Biography of Jin 

A member of the South Korean boy band BTS and singer and songwriter Kim Seok-jin, who was born on 4 December 1992, is also known professionally as ‘Jin’. His three solo tracks that were co-written and released by BTS are ‘Awake’ in 2016, ‘ Epiphany’ in 2018 and ‘Moon’ in 2021. All three of these songs have charted on the Gaon Digital Chart in South Korea. The digital tune ‘Tonight’, which he published in 2019, is his debut independently written song.

In October 2022, he released the track ‘The Astronaut’ marking his formal solo debut. From 2016 to 2018, he made appearances as a host on a variety of South Korean music shows in addition to singing. He and his bandmates received the ‘fifth class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit’ from the President of South Korea in 2018 for their contributions to Korean culture.

According to data gathered by analytics firm Gallup Korea in 2019, Jin was ranked as the 13th most popular idol overall and sixth among girls between the ages of 13 and 19 in South Korea.

Career and Achievements

Early Childhood

Kim Seok-jin was born in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, on 4 December 1992. His mother, father, and older brother make up his entire family. He attended a study camp in Australia in 2007 to improve his English. He had originally intended to become a journalist, but after seeing Kim Nam-gil in ‘Queen Seondeok’, he changed his mind. He was scouted while in junior high school by the South Korean K-pop agency SM Entertainment, but he turned down the offer at the time.

Jin attended Konkuk University and earned a degree in film studies on 22 February 2017, despite initially wanting to be an actor. Later, in order to pursue studies outside of music, he enrolled in graduate school at Hanyang Cyber University.

2013 to Present

Big Hit Entertainment noticed Jin’s looks as he was passing by on the street, who had no prior musical training at the time and was pursuing an acting degree. He then had an acting audition with Big Hit before joining the idol training programme. With the release of BTS’s debut single album ‘2 Cool 4 Skool’ on 13 June 2013, he made his debut as one of the group’s four vocalists.

In 2016, he released the first song he co-produced, a solo track from the album Wings called ‘Awake’. The song’s highest point was at number six on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart and number 31 on the Gaon Digital Chart in the United States. He shared a Christmas-themed version of “Awake” on SoundCloud in December 2016.

On 9 August 2018, a trailer for BTS’ then-upcoming compilation album ‘Love Yourself: Answer’ featuring his second solo, ‘Epiphany’, was released. The song’s lyrics address self-acceptance and self-love, according to Billboard, who called it a ‘building pop-rock melody’. After the release, the song’s full version reached its highest point at number four on the US World Digital Song Sales chart and number 30 on the Gaon Digital Chart. Along with the other group members, he received the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit from South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

On the 2020 studio album Map of the Soul: 7, ‘Moon’, Jin’s third solo song with BTS, was released. ‘Moon’ was described as a power pop song addressed to BTS fans by Variety writer Jae-Ha Kim. ‘Moon’ peaked at the top of the Gaon Digital Chart and the World Digital Song Sales charts. Along with his bandmates, he was chosen by President Moon Jae-in to represent him as a Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture in July 2021 in order to ‘lead the global agenda for future generations’.

Solo Activities

The song ‘It’s Definitely You’, collaborated by Jin and his bandmate V, was released in 2016 as a part of the ‘Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth’ original soundtrack. It also received a co-nomination for Best OST at the 2017 Melon Music Awards. As part of the group’s fifth anniversary celebrations, an alternate version of ‘So Far Away’, a song from Suga’s debut mixtape Agust D (2016), featured Jin and Jungkook. He has frequently served as co-host of Korean music awards shows like Music Bank and Inkigayo.

He debuted the first solo track, ‘Tonight’, on 4 June 2019, in conjunction with BTS’ sixth-anniversary events. Jin and Big Hit record producers Slow Rabbit and Hiss Noise wrote the acoustic ballad. Inspired by the attachment that he has with his pets RM and him together wrote the song’s lyrics. The song received a  favourable response, with compliments on his singing and the serene atmosphere of the music.

On 3 December 2020, he released ‘Abyss’, his second solo song. He co-wrote and co-composed the song with RM, as well as the record producers Bumzu and Pdogg. It is an acoustic ballad that was motivated by his feelings of anxiety, doubt, and burnout. He discussed his musical insecurities and how those darker feelings motivated him to create and release the song in a post to the official BTS blog.

Jin performed the theme song for the TvN drama series Jirisan in October 2021. The song, ‘Yours’, was released along with a music video that included visuals from the show. He celebrated his 29th birthday on 4 December by releasing the brief song ‘Super Tuna’ as a gift to his fans. A performance video that accompanied it was uploaded to the BTS YouTube channel, and it quickly went viral.

For eight days in a row, the video held the top spot on YouTube’s World Popular Music Video chart and was trending in 56 nations, including Korea, Peru, and Singapore. On TikTok, a subsequent dance challenge soon emerged, and videos featuring the sound racked up over 141.8 million total views in just ten days.

He began working with Nexon as a special game developer for MapleStory in August 2022. Office Warrior Kim Seok-jin uploaded it to MapleStory Korea’s YouTube channel. The project was documented in a two-episode mini-web series. He revealed that his first solo would be released during BTS’ Yet to Come in Busan concert. The single, ‘The Astronaut’, and its accompanying music video were released.

Jin co-wrote the song with the British rock group Coldplay. Later that day, during Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour stop in Buenos Aires, which was live-streamed to cinemas in more than 70 countries, he performed the song on stage with Coldplay. After initially only being made available on SoundCloud and YouTube, his previous songs ‘Tonight’, ‘Abyss’, and ‘Super Tuna’ were officially made singles and made available on streaming services all over the world.

Artistry

Jin sings in tenor and plays the guitar. Members of the Grammy jury praised his steady breath control and powerful falsetto, referring to it as a ‘silver voice,’ in the 2019 book BTS: The Review. Journalist Choi Song-hye of Aju News observed that his vocal range and stability were best seen in the BTS singles ‘Spring Day’ and ‘Fake Love’, while ‘Jamais Vu’ from the B-side highlighted his emotional range. His voice, which Hong Hye-min of The Korea Times characterised as ‘tender, sorrowful and free-spirited,’ was the ‘standout element’ on the solo ballad ‘Epiphany’.

Philanthropy

Jin bought food and blankets for the organisation in December 2018 as part of his birthday gift to the Korean Animal Welfare Association. Likewise, he donated 321 kilograms of food to the Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA), another non-profit Korean organisation dedicated to animal welfare.

He has been donating monthly to UNICEF Korea since May 2018, asking that his contributions be concealed at the time. Following his induction into the UNICEF Honors Club in May 2019 for donating more than 100 million won (roughly $84,000).

Military Life

On 17 October 2022, Big Hit revealed that after his debut solo single was released and its subsequent promotional activities were finished at the end of the month, the singer would start the enlistment process and complete his required military service. After the Military Service Act was amended in December 2020, he was previously given an automatic postponement in 2021 until the end of 2022.

In order to complete his conscription, Jin submitted paperwork to the Military Manpower Administration (MMA) on 4 November 2022, asking for the termination of the postponement. On 13 December 2022, he signed up to serve in the military. Following basic training, he will work for the same division as an assistant training instructor.

Personal Life and Net Worth

As of 2018, Jin currently resides in Hannam-dong in Seoul, South Korea. Additionally, he and his older brother opened a Japanese-style restaurant in Seoul called ‘Ossu Seiromushi’ in 2018. He suffered a left-hand injury in March 2022 and underwent surgery. He stayed in his seat for the majority of the band’s performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, withdrew from a few group events, and skipped out on some performances during BTS’ Permission to Dance on Stage concerts in Las Vegas.

His net worth is estimated to be around $20 million by Celebrity Net Worth. With BTS, performance earnings make up the majority of income; investments and endorsements account for the remaining percentage. According to Seoul Space, he is currently ranked number 22 among K-Pop idols with the highest net worth.

Awards

• Hanteo Music Awards 2023
  Global Artist (Africa) (2023)
• The Fact Music Awards 2022
  Fan N Star Choice Award (2022)

Interesting Facts about Jin

1. Jin is the eldest member of BTS.
2. He plays the piano and the pipe organ. He simultaneously sang and played the piano for the song ‘Epiphany’ in 2018.
3. He is the group’s chef. He frequently posts recipes on his blog and the V app.
4. Yu-sun is the name Jin wants to give his future child, as in Liu Bei’s son Liu Shan from ‘The History of the Three Kingdoms.’
5. Jin’s far-off ambition is to become a farmer. When he was in middle school, he spent a few months working on his uncle’s strawberry farm.
6. For a solo Vlive, he is the first idol to reach 100 million hearts.
7. He enjoys strawberries but dislikes anything with a strawberry flavour.
8. He has the golden ratio when it comes to his facial features.

FAQs

1. What is Jin’s Instagram ID?
   His Instagram ID is jin with 42.9 million followers.
2. What are Jin’s nicknames?
   Jin’s nicknames are Fake Maknae, Worldwide Handsome, and Eat Jin.
3. What is Jin’s catchphrase?
   ‘Your presence can give happiness. I hope you remember that’.
4. How long will Jin stay in the military?
   For a period of 18 and 21 months. According to the Defense Ministry, he is expected to serve through June 2024.