Heenim of Super Junior

On November 2nd 2005 SM Entertainment debuted a new boygroup named “Super Junior ’05”. Kim Heechul, along with other eleven members, debuted on SBS’ Popular Songs with their debut single “Twins”. In March 2006, SM added a 13th member, Kyuhyun, into the Super Junior lineup and removed the suffix “’05”. On June 6th 2006, SM Entertainment re-branded the group by releasing a CD single entitled “U”. The song charted high and became one of Super Junior’s successful singles before the release of “Sorry Sorry” in 2009.
In 2007, he debuted in a Super Junior subgroup, Super Junior-T, with five other Super Junior members: Leeteuk, Eunhyuk, Kangin, Shindong, and Sungmin. The group brought out a Trot single “Rokuko” on February 23rd 2007, and became the first idol group capitalizing trot music. This sub-unit however was short lived, for they announced their hiatus in 2008.
In 2009, he tried his first solo attempt by releasing a solo single “First Star”. The single was a part of the OST for the drama Loving You a Thousand Times which he also starred in as the character Lee Chul. The song was written by Song Jong-ho and composed by Choi Myung-hoon.
In 2011 he, together with labelmate and long time friend TRAX’s Jungmo, formed a group called M&D, meaning Midnight and Dawn or Miari and Dangae-dong (which are the two’s hometowns). Their debut single, “Close Ur Mouth” was a self produced song by the members themselves. Heechul wrote the lyrics and directed the music video for the song, while Jungmo produced and played the instrumentals for the song.
Well known for his carefree and honest personality, Heechul became one of the faces of Super Junior on variety shows. His popularity rockets from his hilarious variety shows appearances, which shows that an idol can be a well-rounded entertainer. His personality, however, not only gained him fans, but also anti-fans. In his early debut days, his carefree and honest personality were often mistaken for being mannerless. In his early days, Hyung Young, Noh Hong Chul and him were voted as the three most unlikable celebrities.
Throughout his acts in Super Junior, he earned many nicknames. Lady HeeHee was one of the nicknames he obtained. This was embedded into his list of nicknames due to his impersonations of Lady Gaga. He also gained the nicknames Cinderella and Flower for his exceptionally pretty face. Because of this also, he often crossdresses on various occasions. His self proclaimed nickname flower, inspired the individual fans of Heechul to call themselves Petals.
Heechul is also nicknamed Heenim for his many talents, and is for that respected by his members, fans and hoobaes or juniors within the industry. The suffix ‘nim’, usually used to express respect to someone, is added to his name thus making it a nickname of respect. His various talent can be seen by his multiple positions in the group as vocalist, lead dancer and rapper. He has also taken part in writing lyrics not only for Super Junior’s songs but also f(x)’s and Orange Caramel’s.
Appearances on TV Shows
Other than being a full time member of Super Junior, Heechul made his name through his appearance in many television shows and even movies.
Dramas
Before Heechul debuted with Super Junior on November 2nd 2005, he first appeared in the KBS2 Drama Banolim as Baek Jinwoo. In the same year, he also starred as a leading role in Rainbow Romance. The drama went on until 2006. In 2006, he starred in the drama Bad Family by the broadcasting company SBS as Gong Min, a supporting role in the drama.
Here is a list of the dramas he has starred in throughout his career:
Year | Title | Role | Network | Note |
2005 | Sharp 2 (Season 2) | Baek Jinwoo | KBS2 | Supporting Role |
Loveholic | Joo Ho | KBS2 | Minor Role | |
2005-06 | Rainbow Romance | Heechul | MBC | Lead Role |
2006 | Bad Family | Gong Min | SBS | Supporting Role |
2007-08 | Golden Bride | Kim Young-soo | ||
2009 | Tae-hee, Hye-kyo, Ji-hyun | Couple breaker | MBC | Cameo- EP 116 |
2009-10 | Loving You A Thousand Times | Lee Chul | SBS | Supporting Role |
2010 | I am Legend | Madonna’s Band Fan | Cameo-EP 15 | |
2011 | Melody of Youth | Shen Tai-Yi | CCTV-1 | Supporting Role- Chinese Drama |
2013 | The Heirs | Music Program MC | SBS | Cameo-EP 4 |
2014 | Flower Grandpa Investigation Unit | Park Jungwoo | TvN | Lead Role |
2016 | Youth Recipe | N/A | SBS | Lead Role- Web Drama (Unreleased) |
Variety and Reality Shows

Well liked for his honest and carefree personality, Heechul is often invited to be a guest star or even to MC variety and reality shows on TV. He started his career as a variety personality in 2007 by MCing at SBS’s weekly music show, substituting for Shinhwa’s Andy. He then became a permanent MC alongside Ku Hye-sun, Jang Geun-seuk, and Song Ji hyo.
In 2018, he has four programs being broadcast and they are: Knowing Bros (JTBC), Life Bar (TvN), My Daughter’s Men (E Channel) and Super Junior’s Super TV .
List of Reality and Variety Shows Heechul has appeared in:
Year | Title | Role | Network | Note |
2008 | To Be Kangin and Heechul | Cast with Kangin | ETN | |
8 vs 1 | Co-host with Shin Dong yup, Jung Chanwoo, Shim Eun-jin and Sol Bi | SBS | ||
2008-09 | Good Daddy | Daddy | ||
Band of Brothers | Cast | Mnet | ||
2010 | Family Outing (Season 2) | Member of The Family | SBS | EP 12-17 |
2010-11 | Radio Star | Host | MBC | EP 160-162, 165-205 |
2011 | The Night The Memories Shine Bright | MC | MBC Drama | EP 1-5, 8-16, 18-21 |
Saturday Freedom (Secret) | KBS | EP 1-15 | ||
2013-14 | Ssulzun | Cast | JTBC | |
2014 | We Got Married Global Edition (Season 2) | Paired up with Puff Guo (Taiwanese) | MBC Every1 | |
Tell Me Your Wish | MC- Dressed as Anna | MBC | September 26th | |
My Young Tutor Friend | Cast with Jeong Jun-ha | EP 1-3 | ||
2015 | The Demand of Luxurious Food | Panelist with Jun Hyun-moo | TVN | EP 1-13 |
National Singing Contest | Panel | KBS2 | Chuseok Special | |
Duet Song Festival | Celebrity Supporters | MBC | Pilot 1 | |
MAPS | Cast with Simon D, Kwon Yuri, Choi Kang-hee | O’live | ||
A Style For You | MC | KBS | ||
2015-16 | All The Way With You (Season 1, 2) | Host | Zhejiang Television | Korean-Chinese Program |
2015-17 | Weekly Idol (Season 1) | Main MC, Special MC | MBC Every1 | EP 245-270, 275, EP 229, 230, 300 |
2015-present | Knowing Bros | Cast | JTBC | |
2016 | Code: Secret Room (Season 1) | Contestant | Eliminated On Round 7 | |
Perhaps Love (Season 3) | Paired up with Li Feier (Chinese) | Hubei TV | Chinese Variety Show | |
2016-17 | Phantom Singer (Season 1) | MC | JTBC | |
Singderella | Channel A | |||
Secretly Greatly | Host | MBC | ||
Lipstick Prince | Main MC | OnStyle | ||
2016-18 | Game Show | SBS TV | ||
2017 | Syndrome Man | MC with Kim Gura, Kim Min-jong, Jung Yong-hwa | KBS2 | Seollal Special |
Bragging Room Guest | MC with Park Myeong-su | Pilot episode part 1,2 | ||
Pot Stand | Host | EP 1, 3, 6, 13 | ||
Living Together in Empty Room | Cast member with GFriend | MBC | EP 8-11 | |
Idol School | Homeroom Teacher | Mnet | ||
2017-18 | Perfect On Paper | MC | JTBC | |
2017-present | Life Bar (Season 2) | TvN | ||
My Daughter’s Men (Season 2, 3) | E Channel | |||
2018 | 1% Friendship (Season 1) | MC & Cast member | KBS2 | Ep 1-9, 13, 14 |