Park Ji-hyo

Biography

Park Ji-hyo (Korean: 박지효; born Park Ji-soo, February 1, 1997), known mononymously as Jihyo, is a South Korean singer. She is the leader and vocalist of the South Korean girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015.
Jihyo released her debut extended play (EP) Zone and its lead single "Killin' Me Good" in August 2023. The EP debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart in South Korea, selling 584,225 copies in its first week. It also debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

Early life and education

Jihyo was born on February 1, 1997, in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, as Park Ji-soo. She has two younger sisters: Park Ji-young, better known by her stage name Lee Ha-eum, is an actress and model, and Park Seo-yeon, is a member of the girl group Tuide. She graduated from Chungdam High School.

2005–2015: Pre-debut activities

SM Entertainment scouted Jihyo after she placed second in a child star contest on Junior Naver. After a year of training at SM Entertainment, the employee who scouted her transferred to JYP Entertainment, and Jihyo followed suit. She joined JYP Entertainment in 2005 at the age of eight and trained for ten years, during which she became the face of Innisfree's teen line with boy band Boyfriend, and trained with K-pop acts such as Wonder Girls' Sunmi and Hyerim, Bae Suzy, Jo Kwon, and Nichkhun.
In 2014, Jihyo was set to debut in a six-member girl group called 6Mix with now-Twice members Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Sana, but the project was cancelled when two members left JYP Entertainment. The following year, she joined the reality television show Sixteen, a competition to select the founding members of Twice. She legally changed her name to Park Ji-hyo before the competition. As one of nine successful participants, she went on to join the newly formed girl group Twice, and was voted by her bandmates as leader in an anonymous vote.

2015–present: Debut with Twice and solo activities

In October 2015, Twice officially debuted with the release of their first extended play (EP), The Story Begins. Its lead single "Like Ooh-Ahh" became the first K-pop debut song to reach 100 million views on YouTube.
On March 6, 2022, Jihyo released her first soundtrack song, "Stardust Love Song", for tvN's Twenty-Five Twenty-One. She released her second soundtrack song titled "I Fly" for SBS's Today's Webtoon on July 29. On November 14, she released her third soundtrack track, "A Strange Day", for the Genie TV and ENA series Summer Strike.
In June 2023, it was announced that Jihyo would release her first EP, Zone, on August 18, with "Killin' Me Good" serving as the lead single, marking the second member of Twice to make a solo debut. Before this announcement, Jihyo performed an unreleased track from the EP, "Nightmare", on Twice's Ready to Be World Tour. The EP served as an R&B record that incorporates multiple genres. It went on to sell over half a million copies in the first week. On August 25, she achieved her first music show win as a soloist on KBS2's Music Bank. Jihyo appeared in several episodes of the variety show I Live Alone in 2023, which earned her a Rookie Award nomination at the 2023 MBC Entertainment Awards. She was also nominated for Best Dance Performance (Female Solo) and Best Female Artist at the 2023 MAMA Awards.
On June 20, 2025, Jihyo along with fellow members Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung released "Takedown", the lead single of the Netflix animated musical fantasy film KPop Demon Hunters. "Takedown" earned Jihyo her first solo entry on the US Billboard Hot 100 when it debuted at number 86 on the chart dated July 10, 2025. It later reached a peak position of number 50 on the chart. On June 28, Jihyo released the song "New Days" for the soundtrack of the Japanese television drama adaptation of Marry My Husband.

On May 8, 2026, Jihyo featured on American R&B singer Jenevieve's single "Hvnly", a remix of her earlier song "Hvn High". Jihyo also appeared in the song's music video. On July 10, Jihyo released the single "Distant Lover×Distant Lover10 July 2026 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Distant Lover3:37", a collaboration with Jamaican singer Shenseea.

Endorsements

In January 2023, Jihyo was announced as the brand model for the South Korean cosmetics brand Milk Touch. In June 2024, Jihyo attended AMI Paris Spring Summer 2025 as an ambassador. In September 2025, Jihyo and Tzuyu were announced as brand ambassadors for Pond's Philippines.

Public image

According to the Korean Business Research Institute's monthly "Individual Girl Group Members Brand Power Ranking", Jihyo placed second and third in the November 2018 and May 2019 searches.
Jihyo has drawn attention for her key role as both the leader and vocalist of Twice, with critics describing her as a "powerhouse vocalist" and praising her "impressive vocal range" and "powerful stage presence".

Songwriting credits

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