Zhou Jieqiong

Biography

Zhou Jieqiong (Chinese: 周洁琼; Korean: 주결경; born December 16, 1998), known professionally as Jieqiong or Kyulkyung (in Korean), is a Chinese singer and actress. She is best known as a member of the girl group I.O.I after finishing sixth in the survival show Produce 101. She also became a member of Pristin and its subgroup Pristin V. She made her solo debut with the single "Why" on September 6, 2018.
As an actress, she is best known for her roles in Miss Truth (2020), Legend of Fei (2020), To Be With You (2021), Be My Princess (2022), and Romance in the Alley (2024).

Early life and education

Zhou was born on December 16, 1998, in Taizhou, Zhejiang, China. She attended the Music Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she specialized in the pipa. In 2009, she was discovered by Pledis Entertainment scouts in Shanghai, and moved to South Korea. In 2017, she graduated with a performing arts degree from the School of Performing Arts Seoul.

2016–2017: Produce 101, I.O.I, and Pledis Girlz

Zhou participated in Mnet's survival television show, Produce 101, which aired from January 22 to April 1, 2016. Five of the participants from Pledis Entertainment were eliminated and only Zhou and Lim Na-young became part of the final line-up for the girl group I.O.I. Zhou ranked sixth with an overall of 218,338 votes. I.O.I made their debut on May 4 with the single, "Dream Girls".
Concurrently, Zhou and Lim promoted as a member of Pledis Girlz, appearing at certain weekly concerts in 2016. On January 6, 2017, Zhou appeared with the other nine members of Pledis Girlz at their final concert, titled Bye & Hi. At this concert, they revealed that they would debut with the name Pristin.

2017: Debut with Pristin

After the disbandment of I.O.I, Zhou and Lim Na-young debuted with Pledis Entertainment's Pristin on March 21, 2017. Pristin officially debuted and released their first mini album, Hi! Pristin, accompanied by the title track, "Wee Woo".

2018–present: Pristin V and solo career

In January 2018, Zhou joined as a dance mentor in the reality survival show, Idol Producer. In May, a Pristin subgroup named Pristin V was formed with Zhou and members Nayoung, Roa, Eunwoo, and Rena. They debuted on May 28, 2018, with the single album, Like a V. Zhou released a soundtrack for the television show I Got You, titled "Leave It to Brother". On August 31, Pledis Entertainment confirmed that Zhou would be making her solo debut in China with digital single, "Why", on September 6. She then had her solo debut stage the day after the song's release on iQiyi's Idol Hits. Zhou also made several television soundtrack appearances in Hi! Housemate and Love Timing with the singles "Hi! Housemate" and "有你有我" respectively. In October, it was confirmed that Zhou would make her acting debut in the historical mystery drama Miss Truth.
On May 24, 2019, Pristin was officially disbanded. Pledis Entertainment announced that Zhou would be staying with the label.
On February 14, 2020, after the premier of Miss Truth, Zhou released the OST for the show, "小窃喜" and "天籁". Zhou starred in the Chinese wuxia television series Legend of Fei in 2020. Zhou also played the main role in To Be With You released on February 15, 2021.
On May 4, 2021, Zhou and the members of I.O.I celebrated their 5th debut anniversary with a reunion live stream show called "Yes, I Love It!". Although Zhou was not in Korea, she made an appearance by video calling the members of I.O.I from China.
Zhou starred in iQIYI and Mango TV's romance drama Be My Princess aired on March 16, 2022.