Kim Hyo-yeon (Hangul: 김효연; Hanja: 金孝淵; born September 22, 1989), better known by her first name Hyoyeon, is a South Korean singer, dancer, and model. She is a member of South Korean girl group Girls' Generation, formed by SM Entertainment in 2007.
Hyoyeon was born in Incheon, South Korea on September 22, 1989. She is ambidextrous and grew up with her parents and her younger brother Kim Min Gu. She auditioned for SM Entertainment at the age of 11 through SM 2000 Casting System. Hyoyeon herself said, she had no intentions to audition, but her mother was a fan of SM Entertainment's boy band H.O.T. and brought her to the offices in the hopes, perhaps, of seeing them. She then danced in her audition show. In 2004, she was sent to study Mandarin Chinese in Beijing, China alongside with Choi Siwon. Her Chinese name is 孝渊 (Xiàoyuān) in simplified Chinese characters.
Hyoyeon's formal dance training started in elementary school. At her neighborhood's small hip-hop school, she learned Hip-Hop, Jazz and Latin dance. In 1999, she enrolled in Winners Dance School, a famous dance school in South Korea specializing in popping, locking, animation and various other hip-hop styles. At the school she met Miss A's Min, with whom she formed the dance team Little Winners (리틀위너스). The duo performed at various showcases and was spotlighted by HipHoper.com in 2004.
She received dance instruction from the Electric Boogaloos and top choreographers such as Kim Hye Rang, Poppin Seen,Kwang Hoo (aka Crazy Monkey), Poppin DS,Kwon Seok-Jin (aka Locking Khan) and Black Beat's Shim Jae Won. She also worked with one of Justin Timberlake's choreographers and a few foreign teachers.
