30-Second Overview: Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), known as Tzuyu, is the youngest member (maknae) of the South Korean K-pop group Twice. Renowned for her immense popularity and hailed as one of the world's most beautiful faces, she is one of the most radiant pieces in the glamorous puzzle of K-pop.
In 2012, a computer screen played Rihanna's Where Have You Been. A scout, watching a dimly lit dance performance video, was captivated by a tall junior high school girl with her mesmerizing dance moves. A phone call followed shortly after, inviting the girl to discuss her future with their company.
The scout was a Korean who worked for JYP Entertainment; and the girl was the protagonist of this story. Her name is Chou Tzuyu, who would later become a member of Twice — one of the most popular K-pop groups in the world, known simply as "Tzuyu".
Early Life: The Dancing Princess
Born in Tainan in 1999, Tzuyu is the daughter of Huang Yen-ling, the owner of the aesthetic medicine clinic chain "Top Beauty Girl." From a young age, Tzuyu showed her soft-spoken nature, and passion for singing and dancing. By junior high, she had already mastered various dance styles. To her, the stage is like home.
In 2012, while Tzuyu was performing at the recital of MUSE Performing Arts Workshop. The recital's recording video was uploaded to the internet and caught the eye of JYP Entertainment scouts, who invited her to an audition in South Korea. After careful consideration, Tzuyu decided to embrace the challenge. When Tzuyu announced her plan to go to Korea at Fusing Junior High School, her classmates organized a camping farewell party to see her off. In November 2012, Tzuyu became a JYP trainee.
In 2015, JYP launched a reality show Sixteen to form a new girl group, Twice. Although Tzuyu was not initially selected for the final lineup, her overwhelming popularity among viewers prompted J.Y. Park, the founder of JYP Entertainment, to add her to the group.
Debut: An Abrupt Storm
On 20 October, 2015, Twice debuted with their first album, The Story Begins. Tzuyu's story as an idol began here as well.
A heavy cloud, however, loomed over the start of her story - On 21 November, 2015, during the Korean variety show My Little Television (마이 리틀 텔레비전), Tzuyu was seen holding the flags of both the Republic of China (Taiwan) and South Korea. While some Chinese netizens initially expressed dissatisfaction, the situation escalated into a "thunderstorm" on January 8, 2016.
💡 Did You Know
The flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan, 🇹🇼), was adopted by the Nationalist government in China in 1928. After the government lost in China and fled to Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party adopted the "Five-star Red Flag" (五星紅旗, 🇨🇳) in 1949. Nowadays, China considers the flag of the Republic of China as a historical flag of China. In China, the flag can be seen at various historical sites related to the Republic of China.
Huang An, a Taiwanese singer based in China, shared screenshots on Weibo accusing Tzuyu of promoting Taiwanese independence just as Twice was scheduled to appear on a major Spring Festival gala in China. The backlash was swift: Twice was blacklisted from the gala, endorsements vanished, and Tzuyu's political stance became a subject of intense scrutiny. JYP Entertainment initially issued an apology stating that Tzu-yu was a minor and had no political intent, but the public outcry in China continued to intensify.
On the evening of January 15, 2016, JYP Entertainment released a video. In it, Tzuyu, dressed in a black turtleneck sweater, read from a prepared statement:
Hello everyone, there's something I want to tell you all. I am Tzu-yu. Sorry, I should have apologise earlier, but I was too afraid to face you all. There is only one China, The two sides of the strait are one, and I have always felt proud to be Chinese, I feel extremely apologetic to my company and to Internet friends on both sides of the strait for the hurt that I have caused, and I also feel very guilty. I have decided that I will halt all of my current activities in China, and will go through some serious reflection. Again, I apologise to everyone. Sorry.
The video lasted less than 90 seconds, but it sent shockwaves through Taiwan. The very next day, January 16, Tsai Ing-wen won the 2016 presidential election with 6.89 million votes.
On election night, the video became the focal point of national discussion. Young voters likened the apology to a "hostage video" where a captive is forced to read a script. Politicians debated its impact on the election results, and commentators suggested it marked the end of the "1992 Consensus" and "One China, Different Interpretations." Regardless of the politics, one thing was clear: a teenage girl had inadvertently been swept into a geopolitical storm, touching the most sensitive nerves of Taiwanese identity.
💡 Did You Know
"1992 Consensus" (九二共識) is a political term about a meeting in 1992. But the nature of the 1992 Consensus is disputed. "One China, Different Interpretations" (一個中國各自表述, aka 一中各表) is the view of One China - that both the ROC and the PRC agreed that there's only one China in the world, and Taiwan is a part of China. Despite this, the ROC and the PRC can interpret who is the one governing China.
Rising Stars: The Most Beautiful Woman
After the controversy, Tzuyu's career flourished. In Twice, she is a dancer, vocalist, and maknae. When seeing her expressive eyes and ears, Tzuyu's fellow members nicknamed her "Yoda".
As Twice's fame grew, Tzuyu's individual presence remained a standout. Her viral moment came during an archery competition, where her hair flipped back as she released an arrow — the clip was shared by Taika Waititi, the director of Thor: Ragnarok.
📝 Curator's Note
It is easy to imagine how many hearts were struck by Tzuyu’s "arrows" during those competitions.
Starting in 2015, the US-based website TC Candler included Tzuyu in its "100 Most Beautiful Faces" list. Her ranking climbed steadily, reaching #1 in 2019. Even in 2025, she remained a mainstay on the list at #20.
In 2019, Tzuyu graduated from Hanlim Arts School. She later enrolled in online courses at Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes (UEMC) in Spain. In 2024, she graduated with a Master's degree in Applied Psychology.
Maturity: Solo Ventures and Homecoming
In 2019, Twice shifted their musical direction with the single _Fancy You_. The mature sound of _Fancy_ signaled a transformation for the group and Tzuyu alike.
In April 2020, Tzuyu became the first member of TWICE to release a solo photobook, Yes, I am Tzuyu. In May 2022, the members launched individual Instagram accounts; Tzuyu’s handle, @thinkaboutzu, surpassed 10 million followers by March 2023, making her the second most-followed Taiwanese celebrity after Jay Chou. In September 2024, Tzuyu released her debut album abouTZU. It sold 24,000 units and ranked No. 19 on the Billboard 200.
In 2025, ten years after their debut, Twice brought their "This is for" World Tour to Taiwan. The response was overwhelming: tickets sold out instantly, and hundreds of thousands of fans gathered for the Kaohsiung concert. They quickly added additional Taipei concerts after the commercial success in Kaohsiung. During the Taipei concert, when fans chanted her name, Tzuyu finally broke down in tears, crouching on stage to hide her emotion.
"It has always been my dream to perform in Kaohsiung and Taipei with my members. Thank you for making this wish come true. I hope we can keep moving toward our dreams together, okay? We have to keep fighting and working hard, okay? Thank you all!"
And this is the weight of her decade-long journey.
Trivia
- Tzuyu is known for her very formal and polite Korean, leading her older group members to joke that she is the most "mature" and "big sister-like" person in the group.
- Tzuyu is a dedicated dog lover. Her long-time companion, "Gucci" (酷吉), passed away in 2020 at the age of 11. She later adopted two dogs, Kaya and Butter.
- Tzuyu is frequently referred to as the "Light of Taiwan" (台灣之光).
- Tzuyu consistently ranked as one of the most popular idols in Gallup Korea polls: 3rd in 2016, 9th in 2017, and 13th in 2018.
Related Topics
- → 台灣感性: How Koreans see Taiwan
References
Overview
- 【明星幕後】關於TWICE周子瑜的7件事！等9年終於Solo出道，射箭神級美顏成名場面，私下團員叫她尤達瑜寶
- 周子瑜美顏精靈的6件事！出名的愛狗天使，還是TWICE中的尤達瑜寶
- 她的一句對不起 撼動台灣大選 解密 南台灣醫美小公主周子瑜
- 書摘／周子瑜哭了！13歲孤單一人赴韓當練習生發展史催淚曝光惹心疼
- Everything to Know About K-Pop Group Twice
- 솔로에서 그룹까지, 컴백 축복이 끝없는 9월
Korean Wave
Early life
- 150611 子瑜媽訪談
- 2016 總統大選的社群媒體、政治討論與情緒傳播：以周子瑜事件的大資料分析為例
- The formidable challenge facing Taiwan's first female president
- The politics of apology: The 'Tzuyu Scandal' and transnational dynamics of K-pop
- Who is 16-year-old girl Chou Tzuyu at the centre of a political storm ahead of Taiwan's presidential poll?
- Singer's Apology for Waving Taiwan Flag Stirs Backlash of Its Own
Did You Know
Afterwards
- 周子瑜花1年拿到碩士學位！粉絲：跳過大學嗎？勤學態度驚呆人
- Twice's Tzuyu confirms she has a master's degree in applied psychology
- Twice子瑜IG坦承陷入低潮！突發長文「連家人都不知道該怎麼安慰我...」狀態讓人擔心
- 台灣第一人！子瑜IG追蹤破千萬 TWICE團員僅輸她
- TWICE高雄11萬人海太狂！「2分鐘空拍片」曝光 震撼畫面網全哭了
- TWICE大巨蛋安可不斷 周子瑜激動落淚蹲地謝粉絲
- TC Candler - YouTube
- 「世界で最も美しい顔ベスト100(2019年版)」画像全まとめ
- BTS’ V named the most handsome face of 2017
- TWICE轉型解析／新歌《Fancy》會是什麼曲風？
- 從全糖到微糖 3分甜的TWICE成年禮：《FANCY YOU》
- Rich Homie Quan, Fred again.. & TZUYU: Billboard 200 Chart Movers
Trivia
- 明明是忙內！子瑜被TWICE爆像團中老大
- 子瑜勾定延在TWICE搞小團體？認了是「命中注定的愛」
- 陪伴11年愛犬過世 子瑜：真的很傷心難過
- 真的是愛狗天使！TWICE子瑜收養流浪犬母子「不忍牠們分開」一次收編兩隻最萌家人暖哭粉絲
- 트와이스 정연과 쯔위, 네 마리 반려견 완전체 화보 공개
- 한국갤럽 Gallup Report 2016/12/20n
- IU dominated Gallup Korea's yearly music poll
- 2018년 올해를 빛낸 가수와 가요 – 최근 12년간 추이 포함