Yoo Jeong-yeon

Biography

Yu Jeong-yeon (Korean: 유정연; born 1 November 1996), known mononymously as Jeongyeon, is a South Korean singer. She is a member of Twice, a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment.

Early life

Jeongyeon was born as Yu Kyung-wan on 1 November 1996 in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. She has two older sisters, one of whom is the actress Gong Seung-yeon. Her father was a chef who worked for Kim Dae-jung, a former president of South Korea. Jeongyeon took aerobics classes at a young age and developed an interest in singing and dancing soon afterward.

Pre-debut

Jeongyeon failed an audition to join JYP Entertainment as a child, but eventually joined the agency after passing an audition in 2010. She trained for five years before debuting with Twice. In 2014, Jeongyeon was expected to become a member of a new JYP girl group alongside fellow trainees (now Twice bandmates) Nayeon, Sana, and Jihyo; however, the project was cancelled. In 2015, Jeongyeon participated in the television program Sixteen, a reality television competition to determine the members of Twice. In the final episode, she was chosen as one of the nine members of the group.

Debut with Twice and solo activities

In October 2015, Jeongyeon officially debuted as a member of Twice with the release of their first extended play (EP), The Story Begins and its lead single "Like Ooh-Ahh". Jeongyeon and her sister co-hosted the South Korean music program Inkigayo from July 2016 to January 2017, for which they both won the Newcomer Award at the 2016 SBS Entertainment Awards. Since Jeongyeon's debut, she has also been credited as songwriter on some of Twice's tracks. In Gallup Korea's annual music poll, Jeongyeon was voted among the top 20 most popular idols in South Korea for four consecutive years from 2016 to 2019 alongside her bandmate Nayeon.
Jeongyeon was diagnosed with spinal disc herniation in 2020, and underwent disc surgery a week before the release of More & More. She was subsequently diagnosed with Cushing's syndrome as a side effect of steroid medication taken during treatment. On 17 October 2020, JYP Entertainment announced that Jeongyeon would be taking a hiatus due to anxiety. She resumed activities on 31 January 2021 at the 30th Seoul Music Awards. On 18 August 2021, JYP Entertainment announced that Jeongyeon would be taking a second hiatus due to panic and anxiety disorder. She resumed activities as a member of the group in February 2022, beginning with the North American leg of Twice 4th World Tour "III". That same year, Jeongyeon and the rest of the members renewed their contracts with JYP Entertainment.
On 1 November 2023, Jeongyeon released a cover of "O Christmas Tree×O Christmas Tree1 November 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1O Christmas Tree2:38" as part of Apple Music's Carols Covered playlist.

In July 2024, Jeongyeon became the host of YouTube talk show Inspector (감별사). During the show she interviewed celebrities and invited them to donate items to be auctioned off for charity. The second season concluded in July 2025, with the show donating ₩30 million (US$22,383.45) to ChildFund Korea. That same month, it was announced that Jeongyeon would be making her acting debut in the film New Recruit: The Movie, a spin-off of the television series New Recruit.
On 20 June 2025, Jeongyeon along with fellow members Jihyo and Chaeyoung released "Takedown", the lead single of the Netflix animated musical fantasy film KPop Demon Hunters. As the film garnered critical acclaim and became a global sensation, the song debuted at number 86 on the US Billboard Hot 100, earning Jeongyeon her first solo entry on the chart. "Takedown" later reached a peak chart position of number 50 on the chart.
In August 2026, Jeongyeon announced that she had left JYP Entertainment and had signed a new contract with Varo Entertainment, the agency to which her sister Seung-yeon belongs. She stated that she would remain a member of Twice as she participates in new activities. In September, it was announced that she will be part of tvN's television program Just a Friend, directed by Na Yeong-seok.

Songwriting credits

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