Park Cho-rong, better known mononymously as Chorong, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actress. She is best known as the leader of the South Korean girl group Apink.
Early life
Park Cho-rong was born in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea on March 3, 1991. She is a middle child, having an older and a younger sister. As a daughter of a Hapkido master and academy owner, Park was trained in the said martial art for eight years. She trained from her first year in elementary school until her third year of junior high; she is a holder of a 3rd degree black belt. During her school days, Park had attended Byungsul Kindergarten, Bukang Elementary School, Bukang Middle High School, and Choongbook High School. Park auditioned for JYP Entertainmentfifth official audition in 2009 where she successfully made it to the final round. However, she was eventually eliminated and after that she joined Cube Entertainment as a trainee.
Career
2011–present: Apink
In February 2011, Park was announced as the second member and leader of Apink. Prior to the announcement, she appeared at the end of Beast's "Shock" Japanese version music video. Before her debut with Apink, Park, together with the rest of the Apink members, took part in the filming of Apink News which was the group's pre-debut reality show. On April 19, 2011, Apink released its first single "Mollayo" and on April 21, Park debuted as a member of Apink on Mnet's M! Countdown performing their songs "Mollayo", and "Wishlist" which were included on their debut EP Seven Springs of Apink.
2011–present: Acting career
Park started her acting career by appearing on the 2010 sitcom All My Love playing a character named Chorong, following the departure of Brown Eyed Girls' Gain. She then made a cameo appearance on Reply 1997 as the teenage version of Lee Il-Hwa, the mother of the lead role Sung Shi-won along with her fellow Apink member Yoon Bo-mi. Park had her first leading role in the romantic comedyPlus Nine Boys as Han Soo-ah, a popular but mysterious high-school girl; a character opposite to BtoB's Yook Sungjae's character. In 2017, she starred on Naver TV Cast's webdrama Special Law of Romance alongside Kim Min-kyu and VIXX's Hyuk.
Songwriting
Out of all the Apink members, Park has the most experience as a songwriter. She started by penning their first fansong "April 19th" for the group's first anniversary. According to Park, she wrote "April 19th" while thinking of the fans and their first stage performances, while for the other songs, it was about experiences their age group could relate to.
