Chae Ryu Jin Finally Opens Up About Life After Boys24

A former K-pop survival show contestant has captured hearts online with her story of self-discovery and reinvention. Chae Ryu Jin, once known as Chae Ho Cheol during her days as a trainee on Mnet's Boys24, publicly came out as a transgender woman in July 2025 — and fans who have followed her journey say the transformation goes far deeper than a career shift.

Since stepping away from the idol world, Chae Ryu Jin has built a thriving presence as a lifestyle influencer, sharing fashion looks, makeup tutorials, and travel vlogs with a growing audience. Her recent content documenting a visit to a maid café in Japan went viral, drawing curious eyes from both K-pop fans and new followers across social media platforms worldwide.

From Boys24 to a New Beginning

Chae Ryu Jin first entered the public eye in 2016 when she auditioned for Boys24, one of Mnet's most competitive idol survival programs at the time. Dozens of young hopefuls competed for spots in a debut boy group, with audiences voting for their favorites over months of broadcast. Competing under the name Chae Ho Cheol, she did not secure a place in the final debut lineup — a result familiar to the vast majority of contestants who entered the grueling elimination process.

However, Chae was selected for the program's 28-member performance team, a supporting group that promoted alongside the main act for approximately one year. The experience gave her real stage time, performance training, and a foothold in the industry that not every hopeful trainee gets to build.

After her time with Boys24 concluded, she continued chasing her goal by joining JWiiver, a multinational boy group where she performed as lead vocalist and rapper under the stage name Ryujei. The group released a mini-album titled JTrap, drawing early attention from fans curious about their international lineup. But activity came to a halt shortly afterward, and JWiiver effectively disbanded in 2024, leaving Chae at a turning point she had not anticipated.

For a young artist who had invested years in training and performance within the demanding ecosystem of Korean idol culture, the end of JWiiver could easily have felt like a closed door. For Chae Ryu Jin, it turned out to be the beginning of something far more meaningful.

Coming Out and Embracing Her True Identity

On July 18, 2025, Chae Ryu Jin sat in front of a camera for a YouTube livestream and shared something she had long held close: she is a transgender woman. The announcement rippled quickly through Korean entertainment fan communities and beyond, reaching audiences who had never heard of Boys24 or JWiiver but were moved by the sincerity of what she shared.

Just four days later, on July 22, Chae confirmed her pronouns as she/her and revealed that she had legally changed her name from Chae Ho Cheol to Chae Ryu Jin. The legal name change was a formal affirmation of an identity she had always known to be true — and a visible signal to fans and the public that she was stepping fully into her authentic life.

Speaking openly on her platforms about what the process of transition has meant to her, Chae has shown a remarkable willingness to engage with the topic in an educational way. She discusses what it means to be a transgender person navigating Korean society, where conversations around LGBTQ+ identity are still evolving and often carry social weight. Her transparency has been widely praised as brave and, for many fans, genuinely illuminating.

Rather than treating her past as a complication to be managed, Chae talks about her idol career as a meaningful chapter that helped shape her resilience and creative drive. The industry may not have given her the debut she originally sought, but the discipline and performance craft she developed during those years are evident in every piece of content she produces today.

Building a New Life as an Influencer

Today, Chae Ryu Jin's social media presence is vibrant and distinctly her own. Fashion posts show an eye for style that blends feminine elegance with playful experimentation. Makeup content reveals both her skill as a creator and her enjoyment of beauty as a form of self-expression. Travel vlogs capture the excitement of exploring new places with an unfiltered, personal energy that keeps viewers coming back.

A video from a recent trip to Japan became an unexpected talking point when clips began circulating online showing Chae in a maid outfit. Some early accounts framed it as street promotional activity, which sparked curiosity. The reality, as Chae explained through her own vlog footage, was far simpler and more charming: she had been visiting a maid café as a tourist, fully embracing the playful novelty of the experience. The correction only added warmth to how the story was received.

What sets her influencer work apart is the combination of aesthetic quality and genuine personality. There is no performance of a persona here — what audiences see is a person who has done the internal work of knowing herself and is comfortable sharing that version of herself with the world. For many followers, that authenticity is the primary draw.

Fans React: The Yena Resemblance Everyone Is Talking About

Among the moments in Chae Ryu Jin's recent content generating the most buzz is a video of her dancing to music by Yena — the former IZ*ONE member and actress who has built a successful solo career known for her bright energy and distinctive visuals. Viewers quickly flooded comment sections with observations that the two share a striking resemblance, calling the likeness uncanny.

The comparison to Yena has delighted both fan communities. For Chae's followers, it reads as a beautiful reflection of her radiance and the authenticity of her current self-presentation. For Yena's fandom, it served as an introduction to Chae's story — and many have become enthusiastic supporters of both.

Online forums and K-pop community spaces shared the video widely, with comments expressing admiration for Chae's journey and warmth. The tone across platforms has been largely celebratory, marking a notable contrast with the sometimes harsh environment of Korean entertainment social media discourse.

A Story That Resonates Beyond K-Pop

What makes Chae Ryu Jin's story resonate so broadly is not only the personal courage it reflects, but the way she has chosen to live publicly with it. Rather than seeking sympathy or retreating from visibility, she stepped into a new kind of presence — one grounded in creativity, honesty, and a genuine desire to connect.

Her commitment to discussing transgender identity in an educational and accessible way carries weight that extends well beyond the entertainment industry. For fans in South Korea and across Asia who may have limited access to visible transgender role models, her openness contributes meaningfully to a larger cultural conversation about identity and belonging.

For those who cheered her on during Boys24 or followed JWiiver's brief run, seeing Chae Ryu Jin thriving in her truest form has been nothing short of moving. For those discovering her story for the first time through a viral Japan vlog or a Yena dance comparison video, it is a compelling reminder that the most authentic second acts are written entirely on your own terms.

Chae Ryu Jin's next chapter is already well underway — and her audience is here for every step of it.