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

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

, 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