Lee Je-no

Biography

Lee Je-no (Korean: 이제노; born April 23, 2000), known professionally as Jeno, is a South Korean rapper and singer. Jeno began his career as a child commercial model. He was discovered by SM Entertainment at the age of thirteen. Jeno officially debuted in August 2016 as a member of South Korean boy band NCT through the sub-units NCT Dream and NCT JNJM.
Jeno hosted the television program The Show from May 2018 to November 2019.

Pre-debut activities

Jeno began his career as a child model in various commercials in South Korea throughout his childhood.
Jeno was introduced as one of the first members of SM Entertainment's pre-debut team, SM Rookies, on December 3, 2013. In 2014, he made his first appearance as a member of SM Rookies, alongside fellow NCT members Mark, Jaemin, Haechan and Jisung, on Exo 90:2014, a reality TV Show starring Exo. In 2015, he appeared as a Mouseketeer alongside other SM Rookies members on Disney Channel Korea's show The Mickey Mouse Club, which aired from July 23 to December 17, 2015.

2016–present: Debut with NCT and its sub-units

On August 24, 2016, Jeno debuted in NCT Dream, the third sub-unit of NCT. Jeno, along with NCT Dream, participated in NCT's first album, NCT 2018 Empathy, with the single "Go". On May 22, 2018, SBS MTV's The Show announced Jeno was chosen as a new MC. Besides contributing vocals to NCT Dream's songs, Jeno also began writing lyrics on the song "Dear Dream" for the NCT Dream's second EP We Go Up, alongside members Mark, Jaemin and Jisung. Jeno has since written lyrics for tracks on NCT Dream's subsequent albums.
On March 13, 2019, Jeno, alongside fellow NCT Dream members Jaemin and Jisung, represented K-pop stars at the "K-Wave & Halal Show" in Malaysia. The friendship event between South Korea and Malaysia was attended by President Moon Jae-in as part of his three-day state visit to the country. On November 23, 2020, Jeno joined NCT's rotational unit NCT U with the release of their lead track "Misfit" from NCT's second album, Resonance Pt. 1, and the lead single "90's Love" from Resonance Pt. 2.
In 2021, Jeno featured on Donghae's song "California Love". In August 2022, Jeno featured on Key's song "Villain". On September 13, Jeno became the first K-pop artist to be the opening model for a New York Fashion Week show, walking for Peter Do's spring 2023 collection show as part of a partnership with SM Entertainment, with whom Peter Do collaborated to create the line. The Business of Fashion commented that it "may have been the most-anticipated show of the week" and praised Do's tailoring, highlighting the back of the garments, and ability "to reference other designers through his own work without it feeling soulless". In December 2022, Jeno featured on "Hot & Cold" from 2022 Winter SM Town: SMCU Palace alongside labelmates Kai, Seulgi and Aespa's Karina.
In January 2026, it was announced that Jeno will debut with NCT's new sub-unit NCT JNJM alongside Jaemin, with an EP Both Sides on February 23.

Endorsements

In May 2023, Jeno was named as Ferragamo's first global male brand ambassador.
In February 2025, Jeno was selected by Korean cosmetics brand A'pieu as their first global male brand ambassador.
In late March 2026, Jeno was selected by Korean clothing brand Matin Kim as their first male brand ambassador.

Philanthropy

In May 2019, Jeno, along with fellow NCT Dream member Jaemin, volunteered to visit children living in slums in Indonesia in collaboration with the non-governmental organizations Good Neighbours International and Gugah Nurani Indonesia Foundation.
In June 2020, Jeno and Jisung, a fellow NCT Dream member, were selected as ambassadors of M Clean. The campaign was created by The Maeil Business Newspaper to combat the spread of illegal contents. The theme of the campaign that year was aimed to create a clean internet and mobile world, such as preventing illegal filming and digital sex crimes.
In March 2025, Jeno donated ₩100 million to the Community Chest of Korea to support the victims of 2025 South Korea wildfires.

Composition credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless stated otherwise.