Choi Si-won (born February 10, 1987), sometimes mononymously credited as Siwon, is a Korean pop singer and actor. He is a member of super boy band Super Junior and its subgroup, Super Junior-M, where he is known by his Chinese name Shi Yuan. Aside from Super Junior related activities, Siwon is a successful male model and actor. Siwon is best known for his role in the 2006 Hong Kong historical action film A Battle of Wits as young Prince Liang Shi, as well as the lead male in the Korean drama Oh My Lady! opposite actress Chae Rim and the data analyst and rookie elite agent from the 2010 spin-off to Iris (TV series), Athena: Goddess of War. Siwon can speak Korean, conversational Mandarin and English, very little Cantonese (Shown in his Hong Kong interview), as well as a little Japanese. He is also one of the first four Korean artists to be on Chinese postage stamps.
Not long after Siwon's first television appearance, SM Entertainment released an announcement that he would officially debut as one of the twelve members in a boy band. This band later became officially known as Super Junior 05, the first generation of the rotational music group Super Junior. A few months before the debut of Super Junior 05, Siwon made his first official media appearance with band mate Han Geng as one of the runway models in a fashion show by Bum Suk.
Super Junior 05 officially debuted on November 6, 2005 on SBS's music program Popular Songs, performing their first single, "TWINS (Knock Out)". Their debut performance attracted over 500 fans and also garnered oversea viewers from both China and Japan. A full studio album was released a month later, which debuted at #3 on the monthly MIAK K-pop album charts
In March 2006, SM Entertainment began to recruit new members for the next Super Junior generation. However, plans changed when the company added in a thirteenth member and the company declared a halt in forming future Super Junior generations. The group dropped the suffix "05" and became officially credited as Super Junior. The re-polished group hit big after they released their first CD single "U" the following summer, which became Super Junior's most successful single in the music charts until the release of "Sorry, Sorry" in March 2009.
After Siwon's appearances in Eighteen, Twenty-Nine and Precious Family, he was casted in a larger role for the mini-series Spring Waltz, playing the supporting role Park Sang-woo, the teenage cousin of a diligent and working young woman. Not long after Siwon's musical debut, he was casted in a large supporting role in the Hong Kong epic film A Battle of Wits as Prince Liang Shi, starring opposite Andy Lau. The cast promoted the movie throughout China with a short tour of four cities in November 2006.While the film received mixed reviews, Siwon garnered positive notices for his performance. He also received praises from co-star Lau, stating that Siwon is a wonderful actor and that he sets a good example for young Hong Kong idols.
His acting career also extends into various music videos for fellow label mates, such as SNSD's Hoot, and Zhang Liyin and TVXQ's Xiah's duet Timeless (Zhang Liyin song), where Siwon starred along with fellow Super Junior member Hangeng, which received critical praise. Siwon also made appearances in several commercial films, as well as guest appearing or hosting TV shows.
Siwon is scheduled in April 2011 to film Taiwanese drama Extravagant Challenge with Ivy Chen and fellow band member Donghae as the three main characters. It is a live-action adaptation of Japanese shōjo manga Skip Beat! by Yoshiki Nakamura to be shot in Taiwan.
Siwon is best known for his "handsome appearance" and muscular physique. His looks have earned him spots on various idol "best" lists, such as being put at eleventh place in the show Idol Chart's "Most Flawless Body" list. His body if often referred to as the best by his fellow Super Junior members and many fans, and he is sometimes called "sculpture man" because his body appears "perfectly chiseled out." His fans also comically refer to his abdominal muscles frequently as "chocolate abs." He is also the tallest among Super Junior members along with Zhou Mi from Super Junior-M, standing approximately 183 centimeters tall.
Super Junior's leader Leeteuk jokingly mentioned in an episode of SBS's show Strong Heart (Korean TV show) that Siwon is purposely placed in the middle in most Super Junior photos because "putting him in the middle gives the illusion that all members of the group are really handsome." It was also mentioned that he usually sings the first verse to their songs so that the audience would see an "appealing visual." Apart from acting and Super Junior, Siwon has also appeared in various catalogs and commercials. He modeled along with Sulli of girl group F(x) (band) in the March 3rd 2010 André Kim fashion show, receiving much praise and media attention. He has also been featured in notable magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Elle, High Cut, and Men's Health, as well as modeling for large brand names such as Armani, Lacoste, Gucci, Evisu, and several other brands. Siwon also makes several prominent appearances in Korean brand Spao's catalogues along with SNSD and other Super Junior members. He also recently endorsed and modeled for the SK Telesys "Reaction" smart phone, also appearing in the phone's comical mock-action commercial, as well as Acer products.
