Super Junior (Korean: 슈퍼주니어; Syupeo Junieo), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band debuted on November 6, 2005, by producer Lee Soo-man of SM Entertainment. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their prominent contributions in Korean Wave. The group comprised a total of thirteen members at its peak. Super Junior originally debuted with twelve members, consisting of leader Leeteuk, Heechul, Han Geng, Yesung, Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, Siwon, Ryeowook, and Kibum. Kyuhyun joined the group later in 2006.
Super Junior launched into international recognition following the release of their best-selling single "Sorry, Sorry" in 2009, the title song of their most critically successful album, Sorry, Sorry. Over the years, they have been divided into smaller groups, simultaneously targeting different music industries and audiences. The members have also individually branched out into hosting, presenting and acting. Their successes and popularity as all-rounded entertainers have led other Korean entertainment managements to also begin training their music groups in other aspects of the entertainment industry.
In 2009, Han Geng filed a lawsuit against SM due to unfavorable contract terms and officially left the group in 2011. In 2015, Kibum's contract with SM ended and in 2019, Kangin left the group voluntarily. As of 2021, Super Junior has nine active members—Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Donghae, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Ryeowook, and Kyuhyun — with Sungmin on hiatus since 2015.
Super Junior was the best-selling K-pop artist for four years in a row. The group has earned thirteen music awards from the Mnet Asian Music Awards, nineteen from the Golden Disc Awards, and are the second singing group to win Favorite Artist Korea at the 2008 MTV Asia Awards after jtL in 2003. In 2012, they were nominated for "Best Asian Act" in MTV Europe Music Awards. They won the "International Artist" and "Best Fandom" awards at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards. In March 2020, Super Junior broke their own record topping the Korean Album Chart of Taiwan's KKBOX for 122 consecutive weeks since 2017 with their 8th album Play, the 8th album repackage REPLAY in 2018, the 9th album Time_Slip from 2019, and this year's 9th album repackage Timeless. Their fandom name is E.L.F, which stands for Ever Lasting Friends.
