Chrystal Soo Jung (born October 24, 1994), better known by the mononym Krystal, is an American singer and actress currently based in South Korea. Discovered by S.M. Entertainment in 2000, she began filming for commercials and music videos in 2002, and officially signed with S.M. as a trainee in 2006. She is a member of both the South Korean girl group f(x) and the ballad group S.M. The Ballad, and has participated in various television dramas such as High Kick 3, The Heirs, and My Lovely Girl.

Biography

Early life
Krystal was born as Chrystal Soo Jung in San Francisco, California, where her family from South Korea settled in the 1980s. During a family trip to South Korea in early 2000, at the age of five, she and her older sister Jessica were spotted by talent agency S.M. Entertainment, which earned her a cameo appearance in Shinhwa's "Wedding March" music video. The agency saw potential in both Krystal and her sister and offered them singing and dancing lessons, opting to professionally train them in a singing career. However, the offer was turned down by her parents, reasoning that Krystal was too young. Therefore, her parents at first only allowed her older sister to join the agency, who debuted as a member of the girl group Girls' Generation. Since then, the Jung sisters have appeared together in many events.

In 2002, Krystal began appearing in television commercials. She first appeared in a Lotte commercial with Korean actress Han Ga In. In 2006, her parents allowed her to join SM Entertainment, and the agency enrolled her in dance classes, including hip hop and jazz.


Education
After moving to Korea, Krystal attended Korea Kent Foreign School, and then graduated from Hanlim Performing Arts High School on February 7, 2013, where she was honored with an achievement award. She is currently attending Sungkyunkwan University, majoring in performing arts. She is fluent in both English and Korean.