Pre-debut activities Jeno began his career as a child model in various
commercials in South Korea throughout his childhood. Jeno was introduced as one of the first members of
SM Entertainment's pre-debut team,
SM Rookies, on December 3, 2013. In 2014, he made his first appearance as a member of SM Rookies, alongside fellow NCT members
Mark,
Jaemin,
Haechan and
Jisung, on
Exo 90:2014, a reality TV Show starring
Exo. In 2015, he appeared as a Mouseketeer alongside other SM Rookies members on
Disney Channel Korea's show
The Mickey Mouse Club, which aired from July 23 to December 17, 2015.
2016–present: Debut with NCT and its sub-units On August 24, 2016, Jeno debuted in
NCT Dream, the third sub-unit of
NCT. Jeno, along with NCT Dream, participated in NCT's first album,
NCT 2018 Empathy, with the single "Go". On May 22, 2018,
SBS MTV's
The Show announced Jeno was chosen as a new
MC. Besides contributing vocals to NCT Dream's songs, Jeno also began writing lyrics on the song "Dear Dream" for the NCT Dream's second
EP We Go Up, alongside members
Mark,
Jaemin and
Jisung. On March 13, 2019, Jeno, alongside fellow NCT Dream members Jaemin and Jisung, represented K-pop stars at the "K-Wave & Halal Show" in Malaysia. The friendship event between South Korea and Malaysia was attended by President
Moon Jae-in as part of his three-day state visit to the country. On November 23, 2020, Jeno joined NCT's rotational unit
NCT U with the release of their lead track "Misfit" from NCT's second album,
Resonance Pt. 1, and the lead single "
90's Love" from
Resonance Pt. 2. In 2021, Jeno featured on
Donghae's song "California Love". In August 2022, Jeno featured on
Key's song "Villain". On September 13, Jeno became the first K-pop artist to be the opening model for a
New York Fashion Week show, walking for Peter Do's spring 2023 collection show as part of a partnership with SM Entertainment, with whom Peter Do collaborated to create the line.
The Business of Fashion commented that it "may have been the most-anticipated show of the week" and praised Do's tailoring, highlighting the back of the garments, and ability "to reference other designers through his own work without it feeling soulless". In December 2022, Jeno featured on "Hot & Cold" from
2022 Winter SM Town: SMCU Palace alongside labelmates
Kai,
Seulgi and
Aespa's
Karina. In January 2026, it was announced that Jeno will debut with NCT's new sub-unit
NCT JNJM alongside Jaemin, with an EP
Both Sides on February 23. ==Other ventures==