Childhood & Early Life
Kim Seok-jin was born on December 4, 1992, in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. His family members include his father, who is the CEO of a company, his mother, and his elder brother, Kim Seok Jung. According to sources, it was his elder brother who had introduced him to the hip-hop world.
Jin attended the ‘Bosung High School.’ He completed his graduation from ‘Konkuk University’ on February 22, 2017, earning a degree in art and acting. Jin initially wanted to join his father’s company. However, he stepped into the entertainment industry after being spotted for his good looks by the South Korean entertainment company ‘Big Hit Entertainment’ while he was walking down the street. During that time, Jin was studying acting.
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Career
Jin debuted with ‘BTS’ as one of its four vocalists, on June 13, 2013. Their debut single album was ‘2 Cool 4 Skool.’
The solo single ‘Awake’ from the 2016-released album of ‘BTS,’ titled ‘Wings,’ was sung by Jin. It was the first co-produced track released by him. He co-wrote the track along with Slow Rabbit, "Hitman" Bang, RM, J-Hope, June, and Pdogg. The track reached number 31 on the ‘Gaon Music Chart’ and number 6 on the ‘Billboard World Digital Singles Chart.’ Later, in December the same year, Jin released a Christmas version of the song on ‘SoundCloud.’
Jin, along with his fellow ‘BTS’ member V, sang ‘It's Definitely You.’ It was released as part of the original soundtrack of the South Korean TV series ‘Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth.’ The song fetched Jin a nomination for the ‘Best OST Award’ at the 2017 ‘Melon Music Awards.’
The second solo by the singer was ‘Epiphany.’ It was first released on August 9, 2018, as a trailer for the then-forthcoming compilation album of ‘BTS,’ titled ‘Love Yourself: Answer’.’ A full version of the song was later released as part of the compilation album on August 24 that year. The song, described by ‘Billboard’ as a "building pop-rock melody," reached number 30 on the ‘Gaon Music Chart,’ number 5 on the ‘K-pop Hot 100’ chart in South Korea, and number 4 on the ‘Billboard World Digital Singles Chart.’
He also collaborated with another ‘BTS’ member, Jungkook. They released a different version of the song ‘So Far Away,’ originally released by ‘BTS’ member Suga (Agust D) in the latter’s self-titled mixtape ‘Agust D.’
Jin has also sung cover versions of songs by other artists, which he has released on ‘SoundCloud.’ These include the solo cover of ‘Mom’ by Ra.D, which released on May 7, 2015; ‘I Love You’ by Mate, which released on December 3, 2015; and ‘In Front of the Post Office in Autumn’ by Yoon Do-hyun, which released on June 7, 2018.
Over the years, Jin has co-written several songs for different albums of ‘BTS.’ These include ‘Outro: Circle Room Cypher’ from the album ‘2 Cool 4 Skool’ (2013), ‘Outro: Love Is Not Over’ and ‘Boyz with Fun’ from the album ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1’ (2015), ‘Love Is Not Over’ from the album ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever’ (2016), and ‘Awake’ from the album ‘Wings’ (2016).
Jin has co-hosted various TV music programs. These include the ‘SBS’-aired ‘Inkigayo’ in 2016, the ‘Mnet’-aired ‘M Countdown’ in 2016 and 2017, and the ‘KBS2’-aired ‘Music Bank’ in 2018. Jin also appeared on the ‘SBS’-aired South Korean reality-documentary show ‘Law of the Jungle’ in 2017 and has co-hosted the annual South Korean music show ‘KBS Song Festival’ in 2017 and 2018.
According to data collected by ‘Gallup Korea,’ Jin was named the eleventh most-well-known idol in South Korea in 2018. That year, Jin and his elder brother launched a Japanese-style restaurant named ‘Ossu Seiromushi’ in Seoul. The same year, in October, Jin and the other members of the band ‘BTS’ (which has received several awards and honors over the years and also holds seven ‘Guinness World Records’ as of 2019) were awarded the fifth-class ‘Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit’ by South Korean president Moon Jae-in.
Family & Personal Life
Jin owns a luxury apartment worth US$1.7 million in South Korea, which he bought in 2018. However, he still lives with his band members in Hannam-dong in Seoul. In December 2018, he celebrated his birthday by donating supplies such as food, blankets, and dishes to the ‘Korean Animal Welfare Association’ and also by donating 321 kg of food to the non-profit organization ‘Korea Animal Rights Advocates’ (KARA), which also supports animal welfare in Korea.
Jin’s favorite hobbies are cooking, eating, taking care of pets, playing video games, and snowboarding. He also features in his own “mukbang” show called ‘Eat Jin,’ where he is sometimes joined by other ‘BTS’ members such as Suga, Jimin, and Jungkook.
Jin currently attends graduate school at the ‘Hanyang Cyber University,’ where he studies subjects other than music.
