 | This articleincludes historical images which have beenupscaled by an AI process. This will have introduced speculative and possibly inaccurate details. Such imagesshould be replaced with their original versions.(February 2025) |
Jaehyun | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Jaehyun in October 2023 | |
| Born | Jeong Jae-hyun (1997-02-14)February 14, 1997 (age 28) Seoul, South Korea |
| Other names | Jeong Yun-o |
| Education | School of Performing Arts Seoul |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Labels | SM |
| Member of | |
| Formerly of | SM Rookies |
| Website | Official website |
Musical artist | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 정윤오 |
| Hanja | 鄭閏伍 |
| Revised Romanization | Jeong Yuno |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chŏng Yun'o |
| Birth name | |
| Hangul | 정재현 |
| Hanja | 鄭在玹 |
| Revised Romanization | Jeong Jaehyeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chŏng Chaehyŏn |
| Stage name | |
| Hangul | 재현 |
| Hanja | 在玹 |
| Revised Romanization | Jaehyeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chaehyŏn |
Jeong Yun-o (Korean: 정윤오; bornJeong Jae-hyun, February 14, 1997), known professionally asJaehyun, is a South Korean singer. He is a member of the South Korean boy bandNCT and its sub-unitsNCT 127 andNCT DoJaeJung. He made his solo debut on August 26, 2024, with thestudio albumJ.
First introduced in December 2013 as a trainee under the pre-debut teamSM Rookies, he debuted in April 2016 as a member of the rotational unit NCT U and as a member of Seoul-based fixed unit NCT 127 in July 2016. He later joined the fixed unitNCT DoJaeJung in April 2023.
As of 2024, Jaehyun has released five solo singles: "Forever Only" and "Horizon", both as part of theNCT Lab project, while "Roses", "Dandelion", and "Smoke" as part of his debut albumJ. Apart from music, he has also hosted the radio show NCT Night Night from March 2017 to January 2019 and the television programInkigayo from October 2019 to February 2021. He later debuted as an actor with a leading role in the college romance television seriesDear. M (2022), and he is set to make his feature film debut in the mystery thriller filmYou Will Die In 6 Hours. As of June 2022, Jaehyun is a global ambassador for the Italian luxury brandPrada; he is considered among the most impactful fashion ambassadors from South Korea.[1]
Jaehyun was born on February 14, 1997, inSeocho District,Seoul, South Korea.[2][3] Although he was born with the name Jeong Jae-hyun (정재현), he later legally changed his name to Jeong Yun-o (정윤오).[4] At the age of five, Jaehyun moved toConnecticut, USA with his parents, where he went by the English name Jay Jeong.[5] As a result, he is fluent in both English and Korean. He revealed that while studying in Connecticut, he was the only Asian student at school.[6][7] Jaehyun returned to South Korea at the age of ten, and said that he struggled adapting back to Korean culture.[7]
Jaehyun trained inTaekwondo and received aBlack belt.[8] He later became interested in music at a young age due to his parents' influence; he learned to play the guitar and the piano, and eventually began singing during his middle school. His grandmother, a retired professional dancer, was also his guide during dance training.[6] He was also inspired to pursue music by his elementary school teacher, Lee Eun-yeol.[7] Jaehyun attended Shindong Middle School and Apgujeong High School and later transferred to theSchool of Performing Arts Seoul in his second year of high school and graduated in 2016.[9][10] He used to be a student council president.[6]
Jaehyun was cast bySM Entertainment in 2012, discovered by street scouts in front of his school. He auditioned with a performance of "Mama" byExo.[5] On December 9, 2013, he was introduced as a member of the pre-debut trainee teamSM Rookies.[11] In 2014, he participated with fellow NCT members on the showExo 90:2014, where they performed songs from the 1990s.[12] From January 21 to July 1, 2015, he and groupmateDoyoung were hosts of the programShow Champion.[13] In July 2015, he and groupmateTen both competed inHope Basketball All-Star.[14] In December 2015, Jaehyun performed "A Whole New World" on Disney Channel Korea'sThe Mickey Mouse Club.[5]
In April 2016, Jaehyun officially debuted as a member of NCT's sub-unit,NCT U, with the singles "The 7th Sense" and "Without You".[15] On July 10, he made his debut as a member ofNCT 127 with their first EP,NCT#127.[16] In March 2017, Jaehyun joined the radio showNCT Night Night as a DJ alongside fellow member Johnny.[17] In November 2017, Jaehyun and Dear released the song "Try Again" for the projectSM Station.[18] In December, he featured in the music video forWendy andBaek A-yeon's "The Little Match Girl".[19] In January 2018, Jaehyun released the single "Timeless" alongside a new NCT U lineup as part of theSM Station project.[20]
In October 2019, Jaehyun became one of three hosts for theSouth Korean music programInkigayo alongsideMinhyuk andNaeun, hosting the show every Sunday.[21] On September 4, 2020, it was confirmed that Jaehyun would make his acting debut as Cha Min-ho – a second-year computer science student at Seoyeon University, in theKBS2 dramaDear. M, which was to be released in 2021.[22] The airing of the drama was postponed indefinitely after lead actressPark Hye-su was accused of school bullying.[23] After a nearly two-year delay, the first six episodes ofDear. M were released globally on June 29, 2022, through the streaming serviceViki.[24] Its following episodes were released on July 6, 2022.
On November 2, 2021, Jaehyun was confirmed to star in aKakaoTV web series, a remake of the 2001 South Korean filmBungee Jumping of Their Own, playing the leading role of Im Hyun-bin.[25] On December 9 of the same year, during pre-production, KakaoTV announced the cancellation of the project due to concerns regarding theLGBT plot from the original film's screenwriter.[26]
On August 18, 2022, Jaehyun released his first single "Forever Only" as part ofNCT Lab. "Forever Only" was described as anR&B song and featured lyrics written by Jaehyun.[27] It received positive reviews from critics and debuted at number 14 on the United States'Billboard World Digital Songs and at 120 on South Korea'sCircle Digital Chart.[28][29] On March 9, 2023, Jaehyun was confirmed to debut alongside fellow NCT membersDoyoung and Jungwoo in the new fixed sub-unitNCT DoJaeJung.[30] They released their firstextended play (EP)Perfume on April 17, 2023.[31]
On July 3, 2023, it was announced that Jaehyun will make hisfeature film debut in the mystery thrillerYou Will Die In 6 Hours, based on the Japanese novel of the same name.[32] He will portray the lead character Junwoo, starring alongsidePark Ju-hyun andKwak Si-yang.[33] On August 8, he released his second solo single "Horizon" under the now-reconstructedNCT Lab.[34] The song is described as a romantic R&B/Soul track that Jaehyun wrote and composed.[35] It debuted at number 38 on theCircle Digital Chart, as well as at the first and third spots of the BGM Chart and Download Chart, respectively.[29] "Horizon" marks Jaehyun's highest-charting solo single in South Korea.
In August 2024, SM announced that Jaehyun would debut as a soloist with his first studio albumJ.[36] The eight-track album was released on August 26, and included Korean and English versions of thetitle track "Smoke".[37] Jaehyun actively participated in the production of the album, not only in the songwriting process but also in shaping its direction and title. Among the eight tracks, he contributed to create five songs on the album.[38] Jaehyun participated in writing the lyrics of his title track "Smoke", composition and lyrics of "Roses" and "Flamin' Hot Lemon" with Azad of American duoEmotional Oranges, as well as being the sole lyricist of "Dandelion" and "Can't Get You".[39] Jaehyun stated that "for each and every track, I really wanted to have a reason why it's in the first album. I had a different concept and image of each track for this album, and I really wanted to make it feel classic so you could listen to it later on. That was the thought".[40]
Before the album's release, Jaehyun pre-released two songs off the album as a digital single, "Roses" and "Dandelion" on August 12.[41] On the day of the album's release, Jaehyun hosted a listening party titledJaehyun Vol. 1.[42] The album debuted at number three on theCircle Album Chart, number 11 on the USHeatseekers Albums (Billboard), number 18 on the USTop Albums Sales (Billboard) and number seven on Japanese Albums (Oricon). "Smoke" also debuted at number one onCircle Digital Chart, two weeks in a row upon release. On September 7, "Smoke" achieved a first place win onSouth Korean music programShow! Music Core, making Jaehyun the first soloist from NCT to win a public broadcast music show.[citation needed]
On October 16, Jaehyun made his feature film debut in the mystery thrillerYou Will Die in 6 Hours. The film took the number one spot for CGV ticket reservations. Special preview screenings and stage greetings were also completely sold out.[43] The film ranked #1 in sales for independent and art films and broke a record for independent films sold internationally, being sold to 76 countries worldwide.[citation needed] An industry official stated, "This film has already set global records before its release. Jeong Jaehyun's debut has shown incredible ticket power, making it a dark horse at the box office."[44]
Ahead of hismandatory military service, Jaehyun released a single titled "Unconditional" on October 24, 2024,[45] and held a sold out fan concert titled "2024 Jaehyun Fan-Con <Mute>" for two days on October 26 and 27, 2024 atSK Olympic Handball Gymnasium inSeoul.[46][47]
On September 26, 2024, SM Entertainment announced that Jaehyun had started the enlistment process to carry out hismandatory military service.[48][49] Jaehyun enlisted in theRepublic of Korea Army on November 4, 2024, and would fulfill his military service as a member of theArmy Band. He is scheduled to be discharged on May 3, 2026.[50]
Following various successful collaborations withPrada, Jaehyun was selected as a global ambassador in June 2022, citing his influence and unique fashion style as a reason.[51] In 2023, he modeled for Prada's SS23 campaign, making him the first Korean celebrity to be chosen as a model for the brand's main global campaign.[52] Photographed by David Sims, the campaign draws "upon the characteristics of classic Hollywood and European movies - their images are frames within divergent stories, glimpses of an unseen narrative and an unknown script, a tension again between different views, of different lives" and features Jaehyun alongside actorsVincent Cassel,Louis Partridge,Hunter Schafer, andLetitia Wright and modelsGuinevere van Seenus andRachel Williams.[53]
Multiple publications named Jaehyun as one of the most influential fashion brand ambassadors from South Korea, noting Prada's increase in purchases, popularity, and online topicality following Jaehyun's appointment as a global ambassador in June 2022.[54][1]
On July 14, 2024, the Indonesian snack brand TicTac confirmed Jaehyun as the new brand ambassador. He starred in a commercial film endorsing their new range of snacks.[55] On August 16, it was announced that Jaehyun was the new ambassador for Korean cosmetic brandClio Cosmetics.[56] Several product campaigns were launched with Jaehyun as the new model. On September 5, Thai haircare brand GoHair announced Jaehyun as their new brand ambassador.[57]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [58] | JPN [59] | ||||
| J |
| 3 | 7 | ||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR [29] | UK Dig. [63] | US World [28] | VIE [64] | |||
| "Try Again" (with d.ear) | 2017 | — | — | — | 95 | S.M. Station Season 2 |
| "Forever Only" | 2022 | 120 | — | 14 | — | NCT Lab |
| "Horizon" | 2023 | 38 | — | — | — | |
| "Roses" | 2024 | —[A] | — | — | — | J |
| "Dandelion" | —[B] | — | — | — | ||
| "Smoke" | 4 | 29 | — | — | ||
| "Unconditional" | —[C] | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | ||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOR Down. [69] | |||
| "Flamin' Hot Lemon" | 2024 | 54 | J |
| "Completely" | 64 | ||
| "Can't Get You" | 67 | ||
| "Easy" | 68 | ||
| "Smoke" (English ver.) | 87 |
All song credits are adapted from theKorea Music Copyright Association's database, unless otherwise cited.[70]
| Year | Song | Artist(s) | Album | Lyricist | Composer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "Fire Truck" | NCT 127 | NCT#127 |  |  |
| 2020 | "Dancing in the Rain" | NCT U | NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1 | | |
| 2021 | "Lost"[a] | Jaehyun | — | | |
| 2022 | "Forever Only" | NCT Lab | | | |
| 2023 | "Horizon" | | | ||
| 2024 | "Smoke" | J | | | |
| "Roses" | | | |||
| "Flamin' Hot Lemon" | | | |||
| "Dandelion" | | | |||
| "Easy" | | | |||
| "Can't Get You" | | | |||
| "Unconditional" | — | | |
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | You Will Die In 6 Hours | Junwoo | [71] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Dear.M | Cha Min-ho | Male lead | [22][23] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Law of the Jungle in Fiji | Himself | [72] | |
| 2023 | NCT 127: The Lost Boys | Himself | Documentary;Disney+ original |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Show Champion | Host | withDoyoung | [13] |
| 2019–21 | Inkigayo | Host | withMinhyuk andLee Na-eun | [21] |
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–2019 | NCT Night Night | withJohnny | [17] |
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanteo Music Awards | 2025 | Global Artist – Asia | Jaehyun | Nominated | [73] |
| Global Artist – Oceania | Nominated |
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