Jung Kook / Jungkook

Let’s rewind to where it all started. Jeon Jung-kook was born on September 1, 1997, in Busan, South Korea, growing up with his parents and an older brother, Jeon Jung-hyun. As a kid, he wasn’t dreaming of the stage — he was actually a competitive athlete, training in badminton and even handball before music took over his life. The turning point came when he watched G-Dragon perform on TV; that moment lit a spark that never went out.

In 2011, things moved fast. He auditioned for the South Korean talent show Superstar K during its Daegu auditions. He didn’t make the cut on the show itself, but here’s the twist — he received casting offers from seven different entertainment companies right afterward. Out of all of them, he picked the smallest, riskiest option: Big Hit Entertainment, largely because he was impressed after seeing RM, who’d later become his bandmate and group leader.

Becoming idol-ready wasn’t instant. In the summer of 2012, he traveled to Los Angeles to train in dance under Movement Lifestyle, sharpening the skills that would later define his stage presence. That same year, he appeared in Jo Kwon’s “I’m Da One” music video and worked as a backup dancer for Glam — small steps, but real industry experience before debut.

Then came the big one. On June 12, 2013, at just 15 years old, Jungkook debuted as a vocalist of BTS, alongside RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, and V. As the youngest, he became BTS’s official “maknae” — but instead of staying in the background, he grew into the group’s multi-talented secret weapon.

His growth, quite literally, became part of his story. Jungkook joined BTS at just 15 years old and was noticeably shorter than the older members back then; his body kept developing through those early years, and fans watched him grow season by season until he became one of the taller members of the group.

School life ran in parallel with his idol career. He graduated from the School of Performing Arts Seoul, an arts high school, in 2017, and decided to skip Korea’s CSAT university entrance exam in November 2016. He later returned to education on his own terms — in March 2022, he earned his degree from Global Cyber University’s Department of Broadcasting and Entertainment.

As a vocalist within BTS, he sang three solo tracks that fans still treasure. “Begin” from the 2016 album Wings told his story of moving to Seoul young and thanked his bandmates for raising him; “Euphoria,” released in 2018 with a nine-minute short film, charted at number five on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100; and “My Time,” from 2020’s Map of the Soul: 7, was an R&B song about missing out on a normal teenage life because of his career, charting at number 84 on the Hot 100.

He wasn’t just singing, either — he was producing. He’s credited as main producer on “Love Is Not Over” from 2015’s The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1, and on “Magic Shop” from 2018’s Love Yourself: Tear.

Solo stardom outside BTS picked up momentum gradually. In June 2020, he released “Still With You” for free as part of BTS’ yearly debut anniversary celebration. Two years later, in February 2022, he sang “Stay Alive” for the BTS-based webtoon 7Fates: Chakho, produced by bandmate Suga — it became his first solo entry on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 95, his first solo top-ten hit on the Global Excl. U.S. chart, and the first Korean soundtrack ever to chart in the UK. Later that year, he featured on Charlie Puth’s “Left and Right,” and became the first South Korean artist to release an official FIFA World Cup soundtrack song with “Dreamers,” performing it at the 2022 World Cup opening ceremony in Qatar.

His true solo debut, though, came in 2023. “Seven,” featuring Latto, broke numerous chart and streaming records, eventually leading to his debut studio album, Golden — released on November 3, 2023, through Big Hit Music, primarily an English-language pop record featuring Jack Harlow, Major Lazer, Latto, and DJ Snake.

Military service paused everything for a while. Like the rest of BTS, he enlisted in December 2023; the search results confirm he was discharged in mid-2025, after which BTS regrouped for a comeback.

Now in 2026, he’s fully back — both with BTS’s group comeback and a string of luxury brand deals. Calvin Klein named him global ambassador in March 2023, Chanel announced him as their newest global ambassador for Chanel Beauty in December 2025, and Hublot revealed him as their new global brand ambassador in February 2026.