Choi Ryeosang

Choi Ryeosang (최려상) is a South Korean trainee under Bee Entertainment. He is a former member of the group LionHeart.

History[]

Early life[]

Choi Ryeosang was born on October 26th, 2005, in Busan, South Korea. Growing up, Ryeosang was very close with his family. He looked up to his older sister, Dayoon, especially. The two of them, despite Dayoon being older by four years, bonded over karaoke and idols. Dayoon started attending vocal lessons in 2011, and in 2015, she encouraged Ryeosang to do the same. Around the same time, Ryeosang started learning how to play the guitar.
In 2019, Dayoon decided to audition for several K-pop companies. Ryeosang tagged along with his family on their trips to Seoul. During Dayoon’s final audition for Bee Entertainment, relatives and friends were allowed to wait in the company’s building. While in the waiting room, Ryeosang made eye contact with FPS’s Joey, who was walking down the hallway. Ryeosang recalled that Joey waved at him and it made his day. When Dayoon was deciding whether or not to join Bee Entertainment after being accepted, Ryeosang was the one to encourage her to join.
In late 2019, Ryeosang decided that he wanted to follow his sister’s lead and audition specifically for Bee Entertainment. The judges for the audition were aware that he was related to Dayoon and noted that the two of them had a very similar vocal tone.

Predebut[]

Ryeosang joined Bee Entertainment as a part of the SKY BEES in February 2020. He joined alongside Nam Yuseong and Kwon Daeyoung.
At the 2021 Bee Entertainment Trainee Showcase, Ryeosang performed “Star Rider” by rm8z and “Alive” by Snowflake as part of the vocal team.

Arena of Hope: Royal Feast[]

On September 30th, 2021, Ryeosang was announced as a participant in Arena of Hope: Royal Feast. Ryeosang decided to audition for the Korean-Kyrgyz show because he wanted to challenge himself. In the first episode, Ryeosang befriended Alsaibek Akmatov, as neither of them wanted to share a room with the noisier trainees. For the audition performances, Ryeosang was chosen to perform first. He performed “The Fifth Season” by OH MY GIRL, and placed 11th from the judges’ rankings. While his performance received good feedback, Ryeosang was nervous at the start, which held him back from a better rank. For the second challenge, Ryeosang’s team performed “ICY” by ITZY. Ryeosang was named as one of the trainees who stood out the most during the performance, and the judges mentioned that it looked like his confidence was improving. He tied for 1st place for the challenge out of all of the trainees.
In the next challenge, Ryeosang’s team performed “OA” by Love Iz. During practice, Ryeosang struggled a bit with learning the Kyrgyz lyrics, but persevered and performed well. Again, he tied for 1st out of the trainees. For the fourth challenge, Ryeosang’s team decided to perform “Levitating” by Dua Lipa, choreographed by themselves. Ryeosang tied for 10th place. Ryeosang’s team performed “Hate” by Love Iz during the fifth challenge. Ryeosang was uncomfortable with the performance’s concept and choreography. He tied for 12th place. After their disappointing performance, Ryeosang’s team performed “Black Mamba” by aespa in the next challenge. He improved to 10th place in the rankings, but his group was the lowest ranked team.
For the seventh challenge, Ryeosang’s team performed “We Must Love” by ONF. Ryeosang’s ranking rose to a tied 1st place again. In the eighth challenge, his team performed “Tonight” by BlackSwan, with Ryeosang ranking in 1st place for a second challenge in a row. His team performed “Bari Mumkin” by AWA, with Ryeosang placing 6th. For the ninth challenge, Ryeosang’s team performed “Helicopter” by CLC, and then with the Korean team he performed “Tandaw” by JUZIM. In the show’s finale, Ryeosang placed 3rd.

Career[]

LionHeart[]

Ryeosang debuted as the main vocalist and face of the group of LionHeart on April 26th, 2022 with the single Lion. He went by the stage name Rio, as it was a nickname given to him during Arena of Hope by the other trainees. The group promoted in both South Korea and Kyrgyzstan. They followed up their debut with the mini-album Yeriho in 2023.
In October 2024, Ryeosang confirmed that he would not extend his contract with the group. He wrote that, while he loved the experience of being in the group, he wanted to learn and improve more.

Personality[]

From the perspective of fans and most people when they first meet him, Ryeosang is a very shy person. During trainee vlogs from when he first started training, Ryeosang usually clung to Dayoon or kept to himself. Other trainees said that he didn’t speak much and that he was very introverted. His introversion was very apparent during episodes of Arena of Hope, as he stuck to a small group of friends and didn’t enjoy when other trainees were in his personal space. Regarding his shy image, Ryeosang said that most of it is people misreading his introversion as being afraid of interacting with others, but also that he was extremely shy when he started training.
Through Arena of Hope and LionHeart, Ryeosang has shown that he is more than the shy person he used to be. Fans have noted that he is very polite during interactions, both with them and with the LionHeart members. He never oversteps other people’s boundaries because he expects the same in return.
Ryeosang tries to be considerate of everyone’s feelings, though he is stubborn by nature. If someone gets on his nerves, Ryeosang is easy to give up on trying to be polite with them. His interactions with Bilal Askarov during Arena of Hope are an example of this behaviour. Ryeosang’s stubbornness also contributes to his determination. He isn’t the type to back down in the face of criticism or obstacles, and is always trying to improve.
Ryeosang puts his friends first. He values having strong and genuine friendships, and prefers having a small group of close friends rather than a large group of acquaintances. Ryeosang will cling to people he’s close to and is far more talkative with them than with anyone else. During Arena of Hope, and less so during LionHeart, Ryeosang spent most of his time with fellow LionHeart member Alsaibek to the point where other trainees pointed out to him that he should try to make other friends. Ryeosang considers the members of LionHeart to be his closest friends.

Trivia[]

Ryeosang's MBTI type is ISFJ.
He is fluent in English and has conversational Kyrgyz.
Ryeosang loves pop music.
He wants to be an idol because he loves singing and he wants to share that love with the people around him.
Ryeosang posts a lot on the trainee Instagram.
He loves helping others with singing.
Ryeosang can compose music.
His best friend is Alsaibek.