Yang Ji-won (singer)

Yang Ji-won (born April 5, 1988) is a South Korean singer and actress. She is a former member of T-ara, Spica and UNI.T, and made her solo debut in 2020 with the single "Towards the Sun".

Initially slated to debut as a member of Five Girls and then T-ara, Yang made her debut as a member of Spica in 2012. After the group disbanded in 2017, she debuted as a member of UNI.T a year later after participating in The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project and ranking sixth in the final episode.

Early life and education
Yang was born on April 5, 1988, in Seoul, South Korea. However, she grew up in Jeonju. She graduated Poongmoon Girls' High School and subsequently the Department of Theatre and Film at Dongguk University.

2007–2011: Pre-debut, Five Girls, T-ara
Yang was originally set to debut as part of the five-member group Five Girls under Good Entertainment alongside Yubin, Uee, Jun Hyo-seong, and G.NA. In 2007, they starred in a MTV reality show Diary of Five Girls. However, due to the company's financial issues, the group never debuted.

She then trained under Mnet Media and was part of the original T-ara lineup with Jiae, Eunjung, Hyomin, and Jiyeon, the latter three eventually debuting with the group. Yang left alongside Jiae in June 2009, with Mnet Media citing differences in music style. She continued work as an actress and idol training.

2012–2018: Spica, The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project, UNI.T
On January 10, 2012, Spica released their first digital single "Doggedly". In February, Yang formally debuted as a member of Spica with the release of the EP Russian Roulette.

In September 2014, Yang debuted as part of Spica subunit Spica.S (Spica Special).

On August 11, 2015, she took part in the kids' musical program The Fairies in My Arms with MBLAQ's Mir and Gfriend's SinB.

On February 6, 2017, CJ E&M announced the group's disbandment. After the group disbanded, she earned a living by selling green juice.

In July 2017, KBS announced their new survival show that would create two nine-member groups, one male and one female, among idols who had already debuted. Starting October 28, Yang appeared in The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project. She maintained a top 9 rank throughout the show and ranked sixth in the final episode, thus making it into UNI.T.

On April 28, 2018, it was announced that UNI.T would be making their debut on May 17. However, their debut was pushed back to May 18. Yang debuted as a member of UNI.T with the EP Line and the title track "No More". On October 12, the group had their last Music Bank performance after which they held their last fanmeeting; they subsequently disbanded.

2020–present: Solo debut
On May 8, 2020, Yang made her solo debut under CL& Company, with her first single "Towards the Sun". She appeared in the television series Unpredictable Family as Jeong Hye-yoon, the biological mother of Shin Ga-ram. Her contract with CL& Company ended in March 2024.

Personal life
On the July 31, 2018 episode of Video Star, Yang revealed that she had a non-celebrity boyfriend.