Park Ji-min (; born October 13, 1995), known mononymously as Jimin, is a South Korean singer and dancer. In 2013, he made his debut as a member of the South Korean boy band BTS, under the record label Big Hit Entertainment.
Jimin has released three solo tracks under BTS' name—"Lie" in 2016, "Serendipity" in 2017, and "Filter" in 2020—all of which have charted on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart. He released his first credited solo song, the digital track "Promise", which he co-wrote, in 2018 and recorded the duet "With You" with Ha Sung-woon for the soundtrack for the TvN drama Our Blues in 2022. Jimin released his debut solo album, Face in 2023. It debuted at number one in South Korea and Japan, and number two in the United States, while its second single, "Like Crazy", debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, making him the highest-charting Korean solo artist in history on the Billboard 200 and the Hot 100 at the time, and the first to debut atop the latter.
Early life and education
Park Ji-min was born on October 13, 1995, in Geumjeong District, Busan, South Korea. His immediate family includes his mother, father, and younger brother. When he was a child, he attended Busan's Hodong Elementary School and Yonsan Middle School. In middle school, he attended Just Dance Academy, where he learned popping and locking. Prior to becoming a trainee, Jimin studied contemporary dance at Busan High School of Arts and was a top student in the modern dance department. A teacher suggested that he join an entertainment company, leading him to Big Hit Entertainment. Once he passed the auditions in 2012, he transferred to Korean Arts High School, graduating in 2014.
Jimin graduated from Global Cyber University in August 2020 with a major in Broadcasting and Entertainment. As of 2021, he is enrolled at Hanyang Cyber University, pursuing a Master of Business Administration in Advertising and Media.
Career
2013–present: BTS
Jimin was the last Big Hit trainee to be added to the lineup that would eventually become BTS. Of the band's seven members, he spent the shortest period of time—six months—as a trainee prior to debuting. On June 13, 2013, he debuted as a vocalist and dancer in BTS with the song "No More Dream" from their first single 2 Cool 4 Skool. Under the band's name, he released three solo songs: "Lie", "Serendipity", and "Filter". "Lie" was released in 2016, as part of the band's second Korean studio album, Wings. It was described as stunning and dramatic, conveying dark undertones and emotions in line with the overall concept of the album. In contrast, "Serendipity", from the band's Love Yourself: Her (2017) extended play (EP), was soft and sensual, expressing the joy, conviction, and curiosity of love. "Filter", a track from BTS' 2020 studio album Map of the Soul: 7, had a Latin pop flair, with lyrics reflecting the different sides of Jimin that he shows to the world and those around him.
"Serendipity" and "Lie" both surpassed fifty million streams on Spotify in 2018, followed shortly thereafter by the former's full length version from BTS' Love Yourself: Answer (2018) compilation album, which achieved the milestone in early 2019. Jimin became the first Korean artist to have three solo tracks accumulate over 50 million streams each, surpassing Psy, who previously crossed the 50 million streams mark twice with "Gangnam Style" (2012) and "Gentleman" (2013). Both songs were also the only solos by a BTS member included in the Official Chart Companys (OCC) list of the top 20 most streamed BTS songs in the United Kingdom as of October 2018, ranking at number 17 and 19 respectively. In April 2019, the list was expanded to reflect the top 40, and both tracks were the highest ranked solos included that year, at numbers 18 and 20 respectively.