✩﹐[𝗼𝗻𝗲]﹒𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗀𝗂𝗋𝗅﹒⅄
⁑⁑﹒[𝗁𝖾𝗋]﹒𝘄𝗶𝗸𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮﹒➷
Notice !
This chapter contains of:
- mention of physical injuries.
If your uncomfortable to these kind of topic please skip this chapter.
Thank you!
In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhangchen.
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Zhangchen Yujin ❪ Chinese: 張陳玉瑾; born December 31, 1998 ❫, known mononymously as Yujin is a Taiwanese rapper, dancer, ambassador, and volleyball player. She debuted as a member of the girl group ITZY on February 2019. Yujin is the first player in the history of Asian volleyball to receive an MVP award in the CEV Women's Champions League. She is an outside hitter and the former captain of the Chinese Taipei women's national volleyball team. She signed in 2005 with C.T.V.B.A and became the youngest player in the team. She announced her retirement from the national team in August 2021.
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𝗬𝗨𝗝𝗜𝗡
Yujin for Elle Japan 2023
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Born | Zhangchen Yujin
December 31, 1998 ❪ age 23 ❫
Zhongshan, Taipei, Taiwan
Other Names | Asian Gamova • Volleyball Empress
Occupation | Volleyball player • rapper • singer • dancer • ambassador
Nationality | Taiwanese
Height | 1.79 m ❪ 5 ft 10 in ❫
Weight | 47.7 kg ❪ 104 lbs ❫
Spike | 330 cm ❪ 130 in ❫
Block | 320 cm ❪ 130 in ❫
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𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥
Origin | South Korea
Genres | K-pop • J-pop
Instruments | Vocal
Years Active | 2005 - present
Labels | JYP • Velocity Vortex • Warner Japan • Republic
Associated acts | C.T.V.B.A • JT Marvelous • Fenerbahçe • Eczacıbaşı VitrA • Shanghai • Itzy • IKEA
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𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗘 𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘
Traditional Chinese | 張臣玉津
Hanyu Pinyin | Zhāng Chén Yùjīn
Bopomofu | ㄓㄤ ㄔㄣ ㄩ ㄐㄧㄣ
Wade-Giles | Chang Ch'en Yü-chin
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𝗞𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗡 𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘
Hangul | 유햐진
Hanja | 劉蕙真
Revised Romanization | Yoo Hye Jin
McCune-Reischauer | Yoo Hye Chin
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𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗬𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
Position | Outside Hitter
Current Club | 🇨🇳 Shanghai
Number | 3: national team, 3: club
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𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥
2005 - 2009 | 🇹🇼 C.T.V.B.A
2009 - 2011 | 🇯🇵 JT Marvelous
2011 - 2017 | 🇹🇷 Fenerbahçe
2017 - 2018 | 🇨🇳 Shanghai
2018 - 2020 | 🇹🇷 Eczacıbaşı VitrA
2020 - 2021 | 🇹🇼 C.T.V.B.A
2021 - 2022 | 🇨🇳 Shanghai
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𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠
2005 - 2021 | Taiwan
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𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦
Women's Volleyball
Representing 🇹🇼 Taiwan
• Asian Games
Gold | 2014 Incheon
Silver | 2010 Guangzhou
Bronze | 2018 Jakarta-Palembang
• Asian Championship
Silver | 2015 Tianjin
Bronze | 2011 Taipei
Bronze | 2011 Nakhon Ratchasima
Bronze | 2017 Metro Manila
Bronze | 2019 Seoul
• Asian Cup
Silver | 2014 Shenzhen
Bronze | 2010 Taicang
Last Updated: June 2020
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𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘
Yujin signed a three-year contract with Fenerbahçe in 2011 after playing for C.T.V.B.A in Taiwan for four seasons and JT Marvelous in Japan for two seasons. She signed another two-year extension with Fenerbahçe and extended it for another season in 2016. She spent the 2017 - 18 season in the Taiwan Volleyball league and came back to Turkey in the following year with Eczacıbaşı VitrA.
Despite Taiwan finishing in 4th place, Yujin was the Most Valuable Player and Best Scorer at the 2012 London Olympics, where she set the Olympic record for most points scored 207, topping the previous record of 204 points by Yekaterina Gamova at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Yujin is the first player in the history of Asian volleyball to receive an MVP award in the CEV Women's Champions League.
Yujin is the first player to have four entries in the list of those to have scored 30 points or more in a single Olympic Games match in volleyball.
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𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘
Yujin was born on Zhongshan of Taipei, Taiwan on December 31, 1998, to self-made entrepreneurs and the second child of the family. She started dancing from a young age and started volleyball in 4th grade, initially inspired by her oldest sister who was also a volleyball player and friend. In middle school, because she was less than 171 cm 5'7", she considered quitting volleyball and becoming a basketball player. Fortunately, during her three years at her highschool, she grew more than 9⅛ cm, and moved her position to an outsider hitter from her initial position of a setter and libero.
Her mother Liu Mei-Ling is a Taiwanese actress, model, and former internet celebrity who family owns various hotels, condominiums and Queensland, a chain of motels in Taipei, Taiwan and Tainan City they also own a temple in honor of her mother's late grandmother. And her father Zhangchen Morris is a businessman who is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Foxcon. Foxcon is the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics, with factories in several countries, mostly in mainland China where it employs 1.2 million people and is its largest private employer and exporter.
Youth Sports Academy
She is dedicated in youth sports development and runs a sports academy and multiple charity activities under her name. ❛❛ I wanted to give back all the goodness that volleyball has given me. As time went by, I realized the importance of youth sports, since children who participate in sports activities become more sociable and healthy individuals, ❜❜ she said.
Social Media
Yujin created her TikTok account on the 14th of July 2019 where she frequently posts videos to share her daily life with her fans. As of October 2021, Yujin has over 7,800,000 followers with over 195 million likes.
Yujin is the first volleyball player to achieve more than 1 million followers on TikTok.
Yujin also currently has over five million followers on Instagram, making her one of the most followed volleyball players in the whole world.
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𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥
2006: Before professional debut
She received the spotlight of the Taiwanese media due to her outstanding physical condition and performance in her school stage. As a result, she was selected in the national team in 2005. She made her international debut at the World Grand Champions Cup, where she ranked as 3rd best scorer. Afterwards, she was selected as the first choice in the first round of the V-League draft by the C.T.V.B.A, where she started her professional volleyball career.
2006 - 2009: Taiwan V-League
During her first professional season, Yujin contributed to C.T.V.B.A becoming the champions of the Taiwanese League. She received every award available, including the 'New Face Award', 'Regular Season MVP', 'Final Championship MVP', 'Best Scorer', 'Best Spiker', and 'Best Server'. However, she had to receive surgery in her right knee afterwards. Before fully recovering from the surgery, she participated in the 2006 World Championship and 2006 Asian Games. Mid-competition, she suffered from serious feet pain as an aftereffect of the surgery.
C.T.V.B.A became the reigning champion of the 2006 - 07 season with the help of Yujin. The team achieved the feat of being 1st place in the regular season and winning the finals for two years in a row. Yujin was selected as the MVP for both the regular season and championship, and was also the best spiker of the regular season. Immediately afterwards, she again received articular cartilage surgery. After a few months of recovery, she participated in the World Cup and played full-time.
While she contributed to her team finishing 1st place in the 2007 - 08 regular season, thus receiving the MVP, her team was defeated in the finals. She finished the season with the highest success rate yet of 47.59%, becoming best spiker of the league for three consecutive seasons. She received another knee surgery soon after, forcing her to miss the Olympic Qualification for the Beijing Olympics. Taiwan was not qualified as a result.
In the 2008 - 09 season, she became the first female player of the Taiwan V-League with the record of scoring 2000 points and 2000 attack points. Despite her ground-breaking performance, C.T.V.B.A had a difficult season with the replacement of the head coach, finishing 3rd for the regular season. However, the team had a successful post-season performance and won the final championship. Yujin's outstanding performance led to her claiming her third MVP title.
2009 - 2011: Japanese V.Premier League
Yujin signed a contract to play overseas in the Japanese V.Premier League with JT Marvelous, becoming Taiwan's first professional volleyball player to play overseas. C.T.V.B.A and JT Marvelous agreed on a two-year loan agreement for the player with the possibility of a one-year extension negotiated after the first season.
❛❛ We had been discussing a move for her since last year. We didn't think about Italy, but we contacted three other Japanese teams, including Toray Arrows, last season's champion, ❜❜ said at press conference. ❛❛ JT Marvelous failed to find good import players last season, so it was the most active team seeking to sign Yujin. In addition, the Marvelous promised that it will support her bid to play for Taiwan's national team. Though we can't announce her annual salary, the deal is worth more than $300,000, ❜❜ added the official.
With Yujin as the main attacking weapon of the team, JT, which were ninth out of 10 teams in the previous season, achieved a miraculous record in the 2009 - 10 regular season with a winning streak for 25 games, which is second highest record after NEC Red Rockets's 31 winning streak in 2001. Yujin was best scorer of the regular season with 696 points in total, leading JT to end first place in the regular season. In the championship final, the team suffered a stunning loss. Yujin was voted for the 'Fighting Spirit Award' and 'Best 6'.
During the off-season, Yujin participated in the FIVB Cup in August as she was still registered for C.T.V.B.A, and she led the team to victory as MVP. In September, she was part of the national team roster during the 2010 Asian Cup and became best scorer and best spiker of the tournament. Then she played at the 2010 World Championship where the team finished 13th place and 2010 Asian Games, winning a silver medal, the first medal in her career.
Despite C.T.V.B.A's faltering results since Yujin left, the team agreed on a loan deal with JT to let Yujin play for another year, guaranteeing top-level treatment. She again led her team to becoming first place of 2010 - 11 regular season. Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, V.Premier League ended early. JT Marvelous assumed the champion title as a result and Yujin was named MVP and 'Best 6'. JT Marvelous also became the champions of the Kurowashiki Tournament, and Yujin was again voted as 'Best 6'. She then participated in the Grand Prix, Asian Championship, and World Cup. She was the best scorer and best spiker of the 2011 Asian Championship.
Contract dispute with C.T.V.B.A
After the 2012 London Olympics, Yujin had a dispute over her Free Agent Status with her previous Taiwanese team C.T.V.B.A. Yujin and her agency claimed that she was a free agent, while C.T.V.B.A claimed that she was still tied to the club as a player on loan, citing that she played in the Taiwanese League for four seasons, two seasons short of the qualification as stipulated by the Taiwan Volleyball Association regulations. Yujin countered that she had completed all six seasons with the team, noting that she played four seasons in Taiwan, two on loan at JT Marvelous and one on loan at Fenerbahçe.
Despite repeated attempts, the two sides failed to come to an agreement on Yujin's status. Another spark started in 2013 when C.T.V.B.A sent the official document explaining the issues between Yujin and the team to the association, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, China Sports Council and Chinese Volleyball Federation. In that document, C.T.V.B.A accused Yujin of mispresenting the truth and using false arguments.
❛❛ Yujin and her agent asked some politicians to change the rules relaying on her fans. When that didn't work well, she insisted that she was a FA player by mentioning FIVB rules. She'd better stop abusing her popularity and thinking of herself as a privileged player. She should try to solve this problem under the right principles and rules as soon as possible. ❜❜
Yujin and her agent hit back by saying the document had libelous statements and called it improper while both sides were still trying to solve the problem. They also explained that her contract with the team was terminated on 30 June 2012.
❛❛ So she freely signed the contract with Fenerbahce on July 6, 2012. If she really broke the rules in July last year, CVA and FIVB must hold a committee meeting to determine punishment and announce the result. But C.T.V.B.A solely sent the document condemning her to official organizations without following the correct procedures. She didn't extend her contract with C.T.V.B.A because she didn't want to belong to them anymore. I wonder on what legal basis C.T.V.B.A can claim Yujin is on the team like their own property. ❜❜
At a news conference, Yujin's parents threatened on making Yujin retire from the national team if their questions were not answered. Yujin's parents made three major demands for C.T.V.B.A, CVA and FIVB: to inquire anew to FIVB whether she has a team she originally belongs to; answer their request for issuance of an agreement of consent on her international transfer she submitted; and answer their appeal against the July 2 public disclosure of her as a "player who randomly bolted her team."
❛❛ If we don't receive specific answers to our appeals to the CVA and the FIVB, then we will not only make her career end in the domestic professional league but also retire from the national team. ❜❜ said her parents.
On September 6, 2013, FIVB sent documents with its final decision on the issue to CVA, C.T.V.B.A, Fenerbahçe and the Turkish Federation. The essence of the decision is the following:
1. The Taiwanese Club - Chinese Taipei is the Player's Club of Origin for the 2013/2014 season.
2. The total amount of transfer fee/s in favor of the Taiwanese Club and the CVA for the transfer of the Player to the Turkish Club for the 2013/2014 season shall not exceed EUR 228,750. The Player's transfer to the Turkish Club shall not be subject to any other or further restrictions of any kind.
3. After the 2013/2014 season the Player shall be deemed to have no Club of Origin, unless a valid employment contract is signed between the Player and any Taiwanese Club in accordance with the FIVB Regulations.
FIVB explained that a local free agent rule of FIVB can not be applied to an international transfer, and in the case of the latter, FIVB regulations should be respected. If a Taiwanese club has no proper contract with a specific expiration date, a player can freely sign with other clubs abroad regardless of free agent status. Her team protested this decision, saying Fenerbahçe had lobbied FIVB to decide in favor of them. Yujin's agency Velocity Vortex hit back on the alleged unofficial lobbying in a statement, urging C.T.V.B.A to respect FIVB's decision.
2011 - 2017: Fenerbahçe
José Roberto Guimarães persuaded the team president to bring Yujin to Fenerbahçe for the 2011 - 12 season. He later recalls that he saw potential in her to become "one of the best players in the world" despite being relatively unknown in Europe.
She showed a phenomenal performance in her first season playing in Europe, as she helped Fenerbahçe claim their first CEV Champions League champion title. She was awarded best scorer and MVP of the tournament, and was first in both serving and attacking as well.
After her performance against Dinamo Kazan, Alexandre Jioshvili said in an interview with L'Équipe that Yujin was the "future Michael Jordan of volleyball", with great skills in both offense and defense.
According to FIVB, she was regarded as the best volleyball player in the world by multiple journalists and coaches alike. One of the journalists asked Yujin's opinion on who she considered second best after herself, who is "considered the best attacker in the world." At London 2012, she continued her ground-breaking performance. During the game against Serbia, Yujin scored 34 points single-handedly, while her teammates scored 36 points in total. Zoran Terzić reflected that the team had "a lot of problems to make blocks and defend against her," who is "one of the best players in the world, no doubts about it."
For the rest of the tournament, she continued her scoring streak, showing notable performances in the game against Brazil in the preliminary round where Taiwan won 3 - 0, and semi-finals against Italy where Taiwan won 3 - 1. Taiwan lost to Japan in the final Bronze Medal Match, despite Yujin scoring 22 points with a 47.22% efficiency rate. She was selected as Most Valuable Player of the tournament, becoming the 3rd MVP with no medal after Cintha Boersma and Barbara Jelic. After being named as the MVP of the 2012 London Olympics, Yujin was also selected as one of the FIVB Heroes, which is an official campaign of the FIVB to raise awareness about the players' athletic achievements and to increase the worldwide interest in the sport.
Yujin had a difficult time in the 2012 - 13 season due to her dispute with her former team and her physical injuries. She decided not to have surgery for her right knee after tearing her meniscus during the match against Brazil in the Olympics. Despite such hardships, she was at the top of the statistical leaderboard in terms of scoring, attacking, and serving in the 2013 CEV Cup, continuing to show top performance. The team ultimately lost against Muszyna in the finals. Fenerbahçe finished 4th place for the Turkish League as well, and this became the only season of Yujin's professional volleyball life where she finished without winning a single cup. She then participated in the 2013 Asian Championship where she was best scorer and best server.
In the 2014 World Grand Prix, Yujin topped the best score record of the tournament by scoring 42 points in the game against Russia, where Taiwan won 3 - 1. During this tournament, Giovanni Guidetti hailed Yujin as the world's best.
❛❛ I think Zhangchen Yujin is the best player in the world. I have not seen anyone like her in the last 30 years especially she's very young. ❜❜
In 2016, Yujin was selected as a member of the FIVB Athletes' Commission, which is a group that works as a "link between volleyball players and FIVB". According to FIVB, Yujin, being an "MVP at the 2012 London Olympic Game, is a fan's favourite all around the world," thus confirmed by the organization as a member of the Athletes Commission.
During the 2016 Olympic World Qualification Tournament, Yujin showed outstanding performance against Netherlands, helping Taiwan win 3 - 0. Netherlands head coach Giovanni Guidetti was left in awe, just like two years ago.
❛❛ Zhangchen Yujin is something special. I have never seen anything like that in my 20 years in volleyball. We all know she is special, but that was really something. ❜❜
2017 - 2018: Chinese Super League
Yujin ended her contract with Fenerbahçe where she had spent the past six seasons, and moved to Shanghai. She led Shanghai to first place for the 2017 - 18 regular season, a feat achieved in 17 years for the team. After finishing runners-up in the finals, she received the Best Foreign Player Award.
2018 - 2020: Eczacıbaşı and Debut with Itzy
Yujin in January 21, 2018
After one year in the Chinese League, she returned to Turkey and made a two year contract with Eczacıbaşı. The team won the Turkish Cup for the first time in seven years, as well as the Super Cup. For the 2019 - 20 season, she became the new captain of Eczacıbaşı, filling in Jordan Larson's place.
Yujin played a decisive role in securing a ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the Asian Continental Qualifiers held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. The exhaustion built up from the Turkish League had led to abdominal pain during the match against Kazakhstan in the pool stage. She was diagnosed with a torn abdominal muscle and missed the semifinal match. However, the captain reappeared in the final match against Thailand and was brilliant in the win that secured a Tokyo berth to her team. After the game, she admitted that she did not feel well and that she played after previously taking painkillers.
After Yujin's contract ended with Eczacıbaşı, various media sources reported on the possibility of her going to Beijing, or returning to Taiwan in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2019, she was revealed as a member of ITZY. The group officially debuted on February 12 with the digital single "IT'z Different".
On October 31, 2020, Yujin was one of the guests of Yoon Do-Hyun of YB Band for his virtual Acoustic Forest tour. On November 23, 2020, Yujin was confirmed to debut as an art essay translator for the book series "Art Gallery By My Side: Love, Happiness, Sleep".
2021 - present: V-League and Solo ventures
Yujin arriving at Incheon International Airport in December 1, 2021
On January 25, 2021, Yujin was featured in the music video of TVXQ Yunho's "Eeny Meeny". On February 1, Yujin and rapper Bewhy's commercial MV for their Volkswagen "Born Confident" campaign was officially released online. On April 2, it was announced that Yujin will co-host a web music program titled, The Wise Music Encyclopedia. On June 1, she also started hosting her own live show, Yujin.zip, on Naver Now.
In 2021, Yujin signed a contract with Shanghai, China, where she shared the 2017 - 2018 season.
In October 2021, She collaborated with F.HERO and Stray Kids' Changbin with the song "Mirror Mirror".
In January 2022, According to Gallup Korea's annual music survey, Yujin was the sixth most popular idol among South Koreans in 2021. In 2021, Yujin was ranked as the third most popular female K-pop idol in a survey of soldiers doing mandatory military service in South Korea. Yujin has received positive coverage for her beauty.
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𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗬
Arts and Photography
In addition to being a skilled, volleyball player, dancer, rapper and vocalist, Yujin is also recognized for her art and photography skills. Photos of her artworks have circulated on various online communities, with many viewers praising her work. In 2016, Yujin was chosen as the honorary ambassador for the 18th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival to further help spread the festival's mission, which was to improve public awareness on animated films so students and lesser known artists in the field would gain more opportunities. In 2019, Yujin lent her voice to serve as an audio guide during M. Chat exhibit of world class graffiti artists at Seoul Arts Center.
L'Occitane collaborated with Yujin in 2019 for their 'City Palette' campaign. Through that brand's concept, Yujin herself designed a city map, which later produced into eco bags that conveys the message of coloring the beauty of nature in cities that are losing charm due to pollution.
Due to her love for arts, the Art Museum By My Side series project by Maronie Books was offered to her to translate. The book series is a collection of 35 artworks for each theme: Love, Happiness, Sleep. Yujin's translation of the book, originally in English by Shana Gozansky, presents both the original text and Yujin's own feelings and interpretations. She also personally picked her favorite artworks and wrote her own thoughts and feelings. The series aims to serve as guide to those people who usually find it difficult to enjoy art due to lack of professional knowledge.
Fashion
Yujin for Penshoppe
Yujin is also recognized for her fashion sense. Her casual yet chic and trendy attires made her an emerging leader in casual fashion, and a reference for MZ generation. Her influence was often highlighted on the rise of minimalist fashion trend among Koreans in their 20s and 30s. In her show Yujin.zip, which is mainly a fashion-themed program, she would talk about fashion items, style points, and favorite styles with her guests, and would give advice to her listeners too.
She has also proven her influence as a fashion icon in the global fashion world when she became the first K-pop star to be selected as a global ambassador for Italian luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo. A representative of the brand said that they selected her in anticipation of even greater synergy with her for being a fashion icon, a globally popular kpop-star, a volleyball player, and an influential entertainer who shows outstanding performances in various ways.
Rapping
When Yujin first began to rap, she studied artists such as Lauryn Hill and TLC, whose work she admires and respects. Yujin cited Rihanna as her main influence and role model. She listened to several artists such as Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, Harry Hudson, H.E.R. and Kacey Musgraves. Vocal coach Shin Yoo-Mi, had trained Yujin during preparations for her debut. In an interview, she described Yujin as a multi-player who is good at singing, rapping, and dancing.
Dancing
The now-23-years old fine woman, is famous of her dancing skill since she was debuted as ITZY's Main Dancer in 2019. The "Asian Gamova" is not too much to be given, as she is indeed having such a high skill of her dance. During her debut era, Yujin is known for her locking dance style. Her amazing dance skill lead her to the "Dance Machine" tittle and her name ALWAYS, mentioned as one of the best K-Pop dancers. Fans who grow with her might witnesses Yujin's career growing from the bottom to the top. She's now known for her sharp and on point choreography, but she's also able to put a hint of flawless yet strong choreography. Her performance is always mesmerized the audience, and fans ❪ more often than not ❫ are struggling to survive every time they're watching the idol perform on the stage. Yujin fell in love with dance during her last year of middle school, after watching Michael Jackson perform during his concert on television. She attended dance academies to master the basic techniques.
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𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖 𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗟𝗨𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘
Yujin's interview for COMPLEX - Goat Talk in December 10, 2021
Yujin is known as an all-rounder artist through her performances and artworks. Brands often cite her positive vibes, creativity, passion for her craft, and her unique sensibility and style on why they choose her to represent them - a cultural icon supported by millennials.
In Gallup Korea's Idol Preference poll, Yujin ranked as one of the topmost popular idols, both in 2019 and 2020. She had also topped the monthly 'Individual Girl Group Members Brand Power Ranking' published by the Korean Corporate Reputation Research Institute a couple of times as an idol and volleyball player. In a survey among soldiers doing mandatory military service in South Korea in 2019, Yujin ranked as the sixth most popular female K-pop idol. Yujin is also well-loved by Korea Queer Women Community, consistently ranking on the top of the annual poll, due to her girl crush image.
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𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗦
Endorsements
Yujin for Pepsi
Aside from various endorsements with her bandmates, Yujin became ambassadors of known big brands. On March 21, 2018, Yujin was picked to model Nike's collection for Taiwan national football team - The Red Devils 2018 Collection. Since August 2018, Yujin has been the face of Converse Taiwan, becoming their first female brand ambassador. Starting with the 'One Star Campaign' under the slogan 'no one can evaluate me', Yujin and Converse have campaigned for support on one's own values and standards.
On December 23, 2019, she was announced, along with Park Bo-Gum, as the face for Coca-Cola's 2020 campaign 'Little Big Moments'. On December 26, L'Occitane posted their new campaign that featured Yujin, and two other artists, art director Cha In-Cheol and illustrator Kim Se-Dong. Yujin is an ambassador for L'Occitane x OMY's 'City Palette' campaign for their shea butter hand cream.
In January 2021, Yujin became the new ambassador of Volkswagen. She is the face of a new campaign for their new T-Roc model, and promotes it with an original jingle and music video for their slogan 'Born Confident'. On February 24, Yujin was officially announced as South Korea's brand ambassador of the Italian luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo through her photoshoot with Harper's Bazaar; and was later on announced on June 29 as their global brand ambassador through their shoe capsule collection campaign, 'Let's Dance'. On April 29, Yujin was announced as the newest model for cosmetics brand AMUSE.
Philanthropy
Yujin has used her image to raise awareness for multiple causes, such as Firefighting Public Welfare of Luoyang City, SOS Children's Villages' campaign with Qingsongchou "No Child Alone: I want to have a family", the Civil Traffic of Hunan Province, and "Earth Aid, Green Life on the Table", a campaign co-sponsored by WildAid, China Green Carbon Foundation, and Food and Agriculture Organization. On 8 December 2019, Yujin was honored as the Kuwo Music's 2019 Role Model Reading Charity Artist. She was one of the celebrity readers of "Model Reading", the first youth reading and sharing program jointly created by Kuwo Music and China Youth Daily. It aims to evoke interest and enthusiasm of the youth to start reading literary works.
Yujin has been active to show her support in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2020, Yujin and more than 200 celebrities donated a total of 278 million yuan to Han Hong Charity Foundation in order to help the city of Wuhan, an area vastly affected. She made another donation to Wuhan together with the other hosts of Day Day Up. They collectively donated 1 million yuan worth of masks, protective clothing, and other necessary supplies. Yujin also sang a number of original songs as a tribute to front liners of the COVID-19 pandemic and to convey love and hope during those challenging times. Under the guidance of the Communist Youth League of China, Yujin and other actors collaborated to sing "With You By My Side", a song that is part of the music album Love Is Not Separated, created by China Youth Daily, China Youth Online, and Ku Wo Music. In March 2020, Yujin and Xinhua News Agency launched the tribute song "We Stay Together" to inspire people to work together against the pandemic.
For her 21st birthday she donated 90 million won to the Seoul Samsun School to help students who are hearing impaired receive music education. In December 2019, the Arts Council of Korea named her one of its ten 2019 Patrons of the Arts, in recognition of her donation of 90 million won to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art for the printing and distribution of various rare art books to schools and libraries in rural and mountainous regions. In December 2020, Yujin donated various supplies to the Korean Animal Welfare Association to celebrate her birthday, purchasing food, blankets, and dishes for the organization. She also donated 321 kilograms of food to the Korea Animal Rights Advocates, another Korean animal welfare non-profit organization. Since May 2018, Yujin has also been a monthly donor to UNICEF Taiwan, requesting that her donations be kept private at the time. They were eventually publicized following her induction into the UNICEF Honors Club in May 2019 for donating over ₩100 million.
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𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗘
Yujin is considered to be the best player of Taiwan since playing for the National Team since 2005, topping the score and attack statistics leaderboard in almost every single game. It is a known tactic among coaches to only focus on stopping Yujin when playing against Taiwan, as she is their main and almost only scorer.
• José Roberto Guimarães: Zhangchen Yujin is one of the best spikers in the world. It's very difficult to stop her. She's a wonderful player.
• José Roberto Guimarães: She is a player who understands the game. She helps others. Although she is the best attacker in the world, the most complete, she is not arrogant. She is a player who is a team. She gets along with everyone, everyone likes it. It must be good to play with her.
• Zoran Terzić: We focused only on blocking Zhangchen Yujin and cared less about the other aspects.
• Giovanni Guidetti: She scores like a diagonal, she receives, digs like a libero, she serves like a machine, she blocks like a middle blocker and what's more important is that she gives incredible energy to her teammates. She is really something extraordinary.
• Giovanni Guidetti: Body of Russia, power of United States, the technique like Taiwan and quickness of Brazil all in one player. She is the best player in the world for sure.
• Massimo Barbolini: Obviously with a player like Yujin, number 3, who is one of the best players in the world.
• Lang Ping: The Taiwanese team is also worth noticing thanks to the existence of Zhangchen Yujin. The whole team plays well and Yujin makes them even stronger. I think now she is already one of the best hitters in the world and she can also boost her teammates' performance on the court. As an Asian player, she has had very successful spells in the Turkish League. That's not easy, because the European players are physically stronger than the Asians. But Yujin made it, and I think her experience in Europe demonstrated how strong she is.
• Stefano Lavarini: There are great players and great leaders. Yujin is all in one. She's one of the best outside hitters in the world and also a really charismatic leader. All the players believe in her and she believes in what they can accomplish and takes them to places they don't expect to reach.
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𝗜𝗡𝗝𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦
Yujin has suffered from various injuries throughout her athletic career and has had four knee surgeries alone during 2005 to 2009 while playing for C.T.V.B.A.
In 2012, she tore her right meniscus during the preliminary game against Brazil during the 2012 London Olympics which was worsened when failing to land properly during the quarterfinals against Italy. Ahead of the 2012 - 2013 season, Yujin decided to push through with only rehabilitation and not receive surgery despite various health checks that advised her to.
In 2014, Yujin broke her toenail whilst training, forcing her to miss a game against Eczacibasi VitrA ahead of playing the 100th game for Fenerbahce.
In 2020, during the game against Kazakhstan in the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, she suffered from an abdominal injury. After receiving treatment from a local hospital, she played during the finals against Head Coach Stefano Lavarini's advice. Due to a worsened injury, she has to miss at least a month of the 2019 - 2020 season playing for Eczacibasi due to rehabilitation.
In 2021, during the second game against Hwaseong IBK Altos, she sustained a thumb injury on her right hand while blocking but continued to play after receiving treatment. During the third game against Hwaseong IBK Altos, Coach Wang Mihee said in a pre-match interview that Yujin herself decided to play with a taped hand. She also played with a taped hand in the championship game.
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𝗖𝗟𝗨𝗕 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥
🇹🇼 C.T.V.B.A | 2005 - 2009 | Champions - 3, Runners Up - 1
🇯🇵 JT Marvelous | 2009 - 2011 | Champion - 1, Runners Up - 1
🇹🇷 Fenerbahçe | 2011 - 2017 | Champions - 2, Runners Up - 2
🇨🇳 Shanghai Guohua Life | 2017 - 2018 | Runners Up - 1
🇹🇷 Eczacıbaşı VitrA | 2018 - 2020 | Runners Up - 1
🇹🇼 C.T.V.B.A | 2020 - 2021 | Runners Up - 1
🇨🇳 Shanghai Guohua Life | 2021 - 2022 | Third place - 1
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𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥
Junior team
• 2005 FIVB U18 World Championship - 5th place
Worldwide competition
• Summer Olympics
2012 London - 4th place
2016 Rio - 5th place
2020 Tokyo - 4th place
• World Olympic Qualification Tournament
2012 Japan - 2nd place
2016 Japan - 4th place
• FIVB World Championship
2006 Japan - 13th place
2010 Japan - 13th place
2018 Japan - 17th place
• FIVB World Cup
2007 Japan - 8th place
2011 Japan - 9th place
2015 Japan - 6th place
2019 Japan - 6th place
• World Grand Champions Cup
2005 Japan - 6th place
2009 Japan - 5th place
• FIVB World Grand Prix
2009 Tokyo - 12th place
2011 Macau - 9th place
2012 Ningbo - 14th place
2014 Tokyo - 8th place
2017 Nanjing - 14th place
• FIVB Volleyball Nations League
2018 Nanjing - 12th place
2019 Nanjing - 15th place
2021 Rimini - 15th place
Continental competitions
• Asian Games
2006 Doha - 5th place
2010 Guangzhou - Silver Medal
2014 Incheon - Gold Medal
2018 Jakarta-Palembang - Bronze Medal
• Asian Championship
2009 Hanoi - 4th place
2011 Taipei - Bronze Medal
2013 Nakhon Ratchasima - Bronze Medal
2015 Tianjin - Silver Medal
2017 Biñan - Bronze Medal
2019 Seoul - Bronze Medal
• AVC Asian Cup
2010 Taicang - Bronze Medal
2014 Shenzhen - Silver Medal
Individual awards
The following were Not Awarded:
2011 FIVB World Grand Prix Preliminary Round - Best Scorer
2014 FIVB World Grand Prix Preliminary Round - Best Scorer
2014 FIVB World Grand Prix Preliminary Round - Best Server
2014 Asian Games - Best Spiker
2015 FIVB World Cup - Best Scorer
2017 FIVB World Grand Prix Group 2 - Best Scorer
2018 Asian Games - Best Scorer
2005 U17 Asian Championship - "Best Scorer"
2005 U17 Asian Championship - "Best Receiver"
2009 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup - "Best Scorer"
2009 Asian Championship - "Best Scorer"
2010 AVC Asian Cup - "Best Scorer"
2010 AVC Asian Cup - "Best Spiker"
2011 Asian Championship - "Best Scorer"
2011 Asian Championship - "Best Spiker"
2012 Summer Olympics World Qualification Tournament - "Best Scorer"
2012 Summer Olympics World Qualification Tournament - "Best Spiker"
2012 Summer Olympics World Qualification Tournament - "Best Receiver"
2012 Summer Olympics - "Most Valuable Player"
2012 Summer Olympics - "Best Scorer"
2013 Asian Championship - "Best Scorer"
2013 Asian Championship - "Best Server"
2014 AVC Asian Cup - "Best Opposite Spiker"
2015 Asian Championship - "Best Outside Spiker"
2016 Summer Olympics World Qualification Tournament - "Best Outside Spiker"
2017 Asian Championship - "Best Outside Spiker"
2019 Asian Championship - "Best Outside Spiker"
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𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦
• 2009 DongA Sports - "Grand Prize in Professional Volleyball"
• 2012 MBN Women's Sports Category - "May MVP"
• 2017 Taiwan National Council of Women - "Woman of the Year"
• 2017 Brand of the Year Taiwan - "Athlete of the Year"
• 2020 MBN Women's Sport - "Grand Prize"
• 2021 Pony Chung Foundation - "Young Leader Award"
• 2021 Taiwan National Brand Award Grand Prize - "Sports Sector"
• 19th Citi-YWCA Taiwanese Women's Leadership Award - "Special Award" - 2021
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𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬
Songwriting Credits
Twenty | 2021 | Itzy | Credited
Shoot! | 2021 | Itzy | Credited
Gas Me Up | 2021 | Itzy | Credited
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𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗠𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬
TV Shows
Strong Heart | guest | 2013
Running Man | guest | 2015
I Live Alone | guest | 2017
Baek Jong-won's Top 3 Chef King | guest | 2015
Our Neighborhood Arts and Physical Education | guest | 2016
Sister's Slam Dunk | guest | 2016
Non-Summit | guest | 2016
Infinite Challenge | guest | 2016
Hello Counselor | guest | 2018
Radio Star | guest | 2019
Master in the House | guest | 2020
Hangout with Yoo | guest | 2020
Bob Bless You 2 | guest | 2020
Knowing Bros | guest | 2020
Paik's Spirit | guest | 2021
Radio Shows
Yujin.zip | herself | 2021
Music Videos
Born Confident | w/ bewhy | 2021
Music Video Appearance
Mirror Mirror | w/ F.HERO and Changbin | 2021
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𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦
2022 | Korea First Brand Award | Female CF Model | Won
2022 | Brovo Otto | Best Newcomer | Nominated
2021 | The Fact Music Awards | Fan N Star Choice Individual | Longlisted
2021 | Joox Thailand Music Awards | Social Superstar | Won
2020 | Joox Thailand Music Awards | Social Superstar | Nominated
2020 | Mnet Asian Music Awards | TikTok Favorite Moment | Won
2019 | Prêmio Annual K4US | Favorite News From The Hwstar | Won
2019 | Seoul Music Awards | Popularity Award | Nominated
2018 | Thailand Master Youth Club | Inspirational Role Model for Youth | Won
2018 | Weibo Starlight Awards | Starlight Hall of Fame - Southeast Asia | Nominated
2017 | Fashionista Awards | Best Fashionista - Rising Star | Nominated
2017 | Joox Thailand Music Awards | Social Superstar | Won
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🄯⠀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝘆𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍⠀؛⠀𝐃𝐥𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐎 ─ 𝙸𝚃𝚉𝚈 𝙰𝙳𝙳𝙴𝙳 𝙼𝙴𝙼𝙱𝙴𝚁.