The Real Reason Hyojin Choi Refused to Laugh for Two Days

When three of Korea's most celebrated dancers decide to form a project group, something interesting tends to happen — and when one of them refuses to laugh for two days to protect her voice, you know the stakes are real.

Aiki, Lihei, and Hyojin Choi — each a defining figure in Korean street dance culture — have joined forces under the name "Arihyo" for a special stage on KBS2's long-running music program Immortal Songs. The episode, dedicated to songwriter and lyricist Joo Young-hoon, airs Saturday, May 9. And for Hyojin Choi, it represents something she has never attempted before: a full live vocal performance in front of a broadcast audience.

Hyojin Choi Steps Into New Territory

Hyojin Choi has been one of the most watched figures in Korean street dance for years. She rose to wider fame through Street Woman Fighter, Mnet's reality competition that turned Korea's top choreographers and dancers into household names and sparked a national conversation about the creative world behind K-pop performance. Since then, she has remained a constant presence in variety entertainment, charming audiences with her quick wit and unmistakable stage energy. But singing publicly? That is new ground entirely.

"This is the first time I've ever sung outside for real," she admitted in a preview clip. "I'm very nervous." And then came the detail that instantly resonated: "I was afraid my throat would get damaged, so I didn't laugh for two days."

It is, by any measure, a serious level of preparation. The idea of someone as naturally expressive and animated as Hyojin Choi deliberately suppressing laughter for 48 hours — to protect a voice she has rarely used professionally — struck a chord with fans and viewers alike.

A Group Built on Trust and Friendly Competition

Aiki — one of Korea's most respected choreographers, known for her sharp, commanding stage presence and her work with some of K-pop's biggest acts — was quick to add some context to the group dynamic. "Honestly, even within the team, we're in competition mode," she said. "We keep trying to steal each other's parts."

That detail paints a revealing picture of how Arihyo came together: not as a polished, pre-assigned arrangement, but as three strong personalities navigating the kind of creative tension that tends to produce something worth watching. The group name itself is a compact portmanteau of the three performers' names — Ari (from Aiki), Ri (Lihei), and Hyo (Hyojin Choi).

Aiki and Lihei are not strangers to this kind of spotlight. The two previously performed together on an "Oh My Star Special" edition of Immortal Songs, where they drew strong audience reactions for their simultaneous command of performance physicality and vocal delivery. Adding Hyojin Choi to that combination raises the stakes considerably — and the internal competition for parts suggests all three are approaching this seriously.

The Songs They Are Taking On

For their Arihyo stage, the trio has chosen two of singer and actress Uhm Jung-hwa's signature tracks: "Rose of Betrayal" and "Poison." Both songs are iconic in Korean pop history — big, theatrical numbers that reward performers who can lean into drama without letting the emotion tip over into excess. Uhm Jung-hwa herself is one of Korean entertainment's most enduring figures — an actress and singer who has remained relevant across multiple decades. Her songs carry weight, and covering them on Immortal Songs signals a genuine level of ambition from the Arihyo lineup.

That combination — commitment and control — is precisely what each of these three performers is known for. Aiki has spent years refining an aesthetic that is physically demanding but never showy for its own sake. Lihei brings a precise, musical sensibility to everything she performs. And Hyojin Choi, now stepping into vocal territory for the first time, has the kind of stage presence that draws an audience's eye regardless of the medium.

Street Dance Culture Meets Live Performance

The broader context of Arihyo's formation is worth noting. Korean street dance culture, which existed for decades in underground clubs and competitions, entered mainstream entertainment in a significant way through programs like Street Woman Fighter. The show's success demonstrated that performance charisma, not just technical skill, was something these artists possessed in abundance.

What had previously been a world the general public glimpsed through backup dance roles in K-pop performances became, through the competition format, something audiences engaged with on its own terms. Fans developed deep loyalties to individual dancers. Choreographers became celebrities. Arihyo's debut on Immortal Songs is the culmination of that trajectory: a recognition that these artists' capability extends beyond the dance floor, and an invitation to prove it in one of the most demanding formats Korean music television offers.

The Wider Stage

The Immortal Songs episode also features Son Seung-yeon and Jo Hyung-gyun, veteran singer Chae Yeon, NEXZ, and D82. Each act covers Joo Young-hoon's work — a catalog that spans multiple decades of Korean popular music.

Musical theater performers Son Seung-yeon and Jo Hyung-gyun offered the natural counterpoint to Arihyo's street-dance energy. "We chat right up until a performance," they said — a remark aimed squarely at Hyojin Choi's two-day laughter ban. The exchange drew genuine laughs from the assembled cast and production team, while simultaneously underlining how differently each act approaches the pressure of live performance.

Arihyo's first stage airs Saturday at 6:05 p.m. KST on KBS2. For fans of street dance culture who have followed Aiki, Lihei, and Hyojin Choi across multiple platforms and formats, the group's debut represents something rare — three performers at the top of their field, stepping just slightly outside their comfort zones, together.