Kim Ji-woong (entertainer)

Kim Ji-woong (born December 14, 1998), is a South Korean singer and actor. Kim is best known for competing on the reality competition show Boys Planet where he ranked 8th in the final episode, earning him a spot in the South Korean boy band Zerobaseone. Prior to this, Kim was a member of the boy group INX under the name Jinam until their disbandment in 2017. He made his debut as an actor in the web series The Sweet Blood (2021), and is best known for his roles in Kissable Lips (2022), Roommates of Poongduck 304 (2022), and The Good Bad Mother (2023).

Early life
Kim Ji-woong was born on December 14, 1998, in Wonju, Gangwon-do, South Korea. He has two brothers: a younger brother, who is ten years younger than him, and an older brother, who is one year older than him.

2016–2018: Debut, disbandment, and lawsuit against his agency
Kim made his debut as a singer in 2016 as a member of the South Korean boy group, INX, under the stage name Jinam. The group disbanded at the end of 2017 and in 2018, they filed a lawsuit against their agency asking for their exclusive contract to be terminated under claims of mistreatment. The Seoul District Court favored the group in the verdict, voiding the contract between them and their agency.

2018–2020: Ateen, B.I.T, and Burn Up: Challenge to Billboard
After the disbandment of his previous group, Kim joined pre-debut boy group Ateen under the stage name "King". The group was supposed to promote in South Korea after releasing with the single "Boku wa Chotto Chigau" in Japan on September 1, 2018, but the plan never got realized. Six out of the ten members of the group sued the CEO of their company for sexual assault. The group disbanded in 2019 after the group won the lawsuit and their contract was terminated.

After the disbandment, Kim worked as a model in China Fashion Week. Following this, Kim and fellow former Ateen members Segun, Joel and Rookie, joined the pre-debut group B.I.T. The group only promoted in Japan and disbanded in August 2020.

Following the disbandment of B.I.T, Kim participated in the 2020 reality survival show Burn Up: Challenge to Billboard. He won first in the male category and soon released the single "Sick of Love" together with Kim Min-jung, who placed first in the female category.

2021–present: Acting debut, Boys Planet, and Zerobaseone
In 2021, Kim made his acting debut with his first leading role in Naver TV's web series The Sweet Blood, which is adapted from the webtoon The Sweet Girl.

In 2022, Kim acted in the BL web series Kissable Lips. Kim then acted in the web series Roommates of Poongduck 304 which is based on a novel by Noh Ga-jeong. The series gained a significant amount of attention and ranked 1st for the BL genre on the South Korean streaming service "Watcha." On December 29, Kim was unveiled as a contestant on Mnet's reality competition show Boys Planet.

On March 19, 2023, singer Holland announced on his social media accounts that Kim will be featured in the music video of his song titled "Number Boy" for his newest album of the same name which was released on March 30. On April 20, Kim placed 8th with a total of 1,338,984 points in the final episode of Boys Planet, allowing him to debut with the winning group, Zerobaseone. He re-debuted in July 2023 with their first mini album "Youth in the Shade."

In May, Kim played as Lee Ji-woong in the series The Good Bad Mother. In March, they debuted in Japan under LAPONE Entertainment (LAPONEエンタテインメント) with the single "Yura Yura."