, Teramoto released "Yesterday×Yesterday8 July 2020 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Yesterday3:42" on July 8, 2020, as a pre-release track. Soul Lady was officially released on July 21, 2020, alongside its title track.
On November 30, 2020, Teramoto announced the termination of her contract with Estimate Entertainment. A month later, Teramoto signed with Ubuntu Entertainment, a new agency established by her former manager.
In February 2021, Ubuntu Entertainment announced that Teramoto will return with her first extended play sometime in the first half of 2021. A pre-release single, "Lovemonth", was released on March 2, for her upcoming extended play, titled Timeabout,. Timeabout, was released on April 7, 2021, along with the music video for the lead single off the EP, titled "Insomnia".
On September 20, 2021, Teramoto released the digital single "Loving You".
On September 29, Teramoto released her first Japanese original single "Tokyo Lights×Tokyo Lights29 September 2021 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Tokyo Lights3:04", a few months after debuting the Japanese version for "Insomnia".
On June 23, 2022, Teramoto released the digital single "Scent".
On December 1, 2023, Teramoto released Time-Lapse, a collection of remakes of classic city pop songs.

Personal life

On April 23, 2022, Ubuntu Entertainment announced that Teramoto will marry a non-celebrity Korean boyfriend. On July 1, 2022, Teramoto revealed through YouTube that her husband is Kim Min-hyuk, a former member of the South Korean boy band MAP6. On March 26, 2023, Teramoto announced through Instagram the couple had married the day prior. On March 25, 2024, Teramoto gave birth to her daughter.