, known mononymously as Mina (; ja, ミナ), is a Japanese singer and dancer based in South Korea. She is one of the three Japanese members of the South Korean girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015.

Early life

Mina was born on March 24, 1997, in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, U.S, to Japanese parents Sachiko (née Terao) and Akira Myoi. She moved to Japan as a toddler and grew up in

Nishinomiya 270px, Nishinomiya City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Nishinomiya city center 270px, Hirota Shrine is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 484,368 in 218948 households and a population density of 48 ...

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

, Japan. Her father is an orthopedic surgeon at

Osaka University Hospital is a university hospital located in Suita, Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Speci ...

in Suita. She has one brother named Kai, who is five years older than her. Mina trained in

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

from a young age, having practiced it for eleven years before debuting with Twice. She attended in

Takarazuka, Hyōgo 270px, Takarazuka City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Takarazuka city center The kanji (UTF-8 code FA1016), which is part of Takarazuka's official name (), is not available on all systems. (It can be entered in Wikipedia with HTML character & ...

. In 2017, it was reported that Mina held dual Japanese and American citizenship. However, as of 2019, she no longer holds U.S. citizenship, as confirmed by the ''

Quarterly Publication of Individuals Who Have Chosen to Expatriate The Quarterly Publication of Individuals Who Have Chosen to Expatriate, also known as the Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen to Expatriate, as Required by Section 6039G, is a publication of the United States Internal Revenue Ser ...

'' list published by the U.S.

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

Career

Pre-debut

Mina was shopping with her mother in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

when she was approached and offered an audition by a recruiter from JYP Entertainment. She moved to South Korea in 2014 to become a trainee at JYP Entertainment. In 2015, Mina participated in the South Korean

reality television 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 '' Sixteen'', created by JYP Entertainment and co-produced by

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, ...

. As one of nine successful participants, she went on to join the newly formed girl group Twice.

Debut with Twice and health issues

160618 TWICELAND ENCORE CONCERT 2nd 7 (cropped)

In October 2015, Mina officially debuted as a member of Twice with the release of their first extended play, '' The Story Begins''. Its lead single " Like Ooh-Ahh" was the first K-pop debut song to reach 100 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. On July 11, 2019, JYP Entertainment announced that Mina would sit out the remainder of the

Twicelights World Tour Twicelights World Tour was the first world tour by South Korean girl group Twice. It saw 25 concerts in 16 cities across various countries in Asia and North America, spanning from May 2019 to February 2020. Four encore shows in Seoul and Tokyo tha ...

due to her extreme anxiety and insecurity regarding onstage performances. She was later diagnosed with an

anxiety disorder Anxiety disorders are a cluster of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal function are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause physi ...

. In February 2020, it was reported that Mina's condition had improved and that she was ready to return to performing live with Twice.

Public image

Since her debut, Mina has been recognized as one of Twice's strongest dancers in both South Korea and abroad. The ''

Chosun Ilbo ''The Chosun Ilbo'' (, ) is a daily newspaper in South Korea and the oldest daily newspaper in the country. With a daily circulation of more than 1,800,000, the ''Chosun Ilbo'' has been audited annually since the Audit Bureau of Circulations w ...

'' credits her popularity with helping improve relations between Japan and South Korea. In Gallup Korea's annual music poll of 2019, she was voted the 20th most popular idol in South Korea.

Endorsements

In early 2022, Mina was announced as the new muse of the popular South Korean luxury fashion brand Metrocity. In March of the same year, she was announced as the global brand ambassador of SK-II, Japan's leading cosmetic brand.

Discography

Songwriting credits

All song credits are adapted from the

Korea Music Copyright Association The Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) is a South Korean non-profit copyright collective for musical works, administering public performance and broadcasting rights, and mechanical recording and reproduction rights. Founded in 1964, it i ...

's database unless stated otherwise.

Filmography

Television shows

Bibliography

Photobooks

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1997 births Living people 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers Japanese ballerinas Japanese female dancers Japanese dance musicians Japanese expatriates in South Korea Japanese K-pop singers Japanese women pop singers Japanese-language singers JYP Entertainment artists Korean-language singers of Japan K-pop singers Japanese Roman Catholics Musicians from Kobe Musicians from San Antonio People from Nishinomiya Former United States citizens Reality show winners Twice (group) members