Jaehyun

Jeong Yun-o (; born Jeong Jae-hyun, February 14, 1997), known professionally as Jaehyun, is a South Korean singer. He is a member of the South Korean boy band NCT and its sub-units NCT 127 and NCT DoJaeJung. He made his solo debut on August 26, 2024, with the studio album '' J''.

First introduced in December 2013 as a trainee under the pre-debut team SM 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 unit NCT DoJaeJung in April 2023.

As of 2024, Jaehyun has released five solo singles: " Forever Only" and "Horizon", both as part of the '' NCT Lab'' project, while "Roses", "Dandelion", and "Smoke" as part of his debut album ''J''. Apart from music, he has also hosted the radio show'' NCT Night Night'' from March 2017 to January 2019 and the television program ''Inkigayo'' from October 2019 to February 2021. He later debuted as an actor with a leading role in the college romance television series '' Dear. M'' (2022), and he is set to make his feature film debut in the mystery thriller film ''You Will Die In 6 Hours''. As of June 2022, Jaehyun is a global ambassador for the Italian luxury brand Prada; he is considered among the most impactful fashion ambassadors from South Korea.

Early life and education

Jaehyun was born on February 14, 1997, in Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea. Although he was born with the name Jeong Jae-hyun (), he later legally changed his name to Jeong Yun-o (). At the age of five, Jaehyun moved to Connecticut, USA with his parents, where he went by the English name Jay Jeong. 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. Jaehyun returned to South Korea at the age of ten, and said that he struggled adapting back to Korean culture.

Jaehyun trained in Taekwondo and received a Black belt. 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. He was also inspired to pursue music by his elementary school teacher, Lee Eun-yeol. Jaehyun attended Shindong Middle School and Apgujeong High School and later transferred to the School of Performing Arts Seoul in his second year of high school and graduated in 2016. He used to be a student council president.

Career

2012–2016: Pre-debut activities

Jaehyun was cast by SM Entertainment in 2012, discovered by street scouts in front of his school. He auditioned with a performance of "Mama" by Exo. On December 9, 2013, he was introduced as a member of the pre-debut trainee team SM Rookies. In 2014, he participated with fellow NCT members on the show '' Exo 90:2014'', where they performed songs from the 1990s. From January 21 to July 1, 2015, he and groupmate Doyoung were hosts of the program ''Show Champion''. In July 2015, he and groupmate Ten both competed in ''Hope Basketball All-Star''. In December 2015, Jaehyun performed "A Whole New World" on Disney Channel Korea's ''The Mickey Mouse Club''.

2016–2018: Debut with NCT

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". On July 10, he made his debut as a member of NCT 127 with their first EP, '' NCT#127''. In March 2017, Jaehyun joined the radio show ''NCT Night Night'' as a DJ alongside fellow member Johnny. In November 2017, Jaehyun and Dear released the song "Try Again" for the project SM Station. In December, he featured in the music video for Wendy and Baek A-yeon's "The Little Match Girl". In January 2018, Jaehyun released the single "Timeless" alongside a new NCT U lineup as part of the SM Station project.

2019–2023: Solo endeavors, acting projects, and NCT DoJaeJung

In October 2019, Jaehyun became one of three hosts for the South Korean music program ''Inkigayo'' alongside Minhyuk and Naeun, hosting the show every Sunday. 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 the KBS2 drama '' Dear. M'', which was to be released in 2021. The airing of the drama was postponed indefinitely after lead actress Park Hye-su was accused of school bullying. After a nearly two-year delay, the first six episodes of ''Dear. M'' were released globally on June 29, 2022, through the streaming service Viki. Its following episodes were released on July 6, 2022.

On November 2, 2021, Jaehyun was confirmed to star in a KakaoTV web series, a remake of the 2001 South Korean film '' Bungee Jumping of Their Own'', playing the leading role of Im Hyun-bin. On December 9 of the same year, during pre-production, KakaoTV announced the cancellation of the project due to concerns regarding the LGBT plot from the original film's screenwriter.

On August 18, 2022, Jaehyun released his first single " Forever Only" as part of '' NCT Lab''. "Forever Only" was described as an R&B song and featured lyrics written by Jaehyun. 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's Circle Digital Chart. On March 9, 2023, Jaehyun was confirmed to debut alongside fellow NCT members Doyoung and Jungwoo in the new fixed sub-unit NCT DoJaeJung. They released their first extended play (EP) ''Perfume'' on April 17, 2023.

On July 3, 2023, it was announced that Jaehyun will make his feature film debut in the mystery thriller ''You Will Die In 6 Hours'', based on the Japanese novel of the same name. He will portray the lead character Junwoo, starring alongside Park Ju-hyun and Kwak Si-yang. On August 8, he released his second solo single "Horizon" under the now-reconstructed ''NCT Lab''. The song is described as a romantic R&B/Soul track that Jaehyun wrote and composed. It debuted at number 38 on the Circle Digital Chart, as well as at the first and third spots of the BGM Chart and Download Chart, respectively. "Horizon" marks Jaehyun's highest-charting solo single in South Korea.

2024–present: Solo debut with ''J'', silver screen debut, fan concert and "Unconditional"

In August 2024, SM announced that Jaehyun would debut as a soloist with his first studio album '' J''. The eight-track album was released on August 26, and included Korean and English versions of the title track "Smoke". 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. Jaehyun participated in writing the lyrics of his title track "Smoke", composition and lyrics of "Roses" and "Flamin' Hot Lemon" with Azad of American duo Emotional Oranges, as well as being the sole lyricist of "Dandelion" and "Can't Get You". 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".

Before the album's release, Jaehyun pre-released two songs off the album as a digital single, "Roses" and "Dandelion" on August 12. On the day of the album's release, Jaehyun hosted a listening party titled ''Jaehyun Vol. 1''. The album debuted at number three on the Circle Album Chart, number 11 on the US Heatseekers Albums (''Billboard''), number 18 on the US Top Albums Sales (''Billboard'') and number seven on Japanese Albums (Oricon). "Smoke" also debuted at number one on Circle Digital Chart, two weeks in a row upon release. On September 7, "Smoke" achieved a first place win on South Korean music program ''Show! Music Core'', making Jaehyun the first soloist from NCT to win a public broadcast music show.

On October 16, Jaehyun made his feature film debut in the mystery thriller ''You 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. 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. 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."

Ahead of his mandatory military service, Jaehyun released a single titled "Unconditional" on October 24, 2024, and held a sold out fan concert titled "2024 Jaehyun Fan-Con " for two days on October 26 and 27, 2024 at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul.

Personal life

Military service

On September 26, 2024, SM Entertainment announced that Jaehyun had started the enlistment process to carry out his mandatory military service. Jaehyun enlisted in the Republic of Korea Army on November 4, 2024, and would fulfill his military service as a member of the Army Band. He is scheduled to be discharged on May 3, 2026.

Other ventures

Endorsements

Following various successful collaborations with Prada, Jaehyun was selected as a global ambassador in June 2022, citing his influence and unique fashion style as a reason. 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. 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 actors Vincent Cassel, Louis Partridge, Hunter Schafer, and Letitia Wright and models Guinevere van Seenus and Rachel Williams.

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.

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. On August 16, it was announced that Jaehyun was the new ambassador for Korean cosmetic brand Clio Cosmetics. 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.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Official soundtrack

Other charted songs

Songwriting credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database, unless otherwise cited.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Television shows

Hosting

Radio show

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

*

Jaehyun
at SM Town

{{Authority control

1997 births
21st-century South Korean male actors
21st-century South Korean singers
English-language singers from South Korea
Living people
Male actors from Seoul
NCT (group) members
People from Seocho District
School of Performing Arts Seoul alumni
Singers from Seoul
SM Entertainment artists
SM Rookies members
South Korean male idols
21st-century South Korean male singers
South Korean male taekwondo practitioners