Cherprang Areekul facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cherprang Areekul
เฌอปราง อารีย์กุล
Cherprang at a public forum on the reentry of the Tiangong-1 space station, Bangkok, 29 March 2018.
Born	(1996-05-02) 2 May 1996 (age 29) Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
Education	Mahidol University International College (BSc)
Occupation	Singer actress group manager
Musical career
Genres	Thai pop J-pop
Years active	2017–present
Labels	iAM
Cherprang Areekul
Thai	เฌอปราง อารีย์กุล
RTGS	Choeprang Arikun

Cherprang Areekul (Thai: เฌอปราง อารีย์กุล; born May 2, 1996) is a famous Thai idol. She is a member of the girl group BNK48. This group is a sister group to the Japanese idol group AKB48.

Cherprang was one of the first members to join BNK48. She was also the group's first captain. Now, she is the general manager of the group. Before joining BNK48 in 2017, she was known for cosplay. In 2018, she started acting. She played a main role in the movie Homestay.

Cherprang studied chemistry and physics at Mahidol University International College. She also worked as a research assistant there. She even helped write a research paper with her teachers. She has taken part in many science events. In 2019, a picture of her was sent into space on a satellite!

Cherprang's Career Journey

Becoming an Idol

Performing at National Stadium, Bangkok, February 3, 2018.

Performing at Cat Expo 4 music festival, Bangkok, November 25, 2017.

Cherprang first learned about the 48 Group from an anime show called AKB0048. This anime was based on the real idol group AKB48. She loved the anime, and then found out the group was real. After that, she became a big fan of AKB48.

In 2016, BNK48, a new sister group in Thailand, started looking for members. Cherprang, who was 20 at the time, was interested. At first, the age limit was 12 to 18. But then, they changed it to 22 years old. This allowed her to apply! She said she wanted to know what her idols went through. Her father was not sure about her becoming an idol at first.

About 1,500 people applied to join BNK48. Only 29 girls passed the final audition. Cherprang was one of them. She became a trainee when BNK48 was announced in February 2017.

When BNK48 officially started in June 2017, Cherprang was chosen as one of the 16 "senbatsu" members. These members sing the main songs. She was also made the captain of the group. The group's musical director said Cherprang had great leadership skills. This made her perfect for the captain role. Cherprang also speaks Japanese. She helped a Japanese member named Rina Izuta learn Thai.

In December 2017, Cherprang joined the first team of the group, called Team BIII.

In 2018, she joined the AKB48 general election. This was a big event to find the 100 most popular 48 Group members. It was the first time overseas members could join. Cherprang got 26,202 votes and ranked 39th. This meant she could be part of the "Next Girls" unit. They sang a song called "Koi Suru Fortune Cookie".

On April 9, 2023, Cherprang announced she would leave BNK48. Her final ceremony will be on October 29, 2023.

Acting Roles

Cherprang got a main role in a thriller movie called Homestay. It was made by GDH 559 and came out in October 2018. The movie was directed by Parkpoom Wongpoom.

She also acted in a TV series called One Year: The Series. It aired in late 2019. She starred in it with some of her friends from BNK48.

Cherprang's Life Outside of Work

Cherprang was born in Hat Yai, Songkhla, in Southern Thailand. Her family lived on a hill. Her grandparents were Chinese. Her Chinese name is "Liu Xiumin" (Chinese: 刘秀敏). Later, her family moved to Bangkok.

She went to an alternative school called Roong Aroon School for high school. She said she didn't know what she wanted to do in life. After talking with her mom, she chose this school to find herself. There, she found she was good at math and science. She loved doing science experiments. Her science teacher inspired her to become a scientist. She was also the school's drum major and cheerleader every year.

After high school, she went to Mahidol University International College. She studied chemistry and had a smaller focus on physics. She said she loves physical chemistry, quantum chemistry, and space science. She hopes to study them more in the future.

At college, she also became interested in cosplay. She took part in Japanese culture events as a cosplayer. Her cosplayer name was 'Runo Mochi'.

During her second and third years of college, she worked as a research assistant. She helped write a science paper about the blue bottle experiment. This paper was published in a science journal in November 2017.

Because of her science background, she has been invited to many science events. For example, she spoke about the reentry of the Tiangong-1 space station. She also attended the tenth anniversary of the Synchrotron Light Research Institute. At this event, it was shared that her photo would be sent into space on a satellite in 2019. She also joined the Thai team at the FameLab competition in the UK in 2018 and 2019.

Cherprang values her privacy. She has spoken at Sophia University in Japan. She talked about "Youth Commitment to Sustainable Development Goals" with representatives from the United Nations.

Cherprang's Popularity

Cherprang is one of the most popular members of BNK48. She often has the longest lines at fan handshake events. Many people see her as the face of BNK48.

In August 2017, there were bad floods in Northeastern Thailand. Eight signed photos of Cherprang and other BNK48 members were sold. The money helped the flood victims. Cherprang's photo alone sold for a lot of money. All the photos together raised a total of ฿246,000.

She got the 39th place in the 2018 AKB48 general election. This was the highest rank for any BNK48 member.

Awards and Recognition

On September 20, 2017, which is Thailand's national youth day, Cherprang received a special award. It was a juvenile award from the Rotary Club of Chatuchak.

She was also chosen as the Buddhist ambassador for Māgha Pūjā Day in February 2018. This was by Thailand's National Office of Buddhism.

In March 2018, Cherprang and two other BNK48 members, Kaew and Satchan, were named role models in education. They received awards from Princess Soamsawali.

In 2018, her fans raised money to build a science library. It has computers and is at Ban Pa Daet School in Nan. They named the library after Cherprang.

Cherprang's Works

AKB48 Group General Election Results

Members of the AKB48 Group can join the general election of AKB48. Cherprang first took part in the 10th AKB48 World General Election in Japan in 2018. She ranked 39th. Her first election in Thailand was the next year, which she won. Here are her results:

Music Releases (Discography)

Movies (Filmography)

Films

TV Shows & Dramas

Awards Cherprang Has Won

Note: Awards won by BNK48 as a group are not listed here.