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 was scouted for the group while in university and joined Big Hit Entertainment as an actor, eventually transitioning to a Korean idol. 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.

In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.
Kim Seok-jin
Kim on the Billboard Music Awards red carpet, 1 May 2019
Born (1992-12-04) December 4, 1992
Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Other namesJin
Alma materKonkuk University
Occupation
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active2013–present
Awards Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit (2018)
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentsVocals
LabelsBig Hit
Associated actsBTS
Korean name
Hangul
김석진
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGim Seok-jin
McCune–ReischauerKim Sŏkchin
Signature

Apart from singing, Kim has also 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.

Early life and education

Kim Seok-jin was born on December 4, 1992, in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.[1][2] His family consists of his mother, father and older brother.[3]

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.[4] He initially intended to be an actor, attending Konkuk University and graduating with a degree in art and acting on February 22, 2017.[5][6] He enrolled in graduate school at Hanyang Cyber University, to pursue studies in areas other than music.[7]

Career

2013–present: BTS
Kim performing as a member of BTS in September 2014.
Main article: BTS

Kim was scouted by Big Hit Entertainment for his looks while walking down the street.[8] At the time Kim was studying acting and had no background in music.[9][6] Subsequently, he auditioned for Big Hit as an actor before becoming an idol trainee.[10] 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.[11] Kim released his first co-produced track, a solo single from the album Wings titled "Awake", in 2016.[9] The song peaked at number 31 on the Gaon Music Chart and six on the Billboard World Digital Singles Chart.[12][13] In December 2016, he released a Christmas version of "Awake" on SoundCloud.[14]

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.[15] The full version of the song was eventually released as a track on Answer,[16] peaking at number 30 on the Gaon Music Chart and four on the Billboard World Digital Singles Chart.[17][18] 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.[19]

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.[20] "Moon" peaked at number one the Gaon Digital Chart and number two on Billboard's US World Digital Singles chart.[21][22]

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.[23][24] 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.[14] 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.[25][26][27] They were released on SoundCloud on May 7, 2015,[28] December 3, 2015,[26] and June 7, 2018,[14] respectively. He has also made several appearances as a co-host for Korean music award shows, such as Music Bank and Inkigayo.[29]

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.[30] 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,[31] are inspired by Kim's relationship with his pets.[32] The track was met with a generally positive reception, with praise for Kim's vocals and the song's calming atmosphere.[33]

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.[34]

Artistry
Kim at the Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards on October 24, 2018.

Kim is a tenor and can play the guitar.[35][36] 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".[37] 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.[4] 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".[38] 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".[39]

Public image

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.[40] He also donated 321 kilograms of food to the Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA), another Korean animal welfare non-profit.[41]

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).[42]

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.[43]

Personal life

As of 2018, Kim lives in Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea.[44][45] Additionally, he and his older brother opened a Japanese-style restaurant in Seoul called Ossu Seiromushi in 2018.[46]

Awards and nominations
For Kim's accolades as a member of BTS, see List of awards and nominations received by BTS.
Name of the award ceremony, year presented, nominee(s) of the award, award category, and the result of the nomination
Award ceremony Year Category Nominee(s)/work(s) Result Ref.
Melon Music Awards 2017 Best OST "It's Definitely You" Nominated [47]

Discography
For Kim's work with BTS, see BTS singles discography and BTS albums discography.

Charted songs
Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Album
KOR US World
[48]		 UK Dig.
[49]		 SCT
[50]		 FRA Dig.
[51]		 HUN
[52]
Gaon
[53]		 Hot 100
[54]
As lead artist
"Awake"[upper-alpha 1] 2016 31 — 6 — — — 9 Wings
"Epiphany"[upper-alpha 1] 2018 30 5 4 54 60 61 5 Love Yourself: Answer
"Moon"[upper-alpha 1] 2020 22 12 4 61 64 N/A 11 N/A Map of the Soul: 7
Soundtrack appearances
"It's Definitely You" (죽어도 너야; Jugeodo neoya)
(with V)		 2016 34 — 8 — — — — Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth Original Soundtrack
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Other songs
Year Title Format Other Notes Ref
2013 "Adult Child" Digital download, streaming With RM and Suga [59]
2016 "Awake" (Christmas ver.) Holiday (Christmas) remix of "Awake" from the album Wings [14]
2017 "So Far Away" Re-release of the original track by Suga; features Jin and Jungkook in place of Suran [14]
2019 "Tonight" (이 밤; I bam) Released as part of the 2019 BTS anniversary event Festa [30]
2020 "Abyss" Released as a gift to fans prior to his 28th birthday [60]

Writing credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database, unless otherwise noted.[61]

Year Artist Album Song
2013 BTS 2 Cool 4 Skool "Outro: Circle Room Cypher"
2015 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 "Outro: Love Is Not Over"
"Boyz with Fun"
2016 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever "Love Is Not Over"
Wings "Awake"
2019 Jin Non-album release "Tonight"
2020 BTS Map of the Soul: 7 "Moon"
Non-album release "In the Soop"
Be "Stay"
Jin Non-album release "Abyss"

Filmography
Kim while filming the "Idol" music video in July 2018.
See also: BTS videography

Trailers and short films
Year Title Length Director(s) Ref.
2016 "Awake #7" 5:19 Yong-seok Choi (Lumpens) [62]
2018 "Epiphany" 4:21 [63]

Television
Year Network Program Role Note(s) Ref.
2016 SBS Inkigayo Host with RM, Kei, and Mijoo [64]
Mnet M Countdown with Jimin [65]
2017 with Jimin and J-Hope [66]
SBS Law of the Jungle in Kota Manado Himself Episodes 247–251 [67]
KBS KBS Song Festival Host with Sana, Chanyeol, Irene, Solar, Mingyu (Seventeen), Yerin (GFriend), and Kang Daniel [68]
2018 Music Bank with Solbin (Laboum) [29]
KBS Song Festival with Dahyun and Chanyeol [69]

Notes
  1. Although credited under BTS, the song is a solo by Kim.[55]

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  51. Compiled FRA sources:
  52. Compiled HUN sources:
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