Nicknamed “God Se-jeong” by Produce 101 viewers, Kim Se-jeong is the epitome of versatility. She is a singer, actress, songwriter, and a musical actress. She’s the face of a long list of endorsements, and her new K-drama, Business Proposal, is all the rage right now. Here are 12 facts about the bright and energetic Kim Se-jeong that will make you fall for her irresistible charms.
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Image credit: Mnet
If you’re a fan of K-pop, you’ve probably heard of Produce 101, the reality series where a pool of contestants compete for a spot in the 11-member girl group I.O.I.
Kim Se-jeong’s nickname, “God Se-jeong”, originated from the show as she stood out round after round, and consistently achieved first or second place throughout the course of the competition.
With a staggering 525,352 votes, she ultimately ranked second place.
In an episode of JTBC’s Please Take Care Of My Refrigerator, Kang Daniel, a contestant in the second season of Produce 101, shyly revealed that Kim Se-jeong is his role model and that he hopes to be “God Daniel” as well.
After cementing her spot in I.O.I, Kim Se-jeong went on to promote the group’s debut EP, Chrysalis, and they disbanded after less than a year.
Image adapted from: OFFICIAL KIMSEJEONG
As an actress and singer, Kim Se-jeong takes her image seriously, and she revealed her most effective dieting tips on her Youtube channel, OFFICIAL KIM SEJEONG.
She shared that brushing your teeth will help to suppress your appetite, and eating slowly whilst telling yourself “I’m full” will surprisingly help you in your weight loss journey.
Her favourite low-calorie foods include seaweed noodles and apples with greek yoghurt.
Apart from her diet vlogs, Kim Se-jeong also uploads song covers and videos where she takes you behind the scenes of some of her work events.
Be charmed by her natural variety sense here:
Video credit: OFFICIAL KIMSEJEONG
Image credit: @clean_0828
The actress loves classic romantic comedies, and she adores films that are sentimental and heart-warming.
Her favourite rom-com is About Time (2013). It’s a story about a man who has the power to travel in time, and he engages this special ability to pursue his romantic interest.
Acting-wise, romantic comedy is also a genre that Kim Se-jeong enjoys the most, and she has proven her rom-com acting chops in her latest drama, Business Proposal.
Image credit: ATEOD
Challenging herself to venture into new territories, Kim Se-jeong has performed in two musicals thus far – Red Book and Return: The Promise of the Day.
Red Book was Kim Se-jeong’s first musical performance, and it is set in the 19th century.
She played the role of Anna, a writer who is subjected to prejudice and backlash by society because she writes erotica.
While some may think that it’s taboo for a K-pop idol to appear in a story related to erotica, Kim Se-jeong hopes to break the stigma by trying out unconventional roles.
The actress even begged her agency to get her a role in musical theatre, and she wants to try acting in a play in the future.
Image credit: @_sejeongdays
The average training period for a K-pop idol is two to four years, but Kim Se-jeong’s innate talent allowed her to train for just over a year.
Jellyfish Entertainment’s trust in Kim Se-jeong’s potential was not misplaced as she is now one of the company’s most successful artists.
Image adapted from: Mnet TV
Kim Se-jeong grew up in a loving family with her mother and an older brother, but life was not all sunshine and rainbows during her childhood.
When her family first came to Seoul, they had to squeeze in a 40sqm house that was barely big enough to fit three people, and prior to that, they had to stay at her aunt’s house.
Her mother was the sole breadwinner of the family and juggled a variety of jobs, such as delivering milk and being a tutor, before finally settling down to become an accountant.
Image adapted from: Mnet TV
The level of hardship Kim Se-jeong had to endure made her mature at a tender age, and she worked doubly hard to become a successful singer for her mother.
Thankfully, her hard work paid off, and her mother inspired her to write her debut song Flower Way, which is about appreciating and cherishing mothers.
Image credit: @clean_0828
In stark contrast to her bubbly personality, Kim Se-jeong is actually an introvert! She shared on her Instagram story last year that her MBTI type changed to INTP-A – the “The Logician”.
People who resonate with The Logician personality type are described as flexible thinkers who often seek out unlikely paths, and they tend to experiment with personal creativity.
This fitting description could explain why Kim Se-jeong is a jack of all trades, as she isn’t afraid to try out new things.
Her Business Proposal co-star, Ahn Hyo-seop, also shares the same MBTI type as her.
Image adapted from: tvN D STUDIO
In an episode of Onstyle’s Get It Beauty 2017, Kim Se-jeong revealed that her role models are IU and Taeyeon as they are both incredibly talented solo artists.
She mentioned that she especially looks up to IU and wants to become someone like her as she can sing, compose, write lyrics, and even act.
Image credit: @clean_0828
In 2019, IU posted an Instagram story praising Kim Se-jeong for her performance of above the time on Yoo Hee Yeol’s Sketchbook.
Kim Se-jeong couldn’t hide her excitement and posted a screenshot of IU’s story with a hilarious caption that read, “What on earth did I do in my past life? Did I save the country? Did I unify the three kingdoms? Did I invent contact lenses and fried chicken?”
Watch this video of her covering IU’s song My Sea:
Video credit: OFFICIAL KIMSEJEONG
Image adapted from: James Mcnulty
Kim Se-jeong was already a go-getter from a young age as she participated in the singing competition K-pop Star 2 at 16.
She was eliminated in the second round, but was brought back by Yang Hyun-suk as a wildcard for the casting round.
With a second chance presented to her, she tried her best and performed Taeyang’s I Need A Girl with fellow contestant Jo Yoo-mi. Unfortunately, she was eliminated in the final round.
Even though she faced such failures at the start of her career, Kim Se-jeong still persevered, and her efforts managed to get her to where she is today.
Check out Kim Se-jeong’s performance of BIGBANG’s Taeyang’s I Need A Girl in K-Pop Star 2 below.
Video credit: 스브스 예능맛집
School 2017 was Kim Se-jeong’s first acting project, and she played Ra Eun-ho, a cheerful and kind-hearted girl who dreams of becoming a webtoon artist.
In the press conference for School 2017, the director revealed that during the auditions, Kim Se-jeong exceeded expectations with her freestyle acting and surprised the crew even though she didn’t have a background in acting.
Image credit: @clean_0828
On 23rd November 2016, Kim Se-jeong made her solo debut with the single Flower Way. She was the first member of Gugudan to have a solo debut.
The versatility of her voice allows her to dabble in various styles of singing, and her songs range from energetic beats to slow and touching ballads.
Se-jeong has sung many K-drama OSTs, such as All Of My Days for Crash Landing On You, Meet Again for The Uncanny Counter, and What My Heart Says for Record Of Youth.
Watch this video of her singing All Of My Days live:
Video credit: sejeongislife
Image adapted from: @gu9udan
On the list of the most adorable celebrity friendships is Kim Se-jeong and TWICE’s Jihyo!
The duo met by chance when they were in the same waiting room for a music show, and after Jihyo asked for Kim Se-jeong’s number, they immediately hit it off.
The two of them enjoy various types of physical activities and even made a bucket list of things to do together, such as going to the beach for a swim and going mountain climbing.
They appeared on the tvN programme On & Off, where they drove around Kim Se-jeong’s hometown and made dinner together.
Image adapted from: 디글 :Diggle
They even had a sing-off in Kim Se-jeong’s personal karaoke room, and the vocalists sang to their hearts’ content.
On top of having fun together, they also sat down for a heart-to-heart talk in Kim Se-jeong’s attic. There, Kim Se-jeong revealed that Jihyo once travelled with her to help her get out of a rut when she felt like giving up.
We are confident that their precious friendship will last through thick and thin as they always find time to meet each other despite their busy schedules.
Watch a video of their interaction on tvN’s On & Off:
Video credit: 디글 :Diggle
Kim Se-jeong seems to have a never-ending stream of charms, and her aegyo and jolly personality makes it hard not to love her.
We hope these 12 facts about Kim Se-jeong have enlightened you about this talented artist, and have given you even more reasons to stan her.
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Cover image adapted from: @gu9udan and @clean_0828
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