Who is Jihyo (TWICE) who marked 20 years of 'maturity' at JYP with a unique photo?

Recently, a photo of TWICE leader Jihyo taken to commemorate her time with JYP quickly went viral on Kpop forums. The 28-year-old singer has 20 years of working experience, surprising people.

Image of Jihyo with her group of close friends, all idols including 2 members of the same group Jeongyeon - Nayeon, Mingyu - Seungkwan (SEVENTEEN), BamBam (GOT7), Nayeong and Sejeong (Gugudan), Sungjin (DAY6). Looking at Jihyo's quality group of close friends, fans can't help but be shocked.

In just one moment, Jihyo gathered all the A-list Kpop stars of the 3rd generation, and also showed how long their careers have lasted. Currently, TWICE is a 10-year-old group, but the glorious days of sweeping Kpop seem to be just recently, making many fans nostalgic.

Looking back in time, fans can't help but feel emotional. Before debuting with TWICE, Jihyo was a trainee at JYP since she was 8 years old. The number 20 years makes people surprised. The career journey of TWICE's leader has lasted 2/3 of her life.

But when they were trainees, the members thought a million times about when they would debut. Jihyo was a trainee for 10 years, the hardships were immeasurable. This also shows more clearly the harsh reality behind the Korean music industry.

Many idols who want to succeed early have to train from a very young age, affecting their compulsory education. Getting acquainted with the entertainment industry also has a multi-dimensional impact on health and psychology. And besides those who are lucky enough to debut, many trainees will never be famous or will drop out halfway because they cannot pursue their dreams to the end.

Ji-hyo's full name is Park Ji-hyo, born on February 1, 1997 in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, and is currently 28 years old. Born into a Christian family, she is the eldest of two younger sisters (Ji-young born in 2002, Seo-yeon born in 2008).

Jihyo is an important factor of TWICE

In 2004–2005, when she was around 7–8 years old, Jihyo was a trainee at SM Entertainment after winning second place in the "Junior Naver Child Acting Star" competition, before transferring to become a trainee at JYP Entertainment in 2005 following a recruiter from SM.

Her 10-year trainee period – one of the longest training periods for idols – allowed her to hone her singing, dancing, and acting skills alongside seniors like Wonder Girls, 2PM, GOT7, and Suzy.

In 2015, Park Ji-hyo changed her legal name to Park Ji-hyo and participated in JYP's survival show SIXTEEN. She was selected as the official leader of TWICE by the members through a secret ballot. TWICE debuted on October 20, 2015 with the mini album "The Story Begins" and the title track "Like OOH‑AHH" – which was also the first K-pop debut song to surpass 100 million views on YouTube.

As the leader and main vocalist, Jihyo has contributed significantly to TWICE becoming one of the top girl groups of the third generation of K‑pop, with a series of top successes such as "Cheer Up", "TT", "Fancy", and is also the first foreign girl group to successfully hold a dome tour in Japan and perform at Nissan Stadium.

Successful personal career

As of 2022, Jihyo has been working on the soundtracks for the dramas "Twenty‑Five Twenty‑One" ("Stardust Love Song"), "Today's Webtoon" ("I Fly"), and "Summer Strike" ("A Strange Day").

She also participated in a reality show and received a nomination for the MBC "Rookie Award". In 2021, she published a photobook "Yes, I am Jihyo" and endorsed brands such as Milk Touch (2023), The Body Shop; and also appeared in an advertisement shirt for Innisfree during her trainee days.

On August 18, 2023, Ji Hyo officially debuted solo with her first mini-album "Zone" (abbreviated from "z" - her name, and "one" - her first full-length work), including 7 songs in the genres of R&B, dance-pop, ballad, collaborating with Heize, 24k Gold. She participated in writing the lyrics for 5/7 songs, harmonizing 4 songs, expressing her desire to show herself more honestly and maturely.

"Zone" debuted successfully with over 500,000 copies sold in the first week in Korea (double platinum), entered the Billboard 200, and topped the Circle Album Chart.

The title track "Killin' Me Good" helped her win the Music Bank trophy, entered the top 10 of Billboard World Digital Song Sales, and received nominations for MAMA 2023 "Best Dance Performance – Female Solo" and "Song of the Year"; the album also brought her into the "Best Female Artist" category at MAMA.

2024–2025 is still an exciting period for her, when in December 2024 TWICE released the mini-album "Strategy" (which had been renewed since 2022), and Jihyo with Jeongyeon, Chaeyoung took on the role of lyricist, released on December 6; they are currently winning many charts.

In early 2025, Jihyo continued to release two new soundtracks: "TAKEDOWN" (June 20, 2025) for the American animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" and "New Days" (June 28, 2025) for the Japanese drama "Watashi no Otto to Kekkon Shite".

At the same time, on July 11, 2025, TWICE officially released their fourth studio album "This Is For" to celebrate their 10th anniversary, kicked off the "This Is For" tour from July 19 in Incheon and is preparing to perform at Lollapalooza Chicago. Jihyo also explored rap in the title track, sharing that she "felt like grabbing the mic at that time".

As of February 2025, her total net worth is estimated at $6 to $8 million, coming from group earnings, solo album sales, soundtracks, royalties, and numerous endorsement deals such as Milk Touch and The Body Shop.

Private life away from the media

Jihyo dated male singer Kang Daniel from August 2019 to November 2020; at the end of March 2024, the press speculated that she was dating Yun Sung-bin (former skeleton athlete), but both sides refused to confirm due to respect for privacy.

Efforts to overcome gossip

Besides her celebrity image, Jihyo is also affectionately known by nicknames such as "God Jihyo", "Mic", "Mother" thanks to her excellent singing ability, leadership style and warm personality. She also shared that she was criticized for "not singing well" when she first debuted, but overcame it thanks to her constant efforts.

She now sticks to a positive lifestyle: loves golf, enjoys time with family and friends, focuses on joy in every moment - a testament to admirable psychological maturity.

From an SM trainee to JYP, after a decade of training, Jihyo has established herself as a well-rounded artist – from the role of TWICE leader, main vocalist, songwriter, rapper to independent solo image. With an increasingly diverse career, growing assets and increasingly mature personality, she is still on the journey to conquer new heights, bringing inspiration and joy to millions of fans around the world.

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