Ryu Hwa young

Biography

Ryu Hwa-young was born on 22 April 1993 in Gwangju, South Korea. Her older twin sister, Ryu Hyo-young, is also a rapper and former member of the group Coed School and its sub-group F-ve Dolls. In 2010, Hwayoung's sister Hyoyoung placed first in a nationwide beauty pageant, "Miss Chunhyang".

Ryu Hyo-young and Ryu Hwa-young made a guest appearance on SBS's variety show Star King in May 2010. They were both subsequently scouted and recruited by Core Contents Media.

2010–12: T-ara and Solo activities

Core Contents Media originally slated to add Hyoyoung (Hwayoung's twin sister) into T-ara as the seventh member, but she recommended her sister, Hwayoung. In July 2010, it was announced that Hwayoung would be added into T-ara as lead rapper while Hyoyoung would be debuting in the newly formed Coed School. Hwayoung began promotions as part of T-ara in November 2010 by appearing on the third season of Hello Baby and promoting their first mini album Temptastic. T-ara held their first performance with Hwayoung on December 3, through KBS's Music Bank. During her time in the group, she participated in the collaboration between Davichi and T-ara for "We Were In Love" (Hangul: 우리 사랑했잖아) in December 2011. She also participated in the writing of the rap lyrics of "Love is All the Same" (Hangul: 사랑은 다 그런거래요) by fellow labelmate Yangpa.

On July 28, 2012, several members of T-ara posted tweets that were purportedly seen to be derisive references to Hwayoung. An official announcement regarding these tweets and a "major announcement about T-ara" was made July 30, which revealed Hwayoung would no longer be a member of the group. Following the announcement of her abrupt contract termination with Core Contents Media, rumors of her experiencing severe bullying by other members of T-ara surfaced throughout the web and the media, which sparked intensive public interest and controversy. Some members of the public strongly believed that Hwayoung was mistreated by the others members of T-ara and her agency. Outcry by T-ara's fan community led to the scheduling of a shut down, as well as the suspension of the members' activities, resulting in a huge blow to the group's popularity.

Despite rumours of a possible return to T-ara, Hwayoung announced that she would be returning to the music industry with new image. On September 10, Hwayoung later participated in the hip hop and rap event "Open Freestyle Day 2012", announcing that she was looking forward to studying music and eventually returning to the industry.

2013–present: Solo career

On December 15, It was announced that Hwayoung signed an exclusive contract with Wellmade Yedang and is preparing to debut as an actress. On December 31, Hwayoung made an appearance at the "2014 Miller Countdown Party" as a DJ, alongside DJ Koo, Park Myung-soo and TATA, becoming the youngest female DJ to ever participate in the event.

Hwayoung debuted as an actress in the two-episode drama special Mother’s Choice. She successfully made a transition into acting after receiving praise for her roles in tvN's romantic comedy Ex-Girlfriend Club and JTBC's coming-of-age drama Age of Youth. In 2017, she was cast in her first leading role in KBS's upcoming crime drama Mad Dog.