Kang Ji-young (born January 18, 1994), also known as Jiyoung or JY, is a South Korean singer and actress based in Japan. She is a member of the South Korean
girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...
Kara
Kara or KARA may refer to:
Geography Localities
* Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture
* Kára, Hungary, a village
* Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township
* Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province
* Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in Da ...
.
Life and career
Kang Ji-young was born on January 18, 1994,
in
Paju
Paju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Paju was made a city in 1997; it had previously been a county (''gun'').
The city area of Paju is ,"Paju (Gyeonggi-do Province)." ''Naver Encyclopedia of Knowledge''. Naver, 2015. 4 Mar. 2016. ...
, South Korea. She is the cousin of the K-pop singer
NS Yoon-G
Kim Yoon-ji ( English name: Christine Kim; Hangul: 김윤지) is a Korean-American singer in South Korea. She performs under the stage name NS Yoon-G (Hangul: NS윤지) and debuted in 2009 with the digital single "Head Hurts" under JTM Enterta ...
.
She attended Bongilcheon Middle School and Muhak Women's High School, graduating from the latter in February 2012.
2008–2014: Kara
Jiyoung joined the girl group
Kara
Kara or KARA may refer to:
Geography Localities
* Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture
* Kára, Hungary, a village
* Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township
* Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province
* Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in Da ...
in 2008 along with member
Hara
Hara may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Hara (band), a Romanian pop-band
* ''Hara'' (film), a 2014 Kannada-language drama film
* ''Hara'' (sculpture), a 1989 artwork by Deborah Butterfield
* Goo Hara (1991-2019), South Korean idol singer
...
, following the departure of former member Kim Sung-hee. She was 14 years old at the time, making her the youngest member of the group.
Jiyoung was the only Korean female singer to be featured on
CDTV Japan's Favorite Female Artist Ranking for 2011, where she was ranked at #21.
On January 15, 2014, it was announced that she would leave the group once her contract expired in April 2014 to focus on her studies with acting and language skills in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. In 2022, she rejoined the group for their 15th anniversary promotions.
2014–present: Solo activities as actress and other works
After leaving
Kara
Kara or KARA may refer to:
Geography Localities
* Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture
* Kára, Hungary, a village
* Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township
* Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province
* Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in Da ...
, Jiyoung signed with the agency Sweet Power to resume her activities in Japan as an actress, using her name in
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
, 知英. She made her first appearance in the 19th Tokyo Girls Collection fashion show in the Saitama Super Arena on September 6.
Jiyoung's first work in Japan was the live-action of ''Hell Teacher Nube'', where she played the heroine, Yukime.
In December 2015, Sony Music announced that Jiyoung would debut as a singer under the name of JY. Her first solo single was "The Last Farewell" (最後のサヨナラ, saigo no sayonara), for the
OST for the Japan NTV drama ''Higanbana''.
On March 18, 2016, she released her debut solo EP as JY, ''Radio'', consisting of three tracks. Two of the three tracks were released with music videos. "Radio" was written by London-based songwriter and producer
MNEK
Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK (, ), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Awards, Brit Award, and has received the ...
, while Darren Craig directed its music video. ''Radio'' peaked at #2 on the iTunes Pop Top Song Chart. It was marketed in the US and other parts of Asia in addition to South Korea and Japan.
In February 2022, it is reported that Kang has decided not to renew her contract with
KeyEast
KeyEast (; stylized as KEYEAST) is a management agency founded by actor Bae Yong-joon.
History
* October 8, 1996 – Tuneboom Korea Co., Ltd. (한국툰붐 주식회사) was established.
* November 2003 – Tuneboom Korea was listed at KOSDAQ.
...
.
On April 6, 2022, it was announced that Kang signed with ELRIS Entertainment.
In July 2022 Kang released Project solo ''Lucid Dream''
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Other appearances
Video albums
Filmography
Film
Musical theatre
Television
Drama
Web series
Radio shows
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
Endorsements
Awards
Footnotes
References
External links
JY official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, Ji-young
1994 births
Kara (South Korean band) members
DSP Media artists
Living people
People from Paju
Japanese-language singers of South Korea
South Korean child singers
South Korean female idols
South Korean dance musicians
South Korean rhythm and blues singers
South Korean women pop singers
South Korean J-pop singers
South Korean expatriates in Japan
South Korean television actresses
South Korean television presenters
South Korean web series actresses
South Korean women television presenters
South Korean radio presenters
Sungkyunkwan University alumni
Kang Ji-young (JY)
21st-century South Korean actresses
21st-century South Korean singers
21st-century South Korean women singers
South Korean women radio presenters