Kim Ji-woong (; born December 14, 1998), is a South Korean singer and actor. Kim is best known for competing on the

reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show ''

Boys Planet ''Boys Planet'' () is an ongoing South Korean reality competition show created by Mnet. It premiered on Mnet on February 2, 2023 at 20:00 KST and airs every Thursday. From February 16, 2023, the show's airtime changed to 20:50 KST instead. O ...

'' where he ranked 8th in the final episode, earning him a spot in the South Korean

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

Zerobaseone Zerobaseone (; stylized in all caps; abbreviated as ZB1) is a South Korean boy band formed through Mnet's reality competition ''Boys Planet'' in 2023. They are managed by WakeOne. The group is composed of nine members: Kim Ji-woong, Zhang Hao, ...

. Prior to this, Kim was a member of the boy group INX under the name Jinam until their disbandment in 2017. He made his debut as an actor in the

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

''The Sweet Blood'' (2021), and is best known for his roles in ''Kissable Lips'' (2022), ''Roommates of Poongduck 304'' (2022) and ''

The Good Bad Mother ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (2023).

Early life

Kim Ji-woong was born on December 14, 1998, in

Wonju Wonju () is the most populous city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. The city is located approximately east of Seoul. Wonju was the site of three crucial battles during the Korean War. Geography Wonju sits at the southwestern corner of Gangw ...

, Gangwon-do, South Korea. He has two brothers: a younger brother, who is ten years younger than him, and an older brother, who is one year older than him.

Career

2016–2018: Debut, disbandment, and lawsuit against his agency

Kim Ji-woong made his debut as a singer in 2016 as a member of the South Korean boy group, INX, under the stage name Jinam. The group disbanded at the end of 2017 and in 2018, they filed a lawsuit against their agency asking for their exclusive contract to be terminated under claims of mistreatment. The Seoul District Court favored the group in the verdict, voiding the contract between them and their agency.

2018–2020: Ateen, B.I.T

After the disbandment of his previous group, Kim joined pre-debut boy group Ateen under the stage name "King". The group was supposed to promote in South Korea after releasing with the single "Boku wa Chotto Chigau" in Japan on September 1, 2018, but the plan never got realized. Six out of the ten members of the group sued the CEO of their company for sexual assault. The group disbanded in 2019 after the group won the lawsuit and their contract was terminated. After the disbandment, Kim and fellow former Ateen members Segun, Joel and Rookie, joined the pre-debut group B.I.T. The group only promoted in Japan and disbanded in August 2020.

2020–present: Acting debut, Boys Planet and Zerobaseone

Kim won the first rank in the male category in the 2020 ''Burn Up: Challenge to Billboard.'' After winning, he released the single "Sick of Love" together with Kim Min-jung, who placed first in the female category. In 2021, Kim landed his first leading role in the

Naver TV Naver TV (; formerly Naver TV Cast) is a South Korean online video streaming and video sharing service developed and operated by Naver. The service primarily distributes web dramas and entertainment shows. Original programming Dramas 2013 * ' ...

''The Sweet Blood'', which is adapted from the

webtoon Webtoons (), are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones. While webtoons were mostly unknown outside of Korea during their inception, there has been a surge in popularity internationally ...

''The Sweet Girl''. In 2022, Kim landed his first leading role in a BL web series ''Kissable Lips''. Kim then acted in the web series ''Roommates of Poongduck 304'' which is based on a novel by Noh Ga-jeong. The series gained a significant amount of attention and ranked 1st for the BL genre on the South Korean streaming service "Watcha." On December 29, 2022, Kim was unveiled as a contestant on

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

show ''

''. On March 19, 2023, singer

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

announced on his personal

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

accounts that Kim will be featured in the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

of his song titled "Number Boy" for his newest album of the same name which was released on March 30, 2023. On April 20, 2023, Kim placed 8th with a total of 1,338,984 points in the final episode of ''Boys Planet'', allowing him to debut with the winning group,

(ZB1).

Discography

Singles

Soundtrack appearances

Filmography

Film

Television series

Web series

Television shows

Web shows

Videography

Music video appearances

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

Kim Ji-woong
at Nest Management * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Ji-woong 1998 births Living people People from Wonju K-pop singers South Korean male idols South Korean male rappers South Korean male singers South Korean male dancers South Korean male film actors South Korean male television actors South Korean male web series actors Boys Planet contestants 21st-century South Korean male singers 21st-century South Korean male actors Reality show winners WakeOne artists