Pre-debut Ryeowook was discovered through the
CMB Youth ChinChin Festival in 2004 and signed a contract with
SM Entertainment soon afterwards, impressing the judges with his singing talent. Before
Kyuhyun was added in 2006, Ryeowook was the last to join
Super Junior several weeks before their debut in 2005.
2006–2009: Debut with Super Junior, K.R.Y and Super Junior-M Ryeowook made his debut as part of the 12-member project group
Super Junior 05 on 6 November 2005 on
SBS' music programme
Popular Songs, performing their first single, "
Twins (Knock Out)". Their debut album
SuperJunior05 (Twins) was released a month later on 5 December 2005 and debuted at number three on the monthly MIAK K-pop album charts. In late 2006, Ryeowook, along with fellow Super Junior members Kyuhyun and
Yesung, formed a subgroup named
Super Junior K.R.Y., a group specializing in R&B ballads. The trio debuted on 5 November 2006 on
KBS'
Music Bank, performing the Hyena soundtrack called "The One I Love". Ryeowook made his acting debut in 2007 in the film
Attack on the Pin-Up Boys, a high-school
comedy/
mystery film, in which he plays the eccentric vice president of the student council. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Best Comedic Performance at the Korean Movie Awards. In April 2008, he was put into seven-member sub-group
Super Junior-M, a
Mandopop subgroup of Super Junior for the Chinese music industry. They debuted in China at the 8th Annual Music Chart Awards at the same time as the release of their first music video, "
U", on 8 April 2008. This was followed by the release of the debut Chinese-language
studio album Me in selected provinces in China on 23 April and 2 May in Taiwan. In November 2012, Super Junior K.R.Y. held a concert tour in Japan,
Super Junior K.R.Y. Special Winter Concert. They announced that they would be releasing their first single six years after debut. The teaser for
Promise You was released on 21 November 2012, followed by the single on 23 January 2013. It debuted at number two on the Oricon's daily singles chart.
2009–2018: Solo activities Ryeowook's first composition to be officially released was "Love U More", in the repackaged
Sorry, Sorry Version C. Ryeowook made his musical theatre debut in
Temptation of Wolves alongside
Park Hyung-sik of
ZE:A and
Lim Jeong-hee. It ran from 14 July to 30 October 2011 at the COEX Artium. On 16 and 23 June, following the footsteps of bandmates Yesung and Kyuhyun, Ryeowook joined KBS'
Immortal Songs 2 with
Sunggyu of
Infinite, where singers render their own versions of songs from music legends, and winners are selected by voting. He took first place in the 11 August episode where singers Lee Sang-woo and Lee Sang-eun were guests. He recorded his last episode on 16 August, which was broadcast on 25 August.
2016–present: Solo debut Ryeowook made his solo debut on 28 January 2016. Ryeowook's debut solo album's title is
The Little Prince. The release of
The Little Prince was anticipated not only as Ryeowook's first official solo album since his debut 11 years ago but also because it was the first release under Super Junior's own label, Label SJ, established by SM Entertainment in 2015 during the group's 10th anniversary. The title track, bearing the same name as the album, is a ballad inspired by French author
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novel
The Little Prince. The title track "The Little Prince" is a ballad song and a conversation between a man in pain from love and The Little Prince. In addition to Ryeowook's solo promotions and album release, he held his first solo concert through SMTOWN's The Agit series called "Ever Lasting Star - RyeoWook" from 19 February until 21 February at the SMTOWN's Coex Artium in Samseong-dong, Seoul. On 3 May 2022, Ryeowook released his third solo album
A Wild Rose. == Artistry ==