Yang Ji-won (Korean양지원; 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".

Yang Ji-won
양지원
Yang in June 2018
Born (1988-04-05) April 5, 1988 (age 36)
Seoul, South Korea
EducationDongguk University, Department of Theatre and Film
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actress
Years active2008–present
Musical career
GenresK-pop
InstrumentVocals
Years active2008–present
Labels
Formerly of
Korean name
Hangul
양지원
Revised RomanizationYang Ji-won
McCune–ReischauerYang Chiwŏn

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

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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.[1]

Career

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2007–2011: Pre-debut, Five Girls, T-ara

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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.[2][3] In 2007, they starred in a MTV reality show Diary of Five Girls.[3] However, due to the company's financial issues, the group never debuted.[3][4]

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.[5] Yang left alongside Jiae in June 2009, with Mnet Media citing differences in music style.[6] She continued work as an actress and idol training.

2012–2018: Spica, The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project, UNI.T

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On January 10, 2012, Spica released their first digital single "Doggedly".[7][8] In February, Yang formally debuted as a member of Spica with the release of the EP Russian Roulette.[9]

In September 2014, Yang debuted as part of Spica subunit Spica.S (Spica Special).[10][11]

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.[12]

On February 6, 2017, CJ E&M announced the group's disbandment.[13] After the group disbanded, she earned a living by selling green juice.[14]

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.[15] Starting October 28, Yang appeared in The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project.[14] 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.[16][17] However, their debut was pushed back to May 18.[18] Yang debuted as a member of UNI.T with the EP Line and the title track "No More".[19] On October 12, the group had their last Music Bank performance after which they held their last fanmeeting; they subsequently disbanded.[20]

2020–present: Solo debut

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On May 8, 2020, Yang made her solo debut under CL& Company,[21] with her first single "Towards the Sun".[22] 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.[23]

Personal life

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On the July 31, 2018 episode of Video Star, Yang revealed that she had a non-celebrity boyfriend.[24][25]

Discography

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Soundtrack appearances

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Title Year Peak chart positions Album
KOR
"Might Gonna" with Jo Jung-suk, Kim Ji-won 2012 What's Up OST
"If It Were Me" 2014 God's Gift: 14 Days OST

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2008 Death Bell Min Hye-young

Television series

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Year Title Role Notes
2011–2012 What's Up Yang Ji-eun Main
2015 Divorce Lawyer in Love Yoo Hye-rin
Larva and Friends in My Arms Yo Reu-jeong
2017 Go Back Cameo
2022 Game of Witches Jin Sun-mi
2024 Unpredictable Family Jeong Hye-yoon[26]

Television shows

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 Diary of Five Girls Herself MTV
2017–2018 The Unit: Idol Rebooting Project Contestant Finished sixth
2018 King of Mask Singer Contestant; "Gatsby's First Love, the Great Daisy" Ep. 147
2020 Sea of Orders Korean: 주문 바다요 [ko]

Web dramas

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Year Title Role Notes
2018 We Break Up Every Time But We Love Again

Music video appearances

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Year Song title Artist Ref.
2011 "Yesterday" Kim Kyu-jong [27]
"I'll Be There" Boyfriend [28]
"Bad Guy" No Gi-tae (feat. H-Eugene) [29]
2013 "Shower of Tears" Baechigi (feat. Ailee) [30]

References

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  1. ^ Jang, A-reum. [단독] 스피카 출신 양지원, '더 유닛' 출연 확정…10년차 출격 [[Exclusive] Yang Ji-won from Spica confirmed to appear in 'The Unit'... 10th year sortie] (in Korean). Retrieved February 23, 2023 – via Naver.
  2. ^ 지나, ‘엠카’서 ‘꺼져줄게 잘 살아’ 데뷔..용준형 지원 사격 : 야후! 미디어 – 세상을 만나는 창 [G.NA debuted in ‘I’ll turn it off, live well’ at ‘M Countdown’..Yong Jun-hyung Support shooting: Yahoo! Media – a window to the world]. Yahoo! Korea News (in Korean). Yahoo!. July 16, 2010. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Bak, Gong-uk (February 24, 2011). [라이징스타]시크릿 효성④ "오소녀 해체, 만만치 않던 가수의 길" [[Rising Star] Secret Hyo-seong④ "Disbanding Five Girls, the difficult path of a singer"]. Asian Economy (in Korean). Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  4. ^ Kim, JiYeon (February 3, 2012). "Spica's Yang Ji Won Talks Being the Last Five Girls′ Girl". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015.
  5. ^ 화제의 그룹 '티아라', 26일 얼굴 공개 [Topic group 'T-ara', face reveal on the 26th]. Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). April 26, 2009. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  6. ^ "전영록 딸 전보람, 티아라 새 멤버로 합류". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). June 3, 2009. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  7. ^ Lee, Nancy (January 10, 2012). "Spica Music Video Starring Lee Hyori Released". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  8. ^ 열애중 이효리, 그 치명적 매력 어디갈까 [Lee Hyo-ri in love, where will her fatal charm go?]. Osen (in Korean). January 4, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  9. ^ 스피카 "산전수전 끝, 빛나는 별 될래요" [Spica "I want to become a shining star, the end of the prenatal battle"]. Nate News (in Korean). February 4, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  10. ^ "Spica Introduces Unit Group Spica.S While Kim Bo Ah Prepares for Solo Project". Mwave. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015.
  11. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi (September 12, 2014). "Spica.S Wants You to 'Give Your Love' in New Mv". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015.
  12. ^ "MBLAQ's Mir stars in children's musical drama". Kpop Herald. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Kim, Ye-na. [단독] ‘이효리 그룹’ 스피카, 데뷔 5년 만에 해체 [[Exclusive] ‘Lee Hyori Group’ Spica disbands after 5 years of debut] (in Korean). Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via Naver.
  14. ^ a b Kim, Ye-na. “녹즙 배달했어요”…‘스피카 해체’ 양지원, 한 번 더 아이돌 도전 [“I delivered green juice”… Yang Ji-Won of ‘Spica’s disbandment’, once more taking on an idol challenge] (in Korean). Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via Naver.
  15. ^ [Oh!쎈 초점] "악마편집·감성팔이 NO"..'99매치' 향한 KBS의 자신감 [[Oh!sen focus] "No devil editing, no emotional arms"..KBS' confidence towards '99 Match']. Osen (in Korean). July 4, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  16. ^ '더유닛' 유니티 "월 말 데뷔 예정…1위 하고 싶어요" ['The Unit' UNI.T "Scheduled to debut at the end of the month... I want to win first place"]. Xports News (in Korean). March 3, 2018. Archived from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  17. ^ [Oh!쎈 레터] “스케줄 취소”..유니티, 데뷔 전 팬들과 만남은 잠시만 [[Oh!sen Letter] “Schedule cancellation”..UNI.T, meeting with fans before debut is for a while]. Osen (in Korean). April 28, 2018. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  18. ^ Lee, Ji-hyun (May 11, 2018). '더유닛' 유니티(UNI.T) 18일 정식 데뷔…"레게장르 음악 선택" ['The Unit' Unity (UNI.T) officially debuted on the 18th... "Choose Reggae Music"]. Sports Chosun (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via Naver.
  19. ^ Jeon, Aram (May 11, 2018). '더유닛' 유니티, 신사동호랭이 손잡고 레게로 데뷔…재킷 공개 ['The Unit' UNI.T, Shinsa-dong Tiger join hands to debut in reggae... jacket reveal]. X Sports News (in Korean). Retrieved December 25, 2022 – via Naver.
  20. ^ "유니티, '뮤직뱅크' 방송서 오열 무대한 이유" [UNI.T, the reason why they sobbed on stage on 'Music Bank']. Next Daily (in Korean). October 12, 2018. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  21. ^ Jung, Hee-yeon. 양지원 전속계약, 고경표 한솥밥 [공식] [Yang Ji-won's exclusive contract, Go Kyung-pyo Hansotbap [Official]]. DongA (in Korean). Retrieved February 23, 2023 – via Naver.
  22. ^ Baek, Ji-eun. [공식] 스피카 출신 양지원, 오늘 '태양을 향해' 발매…1년 7개월만 가수컴백 [[Official] Yang Ji-won from Spica released 'Towards the Sun' today... Comeback as a singer after 1 year and 7 months]. Naver News (in Korean). Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  23. ^ Hwang, Gyu-jun (April 1, 2024). '우당탕탕 패밀리' 종영소감 양지원, 씨엘엔컴퍼니와 계약 만료 후 FA [Thoughts on the end of 'Unpredictable Family' Yang Ji-won becomes a free agent after her contract with CL&Company expires]. Star Daily News. Retrieved June 10, 2024 – via Nate News.
  24. ^ Jeon, Won. [엑's 인터뷰] 유니티 양지원 "남친은 영상 관련 종사자, 배려 많이 해준다" [[X's Interview] UNI.T Yang Ji-won "My boyfriend is in the video industry, he's very considerate"] (in Korean). Retrieved December 27, 2022 – via Naver.
  25. ^ 양지원, ‘비디오스타’서 돌발 열애 고백 “더이상 숨기고 싶지 않다” [Yang Ji-won, sudden love confession in 'Video Star' "I don't want to hide it anymore"]. SeoulEn. July 31, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  26. ^ Jo, Hyeon-jeong (February 19, 2024). [우당탕탕 패밀리] 가족과 아들 정민준 위해 양지원 정체 덮으려는 최우혁 “베트남으로 떠나서 이제 안 보기로 했어요” [[Unpredictable Family] Choi Woo-hyuk tries to cover up Yang Ji-won's identity for the sake of his family and son Jeong Min-jun, "I decided not to see you anymore because I'm leaving for Vietnam"]. KStar. KBS. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  27. ^ Hong, Lucia (September 19, 2011). "Kim Kyu-jong to begin solo singing career with mini-album next week". TenAsia (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  28. ^ ‘오소녀’ 양지원, 보이프렌드 지원…뮤비 여주인공 출연 ['Five Girls' Yang Ji-won, supporting Boyfriend... Music video female lead] (in Korean). Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via Naver.
  29. ^ 노기태 '못된남자' 절친 H-유진 지원사격 '남다른 우정 과시' [Noh Gi-tae's 'Bad Guy' best friend H-Yujin's support shooting 'extraordinary friendship'] (in Korean). Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via Naver.
  30. ^ Kim, Young-jin. 배치기 신곡 '눈물샤워', 에일리 피처링+양지원 뮤비 출연 [Baechiigi's new song 'Tear Shower', featured in Ailee + Yang Ji-won's music video] (in Korean). Retrieved December 26, 2022 – via Naver.
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