Park Jin-young (Korean: 박진영; born December 13, 1971), also known by his stage names J.Y. Park and The Asiansoul or the initials JYP, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer, record executive, and reality television show judge. Park rose to stardom as a singer following the release of his 1994 debut album, Blue City. In 1997, he founded JYP Entertainment, which went on to become one of the most profitable entertainment agencies in South Korea.
As the head of JYP Entertainment from 1997 to 2011, Park has developed and managed successful K-pop artists including 2PM, Day6, Got7, Itzy, KickFlip, Miss A, Nmixx, Rain, Stray Kids, Twice, Xdinary Heroes and Wonder Girls, as well as Mandopop group Boy Story and J-pop groups Nexz and NiziU.
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Early life and education
Park was born in Gwangjin District, Seoul, South Korea. His father was a news correspondent based in the U.S. At age 9, Park moved with his mother to New York following his father's reassignment. They lived there for three years before Park returned to Seoul for high school. He later attended Yonsei University, during which time he released his first two albums. He graduated with a bachelor's in geology in 1996. He has an older sister. Park learned music composition and production for two years from Kim Hyung-suk, who is considered one of the best pop music composers and producers of all time in South Korea.
Career
Park originally debuted as the trio boy group "Park Jin Young and the NG (New Generation)" (박진영과 신세대), with Kim Soo-chul as a producer, and members Cho Hye-sung and Yoon Tae-jin. Their first album 'Floating time' (떠도는 시간) was not successful. Park's notability within the Korean music industry began in 1994 when he debuted as a solo artist with the song "Don't Leave Me" (날 떠나지마) from his debut album Blue City. During this period, he met composer and long-time collaborator Bang Si-hyuk. In 1997, Park founded his label and agency JYP Entertainment, then known as Tae-Hong Planning Corp (대홍기획). That same year, he was tasked by EBM (now SidusHQ) with preparing the members of its project group for debut; the five-member act was eventually called g.o.d and debuted two years later. The success of g.o.d as one of the country's most popular and bestselling groups of the early 2000s would further establish Bang and Park's reputation as hit makers.
In 2004, Park ventured into the American music industry, becoming the first Asian producer to cross over to the U.S., producing music for Will Smith, Mase and Cassie.
In May 2008, Park collaborated with Jackie Chan to form the I Love Asia Project, prompted by the earthquake tragedy in China. Park produced the song "Smile Again" along with Chan and Korean director Kang Je-gyu to raise funds for relief efforts in Sichuan. The song featured an array of Korean talents including actors and singers as well as figure skater Kim Yuna. The music video was released on JYP Entertainment's YouTube channel on June 30.
In October 2009, Park became the first Korean songwriter, together with Rainstone, to reach the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with the Wonder Girls hit "Nobody" which debuted at No. 76.
On December 3, 2009, Park released his single "No Love No More". On April 22, 2011, Park collaborated with Brown Eyed Girls' Ga-In, releasing the duet track "Someone Else". The song charted at No. 2 on the Gaon Digital Chart and sold over a million copies. This was his first release in about two years. Park followed up his success with "Someone Else" by releasing the single "You're the One" on April 28, 2012. The song rose to No. 3 and sold over 1.5 million copies.
In 2015, Park released the song "Who's Your Mama?" featuring Lucky J's Jessi. The song became a hit, displacing fellow label-mates Miss A from first spot on the Korean charts. Later that year, he participated in the Infinite Challenge Yeongdong Expressway Music Festival, forming the duo Dancing Genome with comedian Yoo Jae-suk and releasing the song "I'm So Sexy".
Acting
In early 2011, JYP made his acting debut in Dream High, for which he received a nomination for New Actor of the Year at the Baeksang Arts Awards. In January 2012, he was seen in the sequel to Dream High called Dream High 2.
In 2011, Park made his film debut as Choi Young In, a man on a mission to hand-deliver 5 million dollars, in Five Million Dollar Man with Jo Sung-ha and Min Hyo-rin. The film was released on July 19, 2012.
Personal life
Relationships
In 1999, Park Jin-young married Seo Yoon-jeong. In March 2009, the couple announced their divorce. On October 10, 2013, he married a woman nine years younger than him. On January 25, 2019, his daughter was born, and Park wrote "This Small Hand" for her and his father, with a documentary-style music video released on February 9. In the music video, it was revealed that his father was in the late stage of Alzheimer's disease and could no longer recognize him. All proceeds from the song went to the Green Umbrella Foundation (ChildFund Korea) to help children in need.
Religion
Park is a born-again Christian and leads weekly Bible practices. According to Park, he had turned to several faiths to fill the "void in [his] heart" after his divorce before finding his faith in Christianity. In 2022, videos of his Bible lectures began being uploaded to the FirstFruits YouTube channel. FirstFruits officially registered as a non-profit organization in October 2023. According to the organization, it began in 2014 as a bible study group hosted by Park in his living room. The organization has since expanded to six locations in South Korea and one in the United States; all services are held by Park at its main church in Songpa District, Seoul, and live-streamed to the other locations and online.
Plagiarism allegation
On February 10, 2011, songwriter Kim Sin-il filed a lawsuit against Park claiming that "Someday", sung by IU and composed by Park, plagiarized Kim's song "To My Man". Kim alleged that the beginnings of the two songs, including the jazz chords, are almost identical and sued Park for 110 million won. Park denied the allegations, and no settlement was reached after several court hearings. On February 10, 2012, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that "Someday" was plagiarized from Kim's song, and ordered Park to pay 21.67 million won in damages to Kim. Park appealed the ruling, but on January 24, 2013, the Seoul High Court ruled against Park and ordered him to pay 56.93 million won to Kim.
In 2015, the Supreme Court overturned the previous rulings in light of new evidence demonstrating that the melody and chord progressions were very common, specifically citing Kirk Franklin's 2002 song "Hosanna".
Philanthropy
In December 2022, Park donated 500 million won each to Samsung Seoul Hospital and World Vision, an international relief and development non-governmental organization. In December 2023, he donated 200 million won each to 5 hospitals in South Korea to support the treatment of underprivileged children.
In September 2026, Park Jin-young and JYP Entertainment donated a combined ₩550 million (approximately 7.5 million Mexican pesos) through World Vision Korea and World Vision Mexico to support medical care for children from disadvantaged communities in Mexico, of which ₩100 million was contributed personally by Park.
