Kim Seok-jin was born on December 4, 1992, in , , South Korea. His family consists of his mother, father and older brother. In 2007, he went to a study camp in Australia to help learn English.
He originally wished to be a journalist. But after watching in he decided to pursue acting. While in junior high school, Kim was by South Korean agency off the street, but he rejected the offer at the time. He initially intended to be an actor, attending and graduating with a degree in art and acting on February 22, 2017. He enrolled in graduate school at , to pursue studies in areas other than music.
Career2013–present: BTSKim performing as a member of in September 2014.Main article:
Kim was scouted by for his looks while walking down the street. At the time Kim was studying acting and had no background in music. Subsequently, he auditioned for Big Hit as an actor before becoming an . On June 13, 2013, Kim made his debut as one of the four vocalists in BTS with their debut . Kim released his first co-produced track, a solo single from the album titled "Awake", in 2016. The song peaked at number 31 on the and six on the Billboard World Digital Singles Chart. In December 2016, he released a Christmas version of "Awake" on .
On August 9, 2018, the second solo by Kim, "", was released as a trailer for BTS' then-upcoming compilation album . The song was described as a "building melody" by and contains lyrics discussing self-acceptance and self-love. The full version of the song was eventually released as a track on Answer, peaking at number 30 on the Gaon Music Chart and four on the Billboard World Digital Singles Chart. In October, he was awarded the fifth-class Hwagwan by South Korean president along with other members of the group.
He released his third solo song with BTS, "Moon", on the 2020 studio album . writer Jae-Ha Kim described "Moon" as a song addressed to BTS fans. "Moon" peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart and number two on Billboard's US World Digital Singles chart.
In July 2021, he was appointed by , along with the other members of BTS, to help "lead the global agenda for future generations, such as sustainable growth" and "expand South Korea's diplomatic efforts and global standing" in the international community.
2015–present: Solo activities
Kim collaborated with fellow BTS member on the song "It's Definitely You", released as part of the original soundtrack. He also joined BTS member Jungkook to sing and release an alternate version of "So Far Away", a song from BTS member 's self-titled mixtape Agust D. Kim's solo covers include "Mom" by , "I Love You" by Mate, and "In Front Of The Post Office In Autumn", originally by in 1994. They were released on SoundCloud on May 7, 2015, December 3, 2015, and June 7, 2018, respectively. He has also made several appearances as a co-host for Korean music award shows, such as and .
On June 4, 2019, Kim released his first independent song "Tonight" as part of the 2019 BTS Festa, a yearly event celebrating the anniversary of the band's debut. The ballad was composed by Kim, alongside Big Hit Entertainment Slow Rabbit and Hiss Noise. The lyrics, written by Kim and BTS leader , are inspired by Kim's relationship with his pets. The track was met with a generally positive reception, with praise for Kim's vocals and the song's calming atmosphere.
On December 3, 2020, Kim released his second solo song "Abyss" a day before his 28th birthday. The acoustic ballad was composed by Kim and fellow BTS member RM, alongside record producers and Pdogg. The lyrics, written by Kim, BUMZU and RM, were inspired by Kim's feelings of anxiety, doubt, and burnout. In a post on the official BTS blog, Kim spoke about his insecurities regarding music and how those darker emotions drove him to write and release the song.
On October 1, 2021, it was confirmed that Kim would be singing the main OST theme song for the upcoming drama . A music video was released to accompany the song "Yours" for the drama, starring and .
ArtistryKim at the on October 24, 2018.
Kim is a and can play the guitar. In Kim Young-dae's 2019 novel BTS: The Review, members of the panel stated that his voice has stable breath control and a strong , calling it a "silver voice". Journalist Choi Song-hye, writing for Aju News, wrote that BTS singles such as "" and "" displayed Kim's vocal stability, while the b-side "" did so for his emotional range. Hong Hye-min of described Kim's voice as "tender, sorrowful, [and] free-spirited" and considered it to be the "standout element" on the solo ballad "Epiphany". Critic Park Hee-a, when discussing "Epiphany", stated that Kim "sings the most sentimental emotions" of the solo tracks on Love Yourself: Answer. In a review of "Fake Love", Park said that Kim's belting "prove[d] [the song's] effectiveness".
Public imagePhilanthropy
In December 2018, Kim donated various supplies to the Korean Animal Welfare Association to celebrate his birthday, purchasing food, blankets, and dishes for the organization. He also donated 321 kilograms of food to the (KARA), another Korean animal welfare non-profit organization.
Since May 2018, Kim has been a monthly donor to , requesting that his donations be kept private at the time. They were eventually publicized following his induction into the UNICEF Honors Club in May 2019 for donating over 100 million (about 84,000).
Influence
In 2019, he was ranked as the overall 13th most popular and 6th among girls aged 13–19 in South Korea, via data collected by analytics company .
