Sunye

On SBS Inkigayo's 500th Episode, Sunye and Jo Kwon sang the 2AM single "This Song" as a duet.

Min Sun-ye (born August 12, 1989), known professionally as Sunye, is a South Korean singer and missionary known for her work as a former leader and main vocalist of girl group Wonder Girls.

Sunye was born on August 12, 1989, in Seoul.

She attended Korea Arts High School and Dongguk University.

In 2001, Sunye was discovered by JYP Entertainment during Park Jin-young's "99% Challenge" project, where she sang and danced.

In 2006, Sunye was revealed as the 1st member of Wonder Girls as the leader and main vocalist.

She then trained at JYP Entertainment until she debuted in the Wonder Girls in 2007.

Sunye was one of the longest serving trainees at JYP Entertainment, along with Jo Kwon of 2AM and Min of Miss A.

The group, created and managed by JYP Entertainment, released their debut single, "Irony," in 2007.

In addition to recording collaborations, Sunye has also performed with other artists on stage, including "Stand Up for Love" with Davichi and Taeyeon on SBS Gayo Daejeon in 2008.

In December 2008, she performed "Buttons" with Taeyeon, Gyuri, and Ga-in on KBS Music Bank.

Sunye and her bandmate Park Ye-eun collaborated with Jo Kwon and Park Jin-young to perform "That's What Friends Are For" on the KBS program Yoon Dohyun's Love Letter.

In November 2010, Sunye recorded "This Christmas" with her JYP labelmates as the title track for the debut of JYP Nation with a subsequent music video released on December 1, 2010.

In September 2010, she made a visit to an elderly man who had secluded himself in the mountains after being a victim to many cases of fraud.

According to the producer that followed her, "Sunye prepared clothes, shoes, a radio, food, and various other presents for the man. He hasn't been able to wash in a while so there was a very bad stench coming from him but Sunye paid no attention to it and held his hands tightly, asking him to live a long life. She also prayed for his good health."

In May 2011, Sunye went on a week-long volunteer mission to Haiti, where she cared for children in an orphanage and treated victims of cholera.

On October 16, 2012, Sunye was a guest speaker at George Washington University, where she presented a lecture about K-Pop, "An Idol Star's Illusions and Responsibility."

The Korean Cultural Center at the South Korean embassy organized and sponsored the event.

In early 2013, following her marriage, she became an inactive member of the Wonder Girls and officially departed from the group in July 2015.

On January 26, 2013, JYP Entertainment confirmed that Sunye would stop her official promotions with the Wonder Girls just before marrying James Park, her Korean-Canadian fiancé.

Following the news, the agency reassured fans that the group was not disbanding and that Sunye was not retiring her position as a member of the group regardless of her inactive status.

In December 2014, Sunye stated in an interview with Joongang Ilbo's US branch at a non-profit church concert that she would continue missionary work; this was reported in the press as her leaving the Wonder Girls and the entertainment industry.

On March 18, 2014, Sunye announced she and her husband would leave for Haiti in July, where they would live for five years to continue doing missionary work.

This was dismissed by JYPE as a misunderstanding, however, in July 2015, Sunye officially confirmed her departure from the group.

Sunye has contributed her vocals on the tracks of various Korean artists, including Mighty Mouth's "Energy" and Park Jin-young's "Afternoon Separation."

She recorded the single "Maybe" for the soundtrack of the popular KBS Korean drama, Dream High.

Sunye returned to the entertainment industry in August 2018, signing with the company Polaris Entertainment.

Sunye made her official solo debut with the EP Genuine on July 26, 2022, after signing with Blockberry Creative, a subsidiary of Polaris Entertainment, in February 2022.

On August 8, 2018, it was announced that Sunye had signed with Polaris Entertainment and would be making her return to the entertainment industry after her long hiatus.

In 2021, the teaser for reality show Mama the Idol was released with Sunye confirmed as one of the cast members.

On December 10, 2021, the first episode of the show aired on tvN.

On the January 14 broadcast, members competed for the position of main vocalist which Sunye ultimately won.

On January 28, Mamadol then released their debut digital single "Mama The Idol".

In February 2022, Sunye signed a contract with Blockberry Creative.

On July 12, 2022, Blockberry Creative announced Sunye's first mini album Genuine, which was released on July 26.

It features the lead singles "Glass Heart" and "Just A Dancer"; "Glass Heart" was pre-released on July 19.

On August 28, 2022, Sunye released "My Regards", a collaboration with Jo Kwon.

On June 29, 2023, Sunye announced through her social media account that she had terminated her contract with Blockberry Creative.

Along with the other Wonder Girls members, Sunye often makes charitable donations to various charities, hospitals, and orphanages around Korea.

On January 28, 2018, Sunye announced that she had left Haiti after only two and a half years.