Park Ji-hoon (; born May 29, 1999) is a South Korean singer and actor. He was initially active as a child actor and advertisement model. Park rose to fame in early 2017 as the second-place winner of the second season of the reality competition series Produce 101. He is a former member of the show's resulting boy group Wanna One and has since been active as a solo artist and an actor.
Park began his solo career by releasing an EP, O'Clock, following the end of Wanna One's activities as a group. He also resumed his acting career and known for his roles in (2019), Love Revolution (2020), At a Distance, Spring Is Green (2021), Weak Hero Class 1 (2022) and Weak Hero Class 2 (2025). Park has remained active in variety and reality television shows and has also ventured into being a Radio DJ. He has also been the advertisement model for several brands across skincare, cosmetics, and food.
Less active in the entertainment industry in his teen years, Park began training to become an idol singer under SM Entertainment and Fantagio. Due to a knee injury, he did not make it to the final line up of Fantagio's boy group Astro and subsequently transferred to Maroo Entertainment.
The phrase was later crowned as the best catchphrase of 2017 by KOCCA. Furthermore, Park received offers from various companies to become their advertisement model while the show was still being aired, and it was later revealed that Park had signed an exclusive contract with Maroo Entertainment before the show had started. He finished second, which made him a member of the project boy group Wanna One under YMC Entertainment. Wanna One disbanded on December 31, 2018, and officially completed activities after their sold out 4-day final concert series 'Therefore' that ran from January 24 to 27 at Gocheok Sky Dome.
On December 4, Park released his second EP, 360, and its lead single of the same name.
Park Jihoon took his first lead role in the Kakao M's web drama Love Revolution, an adaptation of the popular webtoon of the same name. The drama aired from September 1 to December 27, 2020. The first episode of Love Revolution surpassed a million views in one day on KakaoTV and was No. 1 on the Top 10 weekly videos. The first five episodes have also achieved the million milestone. Park's popularity rose with viewers and critics praising his acting skills. The song "Midnight" was recorded and released by Park Jihoon as part of the drama's soundtrack.
On November 4, Park released his first studio album, Message, with the title track "Gotcha".
Park Jihoon held his first ever online solo concert titled "Message" on December 13.
On August 12, Park released his fourth EP My Collection, with the title track "Gallery".
On October 28, Park released his fifth EP Hot&Cold, with the title track "Serious".
In August 2022, it was announced that Park would be making a comeback with his sixth EP The Answer with the title track "Nitro" on October 12, 2022. On September 30, he pre-released a b-side called "Moon & Back".
On October 9 and 10, Park held a two-day concert called 'CLUE' at the YES24 Live Hall.
Park starred in the lead role of the wavve k-drama Weak Hero Class 1 which premiered on November 18. Before its premiere, the first three episodes of the drama were screened at the 27th Busan International Film Festival where it sold out in two minutes, leading to additional screenings. The drama became an overnight hit immediately becoming wavve's #1 drama in paid subscribers within the first day. Weak Hero was a critical as well as a commercial success garnering a 9.9 rating overseas and glowing reviews from critics. It also ranked #1 on the OTT integrated search and recommendation site Kinolights. Park received overwhelming praise from both critics and online communities for his portrayal of Yeon Si-eun, with some of his highlight scenes going viral on various social media sites such as Tik-Tok and Twitter.
The role has been called a "rediscovery of Park Ji-hoon" as the idol singer's cute and bubbly image was nowhere to be found in his performance. When asked about the casting of Park, creative director Han Jun-hee revealed that shortcake (the production company) CEO Lee Myung-jin originally suggested the idol actor for the role after being amazed with his performance in At a Distance, Spring Is Green. After reviewing his older work and interviews, he was convinced and the suggestion was passed along to director Yu Su-min.
On December 9, it was announced that Park would star alongside veteran actress Kim Jung-nan in his first movie, Audrey. It was expected for release in 2024.
In January 2024, Park's leading drama, "Love Song for Illusion", was released with Park portraying dual roles.
On August 5, 2024, Park signed an exclusive contract with YY Entertainment for his future activities.
+ List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and sales ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:9em" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:21em" | Album details ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em" | Sales |
+ List of extended plays, with selected chart positions and sales ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:9em" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:21em" | EP details ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em" | Sales |
+ List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:15em" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:3em" | Year ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:10em" | Album | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. |
+ List of other releases, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:17,5em" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:3em" | Year ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12,5em" | Album | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. |
The King and I | Eunuch | ||
Weak Hero | Yeon Si-eun | ||
Tastefully Yours | Eun-jae | Cameo (episode 2) |
Show! Music Core | Episode 658, 718 | ||
King of Mask Singer | Judge |
In March 2019, the seaweed snack brand Masita revealed Park as the new ambassador for their new "0% MSG" recipe that came in five different flavors. The same month, Park and fellow former Wanna One member Bae Jin-young were selected as the new advertising models for youth make-up brand, I'M MEME. In May, it was announced that Park had been selected as the new exclusive model for pizza specialty brand, Pizza E-Tang. He would promote their new pizza flavor, Shinsegae Pizza 2. He would also film his first solo commercial. The promotion was a success with the pizza consistently selling out. On May 3, Yuyu Nature selected Park as an exclusive model for their flagship health supplement, Formoline L112.
In June 2020, Park had his first apparel collaboration with contemporary fashion brand LE MOHO. The collection was named "LA POMME de Universe" in which Park participated in the design. To emphasize Park's mysteriousness, the collection's image was of infinity in the universe and also featured a green apple to reflect the refreshing image of a young man in his twenties. A portion of the sales of this project was donated to charities and organizations participating in the fight against COVID-19. In October, Park collaborated with Tous on the 'Toss Love Me' perfume that was made to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the brand's founding. 'Toss Love Me' became a bestseller and sold out at the Olive Young Myeong-dong Store where it was carried domestically.
On August 18, 2021, it was announced that Park had been selected as an exclusive model for the Korean skincare and cosmetics brand, It's Skin. He would model for them both domestically and overseas in Japan and Southeast Asia.
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