i am ♡

UPBRINGING

yunjin was born on march 19th, 2000 in gwanju, south korea, raised by her mother and maternal grandparents alongside her siblings. her father, an alcoholic and a gambler, abandoned the family when she was four years old. the loss of his income forced her grandfather out of retirement to help support the large family. as the youngest of three children, yunjin grew up in a very loving environment. even though their family struggled financially, they were very happy.

soon enough, her mother and grandparents noticed that yunjin had a natural talent for singing and dancing. they decided to take on the extra expense and pay for lessons to help her grow her skills.

she adored music. her favorite part of the day was when she would come home from school, excitedly running towards the family’s old tv to watch the music videos and performances of her favorite idols, both korean and western. she would sing along and do the choreography, much to the amusement of her family who recorded the moments for home videos.

despite being the youngest, yunjin often times served as the peacemaker whenever there were clashes between her siblings and their caretakers. she decided to dedicate herself to the role as the good-natured one to alleviate any more stress on her family. she never saw it as a burden, being the one her family never had to worry about. however, it did place an immense pressure to be good on yunjin at an early age.

as she got older, she fell more and more in love with performing. she wanted to become an idol trainee but her mother and especially her grandfather were hesitant at letting yunjin enter that world. it was her grandma who insisted that they give the girl a chance to do what she loves. so at thirteen, yunjin auditioned for vibe productions to become a trainee,

TRAINEE YEARS

yunjin trained for two years and eleven months. she didn’t really realize it when she auditioned but it soon became clear: she had to sacrifice a real childhood for this. being a trainee was grueling and intense, and she often times wondered if she was meant to be an idol. her love for music meant that she put herself under a lot of pressure to do well. it began to wear on her mentally.

although she auditioned and got into vibe through dance and vocal auditions, the company decided to train her rigorously as a rapper. they believed her sharp features gave yunjin a visual edge that was suited better as a rapper, and not a vocalist, considering the girl crush concept they were planning on.

much to the company's surprise, yunjin adapted to the unexpected position well. in fact, they came to notice that she was well-rounded in rapping, dancing, and singing. eventually, she became known as "the ace trainee" in her trainee circles. she consistently received high marks during monthly evaluations and was always considered a shoo-in for vibe's upcoming girl group.

though yunjin remained humble under such a title, she unfortunately ended up being a target of jealousy and resentment with accusations of favoritism. however those who took the time to actually get to know her realized that she simply had a deep passion for music and performing, and because of that, she worked diligently to possess a strong skillset across the board. she never wanted to give vibe a reason to send her home after her family sacrificed a lot to get here there.

she turned to journaling as a way to relax herself through the intense, stressful times of being a trainee. soon, journaling turned into poetry and then poetry turned into song lyrics. she ended up discovering another way to express herself through music, the place she felt safest.

MUSICAL CAREER — anxiety tw

braveheart debuted on april 14, 2016 and yunjin debuted in the original lineup at the age of sixteen. she chose the stage name "jinnie", which is her favorite nickname coined by her family. her official positions are main rapper, lead dancer, sub vocalist, and maknae. vibe introduced her as the company's "secret weapon" during the group's debut press conference.

right before braveheart's debut stage, jinnie suffered her first panic attack. being sixteen was such a young age to be pushed into this industry, and the hype that jinnie had accumulated since her trainee days applied a lot of pressure on the young girl. she was afraid to make mistakes and was often times harshly self-critical of herself as a whole. she struggled to balance the general public's high expectations and critiques, as well as the insane demands of being an idol. everything about her was open for millions to scrutinize — her looks, her personality, her talent. it was a lot to manage for a teenage girl. she was officially diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder six weeks into braveheart’s debut.

while vibe marketed her as a tough, cool rapper type, the public was shocked to learn how endearing jinnie could actually be. she fit the maknae role perfectly, but knew how to turn on the confidence when presenting as braveheart's main rapper. she became known for her duality. onstage, she is a fierce being — born to be on stage. but anywhere else, jinnie is nothing but sunshine. having the two personas felt like the best way to cope with the anxieties and expectations that were demanded of both sides of her.

while she still struggles with her disorder to this day, jinnie has found better ways to manage it, including seeing a therapist regularly and taking medication for her anxiety. vibe discouraged her from being open about her mental health, so she keeps that side of her private. the only ones aware are her members, closest friends, and braveheart staff.

jinnie is all about fan service and making valentines happy. they energize her just as much as they say she energizes them. she regularly does lives, social media updates, and the sorts to keep them happy — even when she's shielding how she actually feels.

despite jinnie having a clear talent for writing, she wasn't granted much opportunity to be a part of the braveheart songwriting process until more recent years. she’s gotten to contribute to a few songs so far but she wants the chance to do even more. she has a notebook full of dozens of songs that she really hopes will be heard one day.

in 2021, vibe productions was acquired by infinite entertainment and as the former company's best-selling group, braveheart made it off the chopping block and was transferred over to infinite. while jinnie holds no animosity against her former company, the change excited her, especially considering that most of her dearest friends would also be a part of infinite. 

TOUR

the infinite world tour was a whirlwind of change for jinnie. she began to carry herself with a more genuine confidence and maturity. while she is still golden retriever that many know and love, this new chapter in her life is encouraged her to adopt more of an adult energy. she’s made a name for herself in braveheart and now it was time to make a name for herself on her own.

tour also allowed jinnie to solidify lifelong connections in this industry. all of that time together gave her the chance to continue to bond with her members, make new friends, and even strike up a relationship with her longtime best friend ahn minseok.

jinnie debuted as a soloist in august 2022 and got the chance to showcase a different, more authentic side of her. it also granted her the opportunity to return to her vocalist roots. the best part was that she had her hand in the concept, writing, and production of the release. doing so made her hopeful and excited to do more of that in the future.

she gained even more notability through infinite mandated subunits and collaborations, such as: a girl group maknae duo with yumi of flora, v!olet ( a pop rock unit with daisy of braveheart and day of tidal ), infinite galaxy ( a hip hop/r&b unit with soloist michelle and daisy of braveheart ), and a constant creative partnership with soloist kaiso.

CURRENTLY

even though the world tour is over, jinnie's still hard at work. she recently released a solo comeback, inspired by her fraught relationship with her father and her homesickness for her family. these new releases will serve as the start of her chapter two within this industry, shedding away the image of being braveheart's sunshine maknae to a more mature, vulnerable, and seasoned idol in this business.

TIDBITS

personality: bubbly, sensitive, empathetic, hardworking, anxious, genuine, clingy, self-critical, compassionate

aesthetics: fresh baked goods, neat handwriting, the color pink, stuffed animals, flowers, fruity perfume, sanrio characters

is a cat mom to a three year old ragdoll named lulu 🥺

uses baking and cooking as a way to distract herself from anxieties

knows how to play the guitar

queen of natural aegyo — think chaewon, sana, chuu, danielle, etc

her love language is touch and she needs skinship to live

FOR REFERENCE

personality overview

komca profile

character study - the stage

viral moments

scandals