Kang Ji-young | |
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.png) Kang in February 2024 | |
| Born | January 18, 1994 Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea |
| Other names | JY |
| Education | Sungkyunkwan University |
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| Years active | 2008–present |
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| Relatives | Kim Yoon-ji (cousin) |
| Musical career | |
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| Member of | Kara |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 강지영 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Gang Ji-yeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kang Chiyŏng |
Kang Ji-young (Korean: 강지영; born January 18, 1994), known mononymously as Jiyoung or under the stage name JY, is a South Korean singer and actress. She rose to fame as a member of the South Korean girl group Kara, joining the group in 2008. Dubbed as "Hallyu Queens", Kara are credited with being one of the first Korean artists to achieve mainstream success in both South Korea and Japan simultaneously. Kang left Kara in April 2014, but rejoined for the group's 15th anniversary commemorative album Move Again (2022), and subsequent concert tour (2024).
After leaving Kara, Kang moved to Japan to pursue an acting career. She achieved recognition for her portrayal of characters in many live-action adaptations of popular manga series, including Yukime in the Nippon TV series Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube (2014), Irina Jelavić in the Assassination Classroom duology (2015–2016), and Itori in the film Tokyo Ghoul S (2019). She received further praise for playing multiple characters in the science-fiction thriller series Orphan Black – 7 Genes (2017–2018). In addition to her Japanese-speaking roles, Kang has continued to appear in Korean dramas with a lead role in the JTBC series Sweet Munchies (2020), and special appearances in Let Me Be Your Knight (2022) and Doctor Cha (2023).
While in Japan, Kang pursued a career as a solo artist, signing a recording contract with Sony. She released her debut studio album, Many Faces (2017), which spawned two top-ten singles in Japan, "Saigo no Sayonara" and "Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto". The latter received a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Aside from music and acting, Kang's modelling work includes walking in the Tokyo Girls Collection and GirlsAward shows, and being an exclusive model for the women's fashion magazine Non-no between 2014 and 2016.