Early life and education
Park Ji-min was born on October 13, 1995, in Geumjeong District, Busan, South Korea.[2] 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.[3] During middle school, he attended Just Dance Academy and learned popping and locking dance.[citation needed] 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.[4] After a teacher suggested he audition with an entertainment company, it led him to Big Hit Entertainment. Once he passed the auditions in 2012, he transferred to Korean Arts High School, graduating in 2014.[5]
Jimin graduated from Global Cyber University in August 2020, with a major in Broadcasting and Entertainment.[6] As of 2021, he is enrolled at Hanyang Cyber University, pursuing a Master of Business Administration in Advertising and Media.[7]
Career
2013–present: BTS
Jimin debuted as a member of BTS on June 13, 2013,[8] and holds the position of vocalist and dancer in the group. Under BTS, he has released three solo songs: "Lie", "Serendipity", and "Filter". "Lie" was released in 2016, as part of the group's second Korean studio album, Wings. It was described as stunning and dramatic, conveying dark undertones and emotions that helped reflect the overall concept of the album.[9] In contrast, "Serendipity", released on the Love Yourself: Her (2017) extended play (EP), was soft and sensual, unraveling the joy, conviction, and curiosity of love.[10] "Filter", from the group's 2020 studio album, Map of the Soul: 7, was very different from its predecessor, with a distinct Latin pop-esque flair and lyrics that reflected on the different sides of himself that Jimin shows to the world and those around him.[11]
"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. With this, Jimin set a new record as the only Korean artist to have three solo tracks accumulate over 50 million streams each—previously Psy was the only Korean artist to cross the 50 million streams mark with "Gangnam Style" (2012) and "Gentleman" (2013).[12][13] Both songs were also the only solos by a BTS member included in the Official Chart Company's list of the top 20 most streamed BTS songs in the United Kingdom as of October 2018, ranking at number 17 and 19 respectively.[14] In April 2019, the list was expanded to reflect the top 40, and both tracks were the highest ranked solo songs included that year, at numbers 18 and 20 respectively.[15][16]
In May 2019, Jimin became the first BTS member to have a solo music video achieve 100 million views on YouTube when "Serendipity" achieved the milestone.[17][18] He was the only BTS member with multiple solo songs in the January 2020 update of the Official Chart's top 40 list.[19] "Lie" and "Serendipity" were the second and third most-streamed solos, at numbers 24 and 29 respectively, with the full length version of the latter debuting at number 38.[20] In February, "Filter" set a record for the biggest streaming debut among all Korean songs on Spotify with over 2.2 million streams in its first 24 hours of release, and went on to become the fastest Korean solo in the platform's history to surpass 20–60 million streams.[21][22] It is also the only solo BTS b-side track to receive a Song of The Year nomination at the Gaon Chart Music Awards.[23][24] In March 2021, it became the 15th BTS song to spend a full year on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart.[25] It is the longest-charting Korean song released in 2020 on the World ranking,[26] having spent 80 weeks on the chart as of the issue dated October 9, 2021.[27]
Jimin was awarded the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit in 2018 by the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, alongside the other members of BTS for their contributions to the promotion of Korean culture.[28] In July 2021, President Moon appointed him Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture, 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.[29]
2014–present: Solo work
In 2014, Jimin collaborated with bandmate and fellow vocalist Jungkook on a song called "Christmas Day", a Korean rendition of Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe"—he wrote the Korean lyrics himself.[30] The two collaborated again in 2017, for a cover of American singer Charlie Puth's "We Don't Talk Anymore" (2016)—Jimin sang the parts of Selena Gomez who featured on the original with Puth.[31] Jungkook had previously released a solo version of the song earlier that year in February, and the two prepared the duet as a special gift to the band's fandom, releasing it on June 2 during BTS' fourth anniversary celebrations.[32][33] Commenting on Jimin's appearance on the track, Teen Vogue wrote that "adding Jimin's voice to the mix makes the rendition all the more lovely".[32] Canadian outlet Flare magazine also praised his rendition saying, "...no shade, Selena—it honestly might be better than the original".[34] Elite Daily described the cover as "nothing short of flawless".[30]
Jimin appeared on several variety shows such as Hello Counselor, Please Take Care of My Refrigerator, and God's Workplace in 2016.[35] He also served as a special MC on domestic television music programs such as Show! Music Core and M Countdown.[36][37] In December 2016, he participated in a dance duet at the KBS Song Festival with Taemin from Shinee.[38]
On December 30, 2018, Jimin released his first solo song outside of BTS releases, "Promise", for free on BTS' SoundCloud page.[39] On January 3, 2019, the platform announced that "Promise" had surpassed the record set by Drake's "Duppy Freestyle" for the biggest 24-hour debut in history.[40] Described by Billboard as a "mellow pop ballad",[41] the song was composed by Jimin and Big Hit producer Slow Rabbit, who also produced the track,[42] and features lyrics written by Jimin and bandmate RM.[41] On December 24, 2020, he released his second solo song "Christmas Love", a song about his childhood memories of the holidays.[43] In 2022, Jimin participated in the soundtrack for the TvN drama Our Blues, the first television OST of his career. Titled "With You", the single is a duet with Ha Sung-woon and was released on April 24.[44]
Artistry
Jimin's vocals have been described as delicate and sweet.[45] He is regarded as an exceptional dancer among the members of the group and in K-pop in general.[4][46] Noelle Devoe of Elite Daily wrote that he is often praised for his "smooth and elegant movements" as well as his charm on stage. In the BTS documentary Burn the Stage, Jimin said he thinks of himself as a perfectionist and that even the smallest mistakes on stage make him feel guilty and stressed.[46]
He has cited singer Rain as one of his inspirations and reasons why he wanted to become both a singer and performer.
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