Kang Jiyoung

Kang Jiyoung (강지영) is a vocalist of KARA who became one of the group's most recognizable faces during the second-generation K-pop boom. Born January 18, 1994 in Paju, South Korea, she was the youngest member of the original lineup and left the group in January 2014 alongside Nicole. She pursued an acting career in Japan under the stage name JY, appearing in multiple major Japanese film and TV productions. She rejoined KARA for the 2022 reunion, bringing her decade of stage and screen experience back to the group. In Japan, Jiyoung built a substantial acting resume in live-action manga adaptations. She portrayed Irina Jelavic in the Assassination Classroom films (2015 and 2016), Itori in Tokyo Ghoul S (2019), and led the science-fiction series Orphan Black - 7 Genes (2017-2018). She also had a lead role in the Korean JTBC drama Sweet Munchies (2020) and appeared in the independent Korean film Doenjang (2024), marking her first leading role in a Korean feature film. As a solo musician, Jiyoung signed with Sony Music Japan in 2015 and released her debut studio album Many Faces (2017), which produced two top-ten singles on Japan's Oricon chart: Saigo no Sayonara and Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto, the latter receiving double certification by the RIAJ. She also released the solo single Lucid Dream in 2022. Her cousin is Korean actress Kim Yoon-ji.