Park Ji-hyo (Korean: 박지효; bornPark Ji-soo, February 1, 1997), knownmononymously asJihyo, is a South Korean singer. She is the leader and vocalist of the South Korean girl groupTwice, formed byJYP Entertainment in 2015.
Jihyo released her debutextended play (EP)Zone and its lead single "Killin' Me Good" in August 2023. The EP debuted at number one on theCircle Album Chart in South Korea, selling 584,225 copies in its first week. It also debuted at number 14 on theBillboard 200 in the United States.
SM Entertainment scouted Jihyo after she placed second in a child star contest onJunior Naver.[6] After a year of training at SM Entertainment, the employee who scouted her transferred toJYP Entertainment, and Jihyo followed suit.[7] She joined JYP Entertainment in 2005 at the age of eight and trained for ten years,[8][9] during which she became the face ofInnisfree's teen line with boy bandBoyfriend,[1] and trained with K-pop acts such asWonder Girls'Sunmi andHyerim,Bae Suzy,Jo Kwon, andNichkhun.
In 2014, Jihyo was set to debut in a six-membergirl group called 6Mix with now-Twice membersNayeon,Jeongyeon andSana, but the project was cancelled when two members left JYP Entertainment.[1][3][10] The following year, she joined thereality television showSixteen, a competition to select the founding members of Twice.[11][12] She legally changed her name to Park Ji-hyo before the competition.[3][13][1] As one of nine successful participants, she went on to join the newly formed girl group Twice, and was voted by her bandmates as leader in an anonymous vote.[1][8]
2015–present: Debut with Twice and solo activities
In October 2015, Twice officially debuted with the release of their first extended play (EP),The Story Begins.[14] Its lead single "Like Ooh-Ahh" became the first K-pop debut song to reach 100 million views onYouTube.[15]
On March 6, 2022, Jihyo released her first soundtrack song, "Stardust Love Song", fortvN'sTwenty-Five Twenty-One.[16] She released her second soundtrack song titled "I Fly" forSBS'sToday's Webtoon on July 29.[17] On November 14, she released her third soundtrack track, "A Strange Day", for theGenie TV andENA seriesSummer Strike.[18]
In June 2023, it was announced that Jihyo would release her first EP,Zone, on August 18, with "Killin' Me Good" serving as the lead single,[19][20] marking the second member of Twice to make a solo debut.[21] Before this announcement, Jihyo performed an unreleased track from the EP, "Nightmare", on Twice'sReady to Be World Tour.[22][23] The EP served as anR&B record that incorporates multiple genres.[24] It went on to sell over half a million copies in the first week.[25] On August 25, she achieved her first music show win as a soloist onKBS2'sMusic Bank.[26] Jihyo appeared in several episodes of the variety showI Live Alone in 2023, which earned her a Rookie Award nomination at the2023 MBC Entertainment Awards.[27] She was also nominated forBest Dance Performance (Female Solo) andBest Female Artist at the2023 MAMA Awards.[28]
On June 20, 2025, Jihyo along with fellow members Jeongyeon andChaeyoung released "Takedown", the lead single of theNetflix animatedmusicalfantasy filmKPop Demon Hunters. "Takedown" earned Jihyo her first solo entry on the USBillboard Hot 100 when it debuted at number 86 on the chart dated July 10, 2025.[29] It later reached a peak position of number 50 on the chart.[30] On June 28, Jihyo released the song "New Days" for the soundtrack of the Japanese television drama adaptation ofMarry My Husband.[31]
In January 2023, Jihyo was announced as the brand model for the South Koreancosmetics brand Milk Touch.[32] In June 2024, Jihyo attendedAMI Paris Spring Summer 2025 as an ambassador.[33][34] In September 2025, Jihyo andTzuyu were announced as brand ambassadors forPonds Philippines.[35][36]
According to the Korean Business Research Institute's monthly "Individual Girl Group Members Brand Power Ranking", Jihyo placed second and third in the November 2018 and May 2019 searches.[37][38]
Jihyo has drawn attention for her key role as both the leader and vocalist of Twice, with critics describing her as a "powerhouse vocalist" and praising her "impressive vocal range" and "powerful stage presence".[39][3][40][41][42]
^Lee Ji-soo (February 6, 2023).신예 이하음, 알고보니 트와이스 지효 동생 '관심집중' [Rookie Lee Ha-eum, turns out to be TWICE's Jihyo's younger sister 'attention'] (in Korean).Ilgan Sports.Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. RetrievedFebruary 6, 2023.
^Lee, Jin-ho (November 7, 2019).[단독]학생수 감소 '청담고' 잠원동으로 옮긴다 [[Exclusive] Cheongdam High School, with Decreasing Number of Students, Moves to Jamwon-dong].News1 [ko] (in Korean).Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. RetrievedNovember 8, 2024.
^Yoo, Byung-Chul (June 26, 2023).트와이스 지효, 8월 18일 미니 1집 정식 발매...데뷔곡명은 '킬링 미 굿' [TWICE JIHYO is releasing her official 1st Mini Album on August 18th...The title of the debut song is "Killin' Me Good"] (in Korean).Archived from the original on June 26, 2023. RetrievedJune 26, 2023.
^Lee, Myung-joo (August 28, 2023).지효, 'ZONE' 초동 53만...하프 밀리언셀러 달성 [Jihyo, 'ZONE' 530,000 in Initial Chodong... Achieved Half Million Seller].Dispatch (in Korean).Archived from the original on September 2, 2023. RetrievedMarch 25, 2024 – viaNaver.
^TWICE・JIHYOが歌う「New Days」を使用したドラマ『私の夫と結婚して』予告編第二弾解禁 [The second trailer for the dramaMarry My Husband featuring "New Days" sung by Twice's Jihyo has been released].The First Times (in Japanese). June 23, 2025. RetrievedJune 23, 2025.
^Kim, Hyeran (January 11, 2023).올리브인터내셔널 '밀크터치' 트와이스 지효 모델 발탁 [Olive International 'Milk Touch' Twice Jihyo selected as model] (in Korean).Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. RetrievedJanuary 11, 2023.
^"TWICE ソロ写真集『Yes, I am Jihyo.』取り扱いに関して" [About the handling of TWICE solo photo book "Yes, I am Jihyo."] (in Japanese). TWICE Japan Official Website. July 26, 2021.Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. RetrievedOctober 28, 2021.
^Hwang, Hyo-yi (September 6, 2022).강태오-박은빈'·'손석구-김지원'·'이준호-이세영' 베스트커플상은? [Best Couple Award for 'Kang Tae-oh - Park Eun-bin', 'Son Seok-gu-Kim Ji-won', 'Lee Jun-ho-Lee Se-young'?] (in Korean).Sports Kyunghyang.Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. RetrievedSeptember 6, 2022 – viaNaver.
^AAA 인기상 후보100 사전투표 - 가수 [AAA Popularity Award Candidate 100 Advance Voting - Singer].Star News (in Korean). September 5, 2023.Archived from the original on September 11, 2023. RetrievedSeptember 11, 2023.
^AAA 2024: 인기상 [여자 가수] [AAA 2024: Popularity Award [Female Singer]].Asia Artist Awards.Archived from the original on October 18, 2024. RetrievedOctober 17, 2024.
^Moon, Wan-sik (September 24, 2025).'10주년 AAA 2025' 인기상 예선 투표 오늘(24일)부터 시작[공식] [Preliminary voting for the '10th Anniversary AAA 2025' Popularity Award begins today (the 24th) [Official]].Star News (in Korean).Archived from the original on September 29, 2025. RetrievedSeptember 29, 2025.
^Lee, Ha-na (April 10, 2024).대상 주인은 스트레이 키즈, TXT 4관왕→트레저·더보이즈 3관왕(종합][ASEA 2024] [Grand Prize winner is Stray Kids, TXT 4 wins → Treasure and The Boyz 3 wins (Overall)[ASEA 2024]].Newsen (in Korean).Archived from the original on April 11, 2024. RetrievedApril 11, 2024.
^Seoul Music Awards – 모바일 투표 현황 [Seoul Music Awards – Mobile Voting Status].Seoul Music Awards (in Korean).Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. RetrievedNovember 8, 2023.