JY (Kang Ji-young)

Overview

JY (born Kang Ji-young, 姜知英, on January 18, 1994) is a South Korean singer and actress. She rose to fame at age 14 when she joined the girl group Kara in 2008, and in Japan she works under the names Jiyoung (知英) and JY. She is currently signed to elrise in Korea and also to Sweet Power International in Japan. As a solo singer she scored a major success with the drama theme "Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto", which earned certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).

Career

Kara years (2008–2014)

Born in Paju, Kang auditioned for DSP Media and joined Kara alongside Goo Hara after the departure of Kim Sung-hee. She made her broadcast debut on Mnet's M Countdown on July 24, 2008, performing "Rock U". Kara's 2009 hit "Mister" launched the group's career in Japan. In December 2010 she released the duet single "Merry Love" with Supernova's Sung-je, and in 2012 she landed her first lead drama role in the Japan-Korea co-production Rainbow Rose on TV Tokyo. That year she also released the solo song "Wanna Do", for which she learned to play guitar. She enrolled in Sungkyunkwan University's performing arts department in spring 2013.

Turning to acting (2014–2016)

Kang left Kara in April 2014 when her contract with DSP Media expired, spent time abroad, and in August signed with Sweet Power in Japan, beginning an acting career under the name Jiyoung. She played the snow woman Yukime in Nippon TV's Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube and became a regular model for Non-no (December 2014 to May 2016 issues). In 2015 she made her film debut as Irina Jelavić in Assassination Classroom, returning in Assassination Classroom: Graduation (2016). From April 2015 to March 2017 she hosted the TOKYO FM radio show Jiyoung no Kisetsu, and in October 2015 she took her first film lead in the net cinema piece Sochira no Sora wa, Donna Sora desu ka?.

Solo singing career (2016 onward)

In 2016 she resumed singing as JY, performing the opening and theme songs for the drama Higanbana. Later that year, "Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto", the theme of the Fuji TV drama of the same name, became a major hit and was certified by the RIAJ. She released the single "Koi wo Shite ita Koto" on November 16, 2016, followed by "Fake" and "Koi wo Shite ita Koto" on December 7. In September 2016 she made her stage lead debut in the musical Sweet Charity, and she received the Next Artist Award at the Model Press Readers' Choice Best Artist Awards 2016.

Her debut album Many Faces was released on May 3, 2017, and it produced two top-ten singles in Japan, "Saigo no Sayonara" and "Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto". Further releases followed: "Goldmine" (August 2017), "Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto -Seiho Remix-" (August 2017), "MY ID" (December 2017), "Secret Crush / MY ID" (December 2017) and "Hoshi ga Furu Mae ni" (March 2018). After a long gap she released "Punk" (February 2023), "Feat" (December 2024), the album Higher Than I Eva Been (September 2025) and the single "Tear Me Down" (October 2025).

Later activity

On screen, Kang appeared in the films Leon (2018), Watashi no Jinsei na no ni (2018) and Tokyo Ghoul S (2019, as Itori), and led the series Orphan Black – 7 Genes (2017–2018), playing seven roles. Leon earned her the Big Audience Award at the 10th Okinawa International Movie Festival. In December 2019 she resumed activities in Korea after five years, signing with KeyEast, and she led the JTBC series Sweet Munchies (2020) and appeared in Doctor Cha (2023). In March 2021 she ended her contract with Sweet Power to focus on Korea, and in April 2022 she joined elrise. She rejoined Kara for the group's 15th anniversary album Move Again (2022) and the concert tours of 2024–2025. On November 1, 2024 she returned to Sweet Power, under Sweet Power International, as she resumed activities in Japan, and in 2026 she appeared in Nippon TV's Punch-Drunk Woman.

Musical style

Her music is classified as J-pop. Her solo debut track "RADIO" was made in London with British producer MNEK. Fluent in Japanese and Korean with some English, she works across Korea and Japan as a singer, actress, model and radio host.