aeyeon was born on March 9, 1989[2] in Jeonju, South Korea. Her family consists of her parents, an older brother[3][4] and a younger sister.
At the age of 13, Taeyeon discovered that she was "only talented at singing".[5] During her years in middle school, she was enrolled at the SM Academy and commuted from Jeonju to Seoul on every Sunday to receive her vocal training.[6][7] In 2004, her former vocal instructor Jung Sun Won, also known as The One, "wanted to acknowledge Tae-yeon's potential" and gave her a chance to be in his song "You Bring Me Joy".[8][9][10][11] Later on, she won the first place at the SM Youth Best Competition[12] and officially received a contract from SM Entertainment.[7] Tae-yeon continued her training under SM Entertainment and debuted as a part of Girls' Generation in 2007.[7][13][14] In 2008, Tae-yeon graduated from Jeonju Art High School and was awarded with the school's Lifetime Achievement Award.[15] During her pre-debut days, Tae-yeon was inspired to become an entertainer by BoA. The then-teenager "wanted to be like her and have activities in Japan and around the world", which later came true when Girls' Generation debuted in Japan in 2010