| Kang Ji-young | |||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 18 January 1994 | ||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Paju, Gyeonggi, South Korea | ||||||||||
| Education: | Sungkyunkwan University | ||||||||||
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| Alias: | JY | ||||||||||
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Kang Ji-young (born January 18, 1994), also known as Jiyoung or JY, is a South Korean singer and actress based in Japan. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Kara.
Kang Ji-young was born on January 18, 1994,[1] in Paju, South Korea. She is the cousin of the K-pop singer NS Yoon-G.
She attended Bongilcheon Middle School and Muhak Women's High School, graduating from the latter in February 2012.
See main article: Kara (South Korean band). Jiyoung joined the girl group Kara in 2008 along with member Hara, following the departure of former member Kim Sung-hee. She was 14 years old at the time, making her the youngest member of the group.
Jiyoung was the only Korean female singer to be featured on CDTV Japan's Favorite Female Artist Ranking for 2011, where she was ranked at #21.
On January 15, 2014, it was announced that she would leave the group once her contract expired in April 2014 to focus on her studies with acting and language skills in London.[2] [3] [4] In 2022, she rejoined the group for their 15th anniversary promotions.
After leaving Kara, Jiyoung signed with the agency Sweet Power to resume her activities in Japan as an actress, using her name in kanji, 知英. She made her first appearance in the 19th Tokyo Girls Collection fashion show in the Saitama Super Arena on September 6.[5]
Jiyoung's first work in Japan was the live-action of Hell Teacher Nube, where she played the heroine, Yukime.
In December 2015, Sony Music announced that Jiyoung would debut as a singer under the name of JY. Her first solo single was "The Last Farewell" (最後のサヨナラ, saigo no sayonara), for the OST for the Japan NTV drama Higanbana.[6]
On March 18, 2016, she released her debut solo EP as JY, Radio, consisting of three tracks. Two of the three tracks were released with music videos.[7] [8] "Radio" was written by London-based songwriter and producer MNEK, while Darren Craig directed its music video. Radio peaked at #2 on the iTunes Pop Top Song Chart.[9] It was marketed in the US and other parts of Asia in addition to South Korea and Japan.[6]
In February 2022, it is reported that Kang has decided not to renew her contract with KeyEast.[10]
On April 6, 2022, it was announced that Kang signed with ELRIS Entertainment.[11]
In July 2022 Kang released Project solo Lucid Dream[12]
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Sales | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [15] | JPN | JPN Hot [16] | |||||||||||||
| "Merry Love" (with Kim Sung-je)[17] | 2010 | — | — | 16 | |||||||||||
| "My Love" (with Park Gyu-ri)[18] | — | — | — | Daemul OST | |||||||||||
| "Rainbow Rose"[19] | 2012 | — | — | — | Rainbow Rose OST | ||||||||||
| "Wanna Do" | 100 | — | — |
| Kara Solo Collection | ||||||||||
| "Radio" | 2016 | — | — | 69 |
| Many Faces | |||||||||
| "Saigo no Sayonara"[20] (最後のサヨナラ) | — | 7 | 10 |
| |||||||||||
| "Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto"[21] (好きな人がいること) | — | 6 | 3 |
| |||||||||||
| "Fake" (フェイク) | — | 25 | — |
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| "Koiwo Shiteitakoto" (恋をしていたこと) | — | 24 | — |
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| "Joshi Modoki"[24] [25] (女子モドキ) | 2017 | — | — | 28 | rowspan="5" | ||||||||||
| "Goldmine" | — | — | — | rowspan="4" | |||||||||||
| "Secret Crush - Koi Yamerarenai / My ID" (Secret Crush ～恋やめられない～) | — | 29 | — | ||||||||||||
| "Namida no Riyuu" (涙の理由) | 2018 | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Lucid Dream" | 2022 | — | — | — | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | |||||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Sales | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR | KOR Hot [26] | ||||||||||||||
| "Nunibusyeo" (눈이부셔)[27] (Jumper feat. Ji-young) | 2009 | — | — | rowspan="1" | |||||||||||
| "Mermaid Princess" (인어공주)[28] (with Yoon Bo-ra, Lizzy, Han Sun-hwa, Heo Ga-yoon) | 2012 | 10 | 12 | Mystic White | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Assassination Classroom | Irina Jelavić professional killer, also known as "Bitch-sensei" | |
| Museum Guide (voice) | |||
| 2016 | Irina Jelavić | ||
| Kataomoi Spiral | SoYeon | ||
| 2017 | DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon | Harley Quinn (voice)[30] | |
| 2018 | Reon | Reon Takanashi | |
| Watashino Jinsei Nanoni | Mizuho Kaneshiro | ||
| Yaru Onna -She's a Killer- | Aiko | ||
| 2019 | Tokyo Ghoul S | Itori | |
| And Life Goes On | Han Yu-ri | ||
| Dosukoi! Sukehira | Ayane Sukehira | ||
| 2021 | Love and the Grand Tug-of-war | Yeo Ji-hyun[31] |
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Person Is Coming | Gang of school girls, along with Park Gyuri, Jung Nicole and Goo Ha-ra | |
| 2011 | URAKARA | Herself | |
| 2012 | Koisuru maison ~Rainbow Rose~ | Han Yu-ri | |
| 2013 | KARA The Animation | Herself (voice) | |
| 2014 | Secret Love | Park SoYeol | |
| Jigoku Sensei Nube | Yukime | ||
| Higanbana: Onnatachi no Hanzai File | Kaoruko Nagami | ||
| 2015 | Tamiou | Erika Murano | |
| 2016 | Tamiou ~ Aratanaru Inbou | ||
| Higanbana: Keishichou Sousa Nanaka | Kaoruko Nagami | ||
| A Girl & Three Sweethearts | Jun Yoshioka | ||
| Doctor X 4 | Yuka | ||
| Mission Commander Gouma Ayaka | Sonia | ||
| 2017 | Osaka Kanjousen Part 2 | Jihyun | |
| Orphan Black – 7 Genes | Sara Aoyama | ||
| 2019 | Ieuruonna No Gyakusyuu | Nana Miyadera (cameo) | |
| And Life Goes On | Han Yu-ri | ||
| 2020 | Sweet Munchies | Kim Ah-jin | |
| 2022 | Let Me Be Your Knight | Nina (Cameo)[32] | |
| 2023 | Doctor Cha | Yu Ji-seon (Cameo)[33] [34] | |
| 2024 | I Kill You | Sun-woo / Ji-yeon[35] |
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | How is the Sky Over There? | Ena | |
| 2016 | Life is... | Yuna | |
| 2018 | Unmeito Deaumadeno Issyukan | Himeno |
| Date | Name | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 23, 2009 – April 14, 2010 | Super Junior's Kiss the Radio (Sukira) | Fixed guest DJ with Gyuri | |
| May 5, 2010 - October 3, 2011 | MBC "Stop the Boring Time" (ShimShimTaPa (SSTP)) |
| Year | Commercial | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Karaya | with Goo Ha-ra and Park Gyu-ri |
| 2011 | Nature Republic | with Goo Ha-ra and Park Gyu-ri |
| Union Bay | Until 2013 with Han Seung-yeon and Lee Min-ki |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Mnet 20's Choice Awards | Upcoming 20's | |||
| 2015 | 87th Drama Academy Award | Best Supporting Actress | Tamiou | ||
| 2016 | 88th Drama Academy Award | Best OST | Radio & Saigo No Sayonara | ||
| Supporting Actress | Higanbana: Keishichou Sousa Nanaka | ||||
| 2018 | Okina Audience Award | Reon |