Jimin

Park Ji-min (; born October 13, 1995), known mononymously as Jimin, is a South Korean singer and dancer. In 2013, he made his debut as a member of the South Korean boy band BTS, under the record label Big Hit Entertainment.

Jimin has released three solo tracks with BTS: "Lie" in 2016, "Serendipity" in 2017, and "Filter" in 2020, all of which have charted on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart. In 2018, he released his first independent song, the digital track "Promise", which he co-wrote and co-composed. He appeared on the soundtrack for the 2022 TvN drama ''Our Blues'', and sang "With You", a duet with Ha Sung-woon.

Early life and education

Park Ji-min was born on October 13, 1995, in Geumjeong District, Busan, South Korea. His immediate family includes his mother, father, and younger brother. When he was a child, he attended Busan's Hodong Elementary School and Yonsan Middle School. During middle school, he attended Just Dance Academy and learned popping and locking dance. Prior to becoming a trainee, Jimin studied contemporary dance at Busan High School of Arts and was a top student in the modern dance department. After a teacher suggested he audition with an entertainment company, it led him to Big Hit Entertainment. Once he passed the auditions in 2012, he transferred to Korean Arts High School, graduating in 2014.

Jimin graduated from Global Cyber University in August 2020, with a major in Broadcasting and Entertainment. As of 2021, he is enrolled at Hanyang Cyber University, pursuing a Master of Business Administration in Advertising and Media.

Career

2013–present: BTS

Jimin debuted as a member of BTS on June 13, 2013, and holds the position of vocalist and dancer in the group. Under BTS, he has released three solo songs: "Lie", "Serendipity", and "Filter". "Lie" was released in 2016, as part of the group's second Korean studio album, ''Wings''. It was described as stunning and dramatic, conveying dark undertones and emotions that helped reflect the overall concept of the album. In contrast, "Serendipity", released on the '' Love Yourself: Her'' (2017) extended play (EP), was soft and sensual, unraveling the joy, conviction, and curiosity of love. "Filter", from the group's 2020 studio album, '' Map of the Soul: 7'', was very different from its predecessor, with a distinct Latin pop-esque flair and lyrics that reflected on the different sides of himself that Jimin shows to the world and those around him.

"Serendipity" and "Lie" both surpassed fifty million streams on Spotify in 2018, followed shortly thereafter by the former's full length version from BTS' '' Love Yourself: Answer'' (2018) compilation album, which achieved the milestone in early 2019. With this, Jimin set a new record as the only Korean artist to have three solo tracks accumulate over 50 million streams each—previously Psy was the only Korean artist to cross the 50 million streams mark with "Gangnam Style" (2012) and "Gentleman" (2013). Both songs were also the only solos by a BTS member included in the Official Chart Companys list of the top 20 most streamed BTS songs in the United Kingdom as of October 2018, ranking at number 17 and 19 respectively. In April 2019, the list was expanded to reflect the top 40, and both tracks were the highest ranked solo songs included that year, at numbers 18 and 20 respectively.

In May 2019, Jimin became the first BTS member to have a solo music video achieve 100 million views on YouTube when "Serendipity" achieved the milestone. He was the only BTS member with multiple solo songs in the January 2020 update of the Official Chart's top 40 list. "Lie" and "Serendipity" were the second and third most-streamed solos, at numbers 24 and 29 respectively, with the full length version of the latter debuting at number 38. In February, "Filter" set a record for the biggest streaming debut among all Korean songs on Spotify with over 2.2 million streams in its first 24 hours of release, and went on to become the fastest Korean solo in the platform's history to surpass 20–60 million streams. It is also the only solo BTS b-side track to receive a Song of The Year nomination at the Gaon Chart Music Awards. In March 2021, it became the 15th BTS song to spend a full year on ''Billboard''s World Digital Song Sales chart. It is the longest-charting Korean song released in 2020 on the World ranking, having spent 80 weeks on the chart as of the issue dated October 9, 2021.

Jimin was awarded the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit in 2018 by the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, alongside the other members of BTS for their contributions to the promotion of Korean culture. In July 2021, President Moon appointed him Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture, along with the other members of BTS, to help "lead the global agenda for future generations, such as sustainable growth" and "expand South Korea's diplomatic efforts and global standing" in the international community.

2014–present: Solo work

In 2014, Jimin collaborated with bandmate and fellow vocalist Jungkook on a song called "Christmas Day", a Korean rendition of Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe"—he wrote the Korean lyrics himself. The two collaborated again in 2017, for a cover of American singer Charlie Puths " We Don't Talk Anymore" (2016)—Jimin sang the parts of Selena Gomez who featured on the original with Puth. Jungkook had previously released a solo version of the song earlier that year in February, and the two prepared the duet as a special gift to the band's fandom, releasing it on June 2 during BTS' fourth anniversary celebrations. Commenting on Jimin's appearance on the track, ''Teen Vogue'' wrote that "adding Jimin's voice to the mix makes the rendition all the more lovely". Canadian outlet ''Flare'' magazine also praised his rendition saying, "...no shade, Selena—it honestly might be better than the original". ''Elite Daily'' described the cover as "nothing short of flawless".

Jimin appeared on several variety shows such as ''Hello Counselor'', ''Please Take Care of My Refrigerator'', and ''God's Workplace'' in 2016. He also served as a special MC on domestic television music programs such as ''Show! Music Core'' and ''M Countdown''. In December 2016, he participated in a dance duet at the KBS Song Festival with Taemin from Shinee.

On December 30, 2018, Jimin released his first solo song outside of BTS releases, "Promise", for free on BTS' SoundCloud page. On January 3, 2019, the platform announced that "Promise" had surpassed the record set by Drake's "Duppy Freestyle" for the biggest 24-hour debut in history. Described by ''Billboard'' as a "mellow pop ballad", the song was composed by Jimin and Big Hit producer Slow Rabbit, who also produced the track, and features lyrics written by Jimin and bandmate RM. On December 24, 2020, he released his second solo song "Christmas Love", a song about his childhood memories of the holidays. In 2022, Jimin participated in the soundtrack for the TvN drama ''Our Blues'', the first television OST of his career. Titled "With You", the single is a duet with Ha Sung-woon and was released on April 24.

Artistry

Jimin's vocals have been described as delicate and sweet. He is regarded as an exceptional dancer among the members of the group and in K-pop in general. Noelle Devoe of ''Elite Daily'' wrote that he is often praised for his "smooth and elegant movements" as well as his charm on stage. In the BTS documentary '' Burn the Stage'', Jimin said he thinks of himself as a perfectionist and that even the smallest mistakes on stage make him feel guilty and stressed.

He has cited singer Rain as one of his inspirations and reasons why he wanted to become both a singer and performer.

Impact and influence

In 2016, Jimin was ranked as the 14th most popular idol in an annual survey conducted by Gallup Korea. He subsequently ranked seventh in 2017, and then consecutively ranked first in 2018 and 2019, as the only idol to top the survey for two consecutive years. In 2018, Jimin was the ninth most-tweeted about celebrity and the eighth most-tweeted about musician globally. He was picked as the 17th best boyband member in history by ''The Guardian''. From January to May 2018, Jimin won the monthly ''Peeper x Billboard'' Award for "Top K-Pop Artist–Individual". ''Peeper x Billboard'' is a collaboration between the ''Peeper'' social media app and ''Billboard'' Korea that collects fan votes for their favorite K-pop artists and announces monthly winners. The prize was a donation to UNICEF in his name.

The Cultural Conservation Society awarded Jimin a plaque of appreciation in 2019, for performing buchaechum, a traditional Korean fan dance, during the 2018 Melon Music Awards and helping spread the dance outside of Korea. In October 2021, he became the first idol to spend 34 consecutive months atop the brand reputation ranking for individual boy group idols, and is the only idol to top the overall ranking for three consecutive years.

Jimin is often cited as an influence or role model by various idols in the K-pop industry, many of whom try to emulate his style of dance, mannerisms, and stage presence. This has earned him the titles "Idol of Idols", "Idol's Bible", and "Rookies' Bible", from news and entertainment media. Some idols who have named him include Arthur of Kingdom, MCND's Bic, BDC's Kim Si-hun, Newkidd's Woochul, Stray Kids' Hyunjin, Wooyoung of Ateez, Victon's Lim Se-jun, Huening Kai and Beomgyu from TXT, and Enhypen's Ni-ki and Jay. Oli London, a British influencer, underwent 18 surgeries costing up to £150,000 to look like him.

Philanthropy

From 2016 to 2018, Jimin supported graduates of his alma mater, Busan Hodong Elementary School, by covering uniform expenses. After news of the school's closing was released, he donated summer and winter middle school uniforms to the final graduates and gifted autographed albums to the entire student body. In early 2019, Jimin donated KRW₩100 million (US$88,000) to the Busan Department of Education to help support lower income students. Of the total, ₩30 million ($23,000) went to his alma mater, Busan Arts High School. In July 2020, he donated another ₩100 million, this time to the Jeonnam Future Education Foundation, for the creation of a scholarship fund for talented but financially struggling students from South Jeolla Province.

In July 2021, Jimin donated ₩100 million to Rotary International, to help polio patients. As with previous donations, the benefaction was made privately, but the news became public in September, when the Go-seong Rotary Club displayed a banner thanking him for the donation. On October 12, 2021, he was announced as a member of the Green Noble Club, a group of major donors to the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation who have made donations of ₩100 million or more.

In September 2022, Jimin made a personal donation to the Gangwon-do Education Office.

Personal life

Since 2018, Jimin has lived in Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea, with his bandmates. In 2021, he purchased a property in the area, worth US$5.3 million.

Health

In 2017, during BTS' Wings Tour, Jimin was unable to participate in the group's single concert in Macau, China, due to cramping in his neck and shoulders. The following year, while in London for the Love Yourself World Tour, he withdrew from the recording of a scheduled appearance on ''The Graham Norton Show'' per a Big Hit-released statement that the singer was "suffering from severe muscle pain in his neck and back".

Discography

Charted songs

Other songs

Writing credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database, unless otherwise noted.

Filmography

Trailers and short films

Hosting

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

{{Authority control

1995 births
Living people
Musicians from Busan
Japanese-language singers of South Korea
English-language singers from South Korea
South Korean pop singers
South Korean singer-songwriters
South Korean male idols
South Korean male singers
South Korean tenors
BTS members
21st-century South Korean singers
Recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit (Korea)
Hybe Corporation artists