Kim Chaewon김채원김채원
Kim Chaewon is the leader of LE SSERAFIM, the five-member girl group under SOURCE MUSIC. She debuted first with IZ*ONE on 29 October 2018 and again with LE SSERAFIM on 2 May 2022, and in 2025 sang her first solo soundtrack, 'Gobaek'.
Kim Chaewon is the leader of LE SSERAFIM. The first stage she stood on belonged to another group. Ajunews listed her on 15 June 2018 as a Woollim trainee appearing on Mnet’s Produce 48, and on 29 October that year she was one of the twelve members of IZ*ONE when the group debuted with a showcase for its first album COLOR*IZ at the Olympic Hall in Songpa-gu, Seoul (Seoul Shinmun). IZ*ONE officially ended its activities on 29 April 2021.
The next step was announced on 14 March 2022. In a statement, SOURCE MUSIC said that Miyawaki Sakura and Kim Chaewon had signed exclusive contracts with the label, part of HYBE, and that the two would debut in the first girl group HYBE and SOURCE MUSIC were launching together (MK Sports). In her Weverse Magazine interview for the debut album, Kim Chaewon looked back on that time: “Moving company, going back to life as a trainee, having to start everything again from the beginning — that isn’t easy.”
The title of leader came before the debut. Hankook Ilbo reported on 7 April 2022 that “Kim Chaewon of IZ*ONE has become the leader of LE SSERAFIM”, and her photos and video went up at midnight that day on the official social accounts and the HYBE LABELS YouTube channel. At the debut media showcase at Jangchung Arena in Jung-gu, Seoul on 2 May, she said it was her first official appearance in almost a year and that she was very nervous, adding that training in the meantime had let her find a new side of herself.
The lyric writing goes back to the debut album. Newspim reported on 25 April 2022 that Kim Chaewon and Huh Yunjin had worked on the lyrics of ‘Blue Flame’, a track on FEARLESS. In the same Weverse Magazine interview she explained that the label had opened lyric and melody work on every song to the members, and that their submissions were chosen in what she called a blind selection system.
Her name has kept appearing since. In 2025 she worked on ‘So Cynical (Badum)’ from the fifth mini album HOT with Huh Yunjin and Hong Eunchae (Sports Kyunghyang, 11 March 2025), and on 24 April 2026 she and Huh Yunjin took part in the writing of ‘CELEBRATION’, the lead single released ahead of the second full-length album (Star News). The label credits list her among the song’s lyricists and composers.
In 2025 she sang a drama theme on her own for the first time. Breaknews reported on 2 September that Netflix had announced on its official social accounts that Kim Chaewon would sing ‘Gobaek’, the theme of the Japanese Netflix series 로맨틱 어나니머스 (Romantic Anonymous), released on 16 October. It is a Japanese-language remake of ‘Gobaek’ (Confession), the song Park Hye-kyung released in 1999, and the single came out on 19 September, ahead of the series (The Fact). “Singing a drama OST on my own is a first for me, so I’m excited,” she said.
She began presenting three months after the debut. For two weeks from 24 July 2022 she was a special MC on SBS’s Inkigayo with Noh Jeong-eui and Seo Bum-june, standing in for the regular MC Yeonjun while he was away on an overseas tour (Sports Kyunghyang). ENA’s 혜미리예채파 (Hyemiriyechaepa), first broadcast on 12 March 2023, was the first programme she joined as a regular on her own, and before it aired she said she was “so happy, because it’s the first programme I’m doing as a regular by myself” (Xports News). She also took the special MC’s seat on KBS 2TV’s Stars’ Top Recipe at Fun-Staurant on 2 February 2024 and on episode 943 of MBC’s Show! Music Core on 25 April 2026.
On the brand side, in February 2023 she became the Korean ambassador of the French make-up brand MAKE UP FOR EVER. Star News reported her saying: “I’ve always been interested in MAKE UP FOR EVER’s products, so it’s an honour to work as the brand’s ambassador.” On 27 August 2024 Swarovski named her a brand ambassador (WWD Korea).
Kim Chaewon releases her first solo soundtrack, 'Gobaek'
The theme of the Japanese Netflix series Romantic Anonymous, it is a new recording of 'Gobaek', the song Park Hye-kyung released in 1999. The single came out before the series.
The Fact · Source 1Kim Chaewon debuts with LE SSERAFIM's first mini album FEARLESS
At the media showcase at Jangchung Arena in Jung-gu, Seoul, she said it was her first official appearance in about a year and that she was nervous.
Hankookilbo · Source 2SOURCE MUSIC introduces Kim Chaewon as the leader of LE SSERAFIM
The label was introducing one member a day before the debut, and her photos and video went up on the official social accounts and the HYBE LABELS YouTube channel.
Hankookilbo · Source 3Kim Chaewon debuts with IZ*ONE's first album COLOR*IZ
The twelve members debuted at a showcase for the album's release at the Olympic Hall in Songpa-gu, Seoul, performing the debut title track 'La Vie en Rose' for the first time.
Seoul Shinmun · Source 4SOURCE MUSIC
LE SSERAFIM are a five-member girl group under SOURCE MUSIC, a HYBE label: Kim Chaewon, Sakura, Huh Yunjin, Kazuha and Hong Eunchae. They debuted on 2 May 2022 with the mini album FEARLESS, released the second full-length album PUREFLOW pt.1 in May 2026 and the second single album Made My Night on 11 September 2026.
The reports behind the facts above, for the ones no story on the site covers yet. A row with a story cites its sources there; the act's own channel and a brand's official page are linked in the rows themselves.
Translated from the Korean original.
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