Kim Seok-jin

Kim Seok-jin (Korean: 김석진; born December 4, 1992), also known by his stage name Jin, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and member of the South Korean boy band BTS since June 2013. Kim has co-written and released three solo tracks with BTS: "Awake" (2016), "Epiphany" (2018), and "Moon" (2020), all of which have charted on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart. In 2019, Kim released his first independent song, the digital track "Tonight". He also appeared on the 2016 Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth soundtrack alongside BTS member V. Kim has received critical praise for his falsetto and emotional range as a singer.

Apart from singing, Kim appeared as a host on multiple South Korean music programs from 2016 to 2018. In 2018, he was awarded the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit by the President of South Korea along with the other members of BTS, for his contributions to Korean culture.

Kim Seok-jin was born on December 4, 1992, in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. His family consists of his mother, father and older brother. In 2007, he went to a study camp in Australia to help learn English.

He originally wished to be a journalist. But after watching Kim Nam-gil in Queen Seondeok he decided to pursue acting. While in junior high school, Kim was scouted by South Korean K-pop agency SM Entertainment off the street, but he rejected the offer at the time. He initially intended to be an actor, attending Konkuk University and graduating with a degree in art and acting on February 22, 2017. He enrolled in graduate school at Hanyang Cyber University, to pursue studies in areas other than music.

2013–present: BTS

Kim was scouted by Big Hit Entertainment for his looks while walking down the street. At the time Kim was studying acting and had no background in music. Subsequently, he auditioned for Big Hit as an actor before becoming an idol trainee. On June 13, 2013, Kim made his debut as one of the four vocalists in BTS with their debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool. Kim released his first co-produced track, a solo single from the album Wings titled "Awake", in 2016. The song peaked at number 31 on the Gaon Music Chart and six on the Billboard World Digital Singles Chart. In December 2016, he released a Christmas version of "Awake" on SoundCloud.

On August 9, 2018, the second solo by Kim, "Epiphany", was released as a trailer for BTS' then-upcoming compilation album Love Yourself: Answer. The song was described as a "building pop-rock melody" by Billboard and contains lyrics discussing self-acceptance and self-love. The full version of the song was eventually released as a track on Answer, peaking at number 30 on the Gaon Music Chart and four on the Billboard World Digital Singles Chart. In October, he was awarded the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit by South Korean president Moon Jae-in along with other members of the group.

He released his third solo song with BTS, "Moon", on the 2020 studio album Map of the Soul: 7. Variety writer Jae-Ha Kim described "Moon" as a power pop song addressed to BTS fans. "Moon" peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart and number two on Billboard's US World Digital Singles chart.

In July 2021, he was appointed Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture by President Moon Jae-in, along with the other members of BTS, to help "lead the global agenda for future generations, such as sustainable growth" and "expand South Korea's diplomatic efforts and global standing" in the international community.

2015–present: Solo activities

Kim collaborated with fellow BTS member V on the song "It's Definitely You", released as part of the Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth original soundtrack. He also joined BTS member Jungkook to sing and release an alternate version of "So Far Away", a song from BTS member Suga's self-titled mixtape Agust D. Kim's solo covers include "Mom" by Ra.D, "I Love You" by Mate, and "In Front Of The Post Office In Autumn", originally by Yoon Do-hyun in 1994. They were released on SoundCloud on May 7, 2015, December 3, 2015, and June 7, 2018, respectively. He has also made several appearances as a co-host for Korean music award shows, such as Music Bank and Inkigayo.

On June 4, 2019, Kim released his first independent song "Tonight" as part of the 2019 BTS Festa, a yearly event celebrating the anniversary of the band's debut. The acoustic ballad was composed by Kim, alongside Big Hit Entertainment record producers Slow Rabbit and Hiss Noise. The lyrics, written by Kim and BTS leader RM, are inspired by Kim's relationship with his pets. The track was met with a generally positive reception, with praise for Kim's vocals and the song's calming atmosphere.

On December 3, 2020, Kim released his second solo song "Abyss" a day before his 28th birthday. The acoustic ballad was composed by Kim and fellow BTS member RM, alongside record producers BUMZU and Pdogg. The lyrics, written by Kim, BUMZU and RM, were inspired by Kim's feelings of anxiety, doubt, and burnout. In a post on the official BTS blog, Kim spoke about his insecurities regarding music and how those darker emotions drove him to write and release the song.

On October 1, 2021, it was confirmed that Kim would be singing the main OST theme song for the upcoming tvN drama Jirisan. A music video was released to accompany the song "Yours" for the drama, starring Jun Ji-hyun and Ju Ji-hoon.

Kim is a tenor and can play the guitar. In Kim Young-dae's 2019 novel BTS: The Review, members of the Grammy panel stated that his voice has stable breath control and a strong falsetto, calling it a "silver voice". Journalist Choi Song-hye, writing for Aju News, wrote that BTS singles such as "Spring Day" and "Fake Love" displayed Kim's vocal stability, while the b-side "Jamais Vu" did so for his emotional range. Hong Hye-min of The Korea Times described Kim's voice as "tender, sorrowful, [and] free-spirited" and considered it to be the "standout element" on the solo ballad "Epiphany". Critic Park Hee-a, when discussing "Epiphany", stated that Kim "sings the most sentimental emotions" of the solo tracks on Love Yourself: Answer. In a review of "Fake Love", Park said that Kim's belting "prove[d] [the song's] effectiveness".

Philanthropy

In December 2018, Kim donated various supplies to the Korean Animal Welfare Association to celebrate his birthday, purchasing food, blankets, and dishes for the organization. He also donated 321 kilograms of food to the Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA), another Korean animal welfare non-profit organization.

Since May 2018, Kim has been a monthly donor to UNICEF Korea, requesting that his donations be kept private at the time. They were eventually publicized following his induction into the UNICEF Honors Club in May 2019 for donating over ₩100 million (about US$84,000).

Influence

In 2019, he was ranked as the overall 13th most popular idol and 6th among girls aged 13–19 in South Korea, via data collected by analytics company Gallup Korea.

As of 2018, Kim lives in Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea. Additionally, he and his older brother opened a Japanese-style restaurant in Seoul called Ossu Seiromushi in 2018.

Charted songs

Other songs

Writing credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database, unless otherwise noted.

Trailers and short films

Television