Jung Kook

The youngest member of Grammy-nominated K-pop group BTS, Jung Kook has made a name for himself as the down-to-earth wunderkind of the superstar septet. Born in Korea’s southern seaside city of Busan as 전정국 (or Jeon Jung Kook) in 1997, Jung Kook moved to Seoul in 2010, at the age of 13, to become a K-pop trainee under the then-unproven agency Big Hit Entertainment. In 2013, Jung Kook would debut alongside RM, JIN, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, and V as 방탄소년단 (or Bangtan Sonyeondan), aka BTS, at the age of 15. Originally a hip-hop group, BTS evolved to incorporate other musical genres, giving main vocalist Jung Kook a chance to showcase his control and agility, which remain consistent even while he’s executing demanding choreography onstage. In 2018, Jung Kook notably stepped into the solo spotlight with “Euphoria,” an EDM-tinged pop ballad from BTS’s Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’ compilation. (Other Jung Kook-centered BTS songs include 2016’s “Begin” and 2020’s “My Time.”) In October of 2022, Jung Kook was chosen to record and perform the World Cup Qatar anthem “Dreamers,” bringing his music to an even broader audience. In 2023, during a BTS group hiatus undertaken so that the members could perform mandatory military service, Jung Kook made his solo album debut with GOLDEN. The 11-track English-language album features collaborations with Western artists including Jack Harlow, Ed Sheeran, and DJ Snake and engages with more sensual themes than JK’s previous solo work under BTS. GOLDEN’s first pre-release single “Seven,” featuring American rapper Latto, would mark Jung Kook’s official solo debut, more than a decade after JK became a professional musician.