MINJI
PROFILE
| GIVEN NAME | Kim Min-ji 김민지 (金玟池) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2004-05-07 (May 7th, 2004) |
| NATIONALITY | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
| HEIGHT | 169cm / 5’ 7” |
| MANAGEMENT | ADOR |
| GROUP | NewJeans |
| DEBUT | 2022-07-22 as NewJeans with EP New Jeans |
| MBTI | ESTJ |
| SIGNATURE |  |
CAREER SUMMARY
PRE-DEBUT
Minji was born in Chuncheon, South Korea and lived there until her first year of middle school (7th grade). She went on a “home-stay camp” to Canada for a few months when she was in elementary school, and became fluent in English. Minji had originally studied to become a student in a Foreign Languages High School student, until she started learning guitar in an academy and the teacher recommended her to participate in the in-academy audition held by Source Music.
Minji danced to “SIGNAL” by TWICE in the audition and became an official trainee of Source Music in 2017.
After becoming a trainee, Minji transferred to a middle school in Seoul. She was first a trainee of Source Music, and later of ADOR (both sub-labels under HYBE). She was selected as the first trainee to join ADOR’s first-ever girl group. In 2019, Minji appeared in the poster and video advertisement for PLUS GLOBAL AUDITION by HYBE.
In 2021, Minji appeared in the music video for “Permission to Dance” by BTS with Hanni.
Minji was a trainee for approximately four and a half years before debut.
AFTER DEBUT
In 2022, Minji debuted as a member of NewJeans, a 5-member group under ADOR, with Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein with “Attention.” Upon debut, Minji was praised for her visuals reminiscent of the “classic 90s-style Korean actresses” especially in the intro sequence of the music video for “Attention.” Her visuals have also been compared to Olivia Hussey by various Korean media outlets. Even though NewJeans has no official leader position, Minji is often thought of as fulfilling the role of leader most often in official interviews. Minji has also been praised for her fluency in English and Japanese despite being a native speaker in Korean, often acting as translators for the “Aussie line” of the team.
In 2022, Minji was credited as one of the in lyrics writers for “Ditto.”
Minji ranked no.1 on the Girl Group Solo Brand Rankings for three consecutive months, from January 2023 to March 2023.
In February 2023, Minji was chosen as the Korean ambassador for CHANEL Fashion, Beauty, and Watch&Jewelry. She is the first CHANEL Korean ambassador to be chosen for three cateogires simultaneously. In January 2024, Minji became the house ambassador of CHANEL.
POSITIONS
VOCAL
Minji has the lowest vocal tone in NewJeans. She mostly takes the low- to mid- range parts in NewJeans songs, including the “spoken rap” or “singing rap” parts. Some of Minji’s “killing parts” in NewJeans songs include “I just want you / Call my phone right now / I just wanna hear you’re mine” (”Hype Boy”), “Take it, don’t break it / I wanna see you taste it” (”Cookie”) and “Walk in this maze / Not that I know everything but / Just as I want it, say it, say it back” (”Ditto”). Minji’s higher register has mostly been shown in the falsetto technique. Her voice has often been deemed “soothing” or “calming” by the fandom.
DANCE
Minji has been generally praised for her dance moves on stage; her dancing style is powerful and energetic, which especially shine in big movements that have to make use of arms and legs. Minji has been called the “Phys Ed Goddess” for her atheleticism on and off stage. Her stage presence has received praise for songs that maximizes on the sporty and refreshing image, such as “Attention,” “Hype Boy,” and “Super Shy.”