Kang Seul-gi was born on February 10, 1994, in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Her family consists of her parents and an older brother. She studied in Ansan Byeolmang Middle School and attended School of Performing Arts Seoul. She can speak both Korean and Japanese. Kang began training in SM Entertainment in 2007. On December 2, 2013, she was one of the first three trainees introduced to the public through SM Entertainment's pre-debut project, SM Rookies, alongside now-NCT members Jeno and Taeyong. In July 2014, she was featured in Henry Lau's song "Butterfly" from his second EP Fantastic. She also appeared in the music video of the single "Fantastic". On August 1, 2014, Kang made her official debut as a member of Red Velvet.
2015–present: Solo activities
In January 2015, she starred in an SM Entertainment musical School Oz, playing the lead role of Dorothy. From April to May, she was part of the JTBCvariety showOff to School In July 2016, she released the song "Don't Push Me" with Wendy as part of the soundtrack of the KBS2 drama, Uncontrollably Fond. In October 2016, Kang appeared on King ofMask Singer as a contestant under the alias Cinema Heaven. Kang released "You, Just Like That" as the theme song of Blade & Soul on November 18, composed by Yoon Sang. Kang and bandmate Wendy and other SM artists released a digital single titled "Sound of Your Heart" for SM Station on December 30. In January 2017, she released the song "You're the Only One I See" with Wendy as part of the soundtrack of the KBS2 drama, . She released a duet titled "Darling U" with Super Junior's Yesung on January 22, as part of SM Station. In October 2017, she featured in a duet "Heart Stop" with Taemin of Shinee released on his second full Korean album, Move. In February 2018, Seulgi was confirmed as part of the cast for Law of the Jungle in Mexico. In April, Seulgi was also confirmed as part of the cast of JTBC new variety show Secret Unnie together with Sunmi. Seulgi was also featured on Moonbyul's solo debut single "Selfish", which was released on May 23, 2018. In September 2018, she released a single "Wow Thing" as part of a mini group, Station Young, with I-dle's Soyeon, GFriend's SinB, and solo artist Chungha. Seulgi was featured on South Korean hip-hop and R&B artist Zion.T's single "Hello Tutorial" which was released on October 15, 2018 and peaked at number 2 on the Gaon Digital Chart. In 2019, Seulgi was ranked as the fourth most popular female K-pop idol in a survey of soldiers doing mandatory military service in South Korea. On April 20, 2020, SM confirmed that Seulgi, alongside member Irene, would form Red Velvet's first sub-unit. Red Velvet - Irene & Seulgi debuted on July 6 with the extended playMonster.
