2013–present: BTS |alt=Jin, wearing a formal black suit at an award ceremony|left Jin was scouted by
Big Hit Entertainment for his looks while walking down the street—he was studying acting at the time and had no background in music—and subsequently auditioned as an actor for the company before becoming an
idol trainee. On June 13, 2013, he made his debut as one of the four vocalists in
BTS. Under the band's name, Jin has performed three solo songs: "Awake", "
Epiphany", and "Moon". "Awake", which he co-produced, was released in 2016, as part of BTS' second Korean studio album
Wings. He shared a Christmas version of "Awake" for free on
SoundCloud that December. The full version of the song was eventually released as a track on
Answer, peaking at number 30 on the Gaon Digital Chart and number four on the US World Digital Song Sales chart. "Moon" was released in 2020, as part of BTS' fourth Korean studio album
Map of the Soul: 7.
Variety writer Jae-Ha Kim described the track as a
power pop song addressed to the band's fans. "Moon" peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart and number two on the World Digital Song Sales chart. In July 2021, Jin was appointed
Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture by
President Moon Jae-in, alongside his bandmates, to help "lead the global agenda for future generations" and "expand South Korea's diplomatic efforts and global standing" in the international community.
2015–2022: Solo activities pre-enlistment In 2016, Jin collaborated with bandmate
V on the single "It's Definitely You", released as part of the
Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth original soundtrack, and later received a co-nomination for Best at the
2017 Melon Music Awards. In June 2018, Jin featured on an alternate version of "So Far Away", a song from bandmate
Suga's debut mixtape
Agust D (2016), alongside bandmate
Jungkook, which was released during the band's fifth anniversary celebrations. Jin's solo covers include "Mom" by
Ra.D, "I Love You" by Mate, and "In Front Of The Post Office In Autumn", originally by
Yoon Do-hyun in 1994. They were released on SoundCloud on May 7, 2015, December 3, 2015, The
acoustic ballad was composed by Jin and Big Hit
record producers Slow Rabbit and Hiss Noise. Written by Jin and bandmate
RM, the song's lyrics are inspired by Jin's relationship with his pets. The track was met with a generally positive reception, with praise for Jin's vocals and the song's calming atmosphere. Jin released his second independent song "Abyss" via SoundCloud and YouTube on December 3, 2020. An acoustic ballad inspired by his feelings of anxiety, doubt, and burnout, Jin co-wrote and co-composed the track with RM and record producers
Bumzu and
Pdogg. In a post to the official BTS blog, Jin spoke about his insecurities regarding music and how those darker emotions drove him to write and release the song. In October 2021, Jin sang the main theme for the
TvN drama series
Jirisan. Titled "Yours", the single's release was accompanied by a music video featuring footage from the show. On December 4, Jin released the short
trot-style song "Super Tuna" via SoundCloud as a gift to fans in celebration of his 29th birthday. It quickly
went viral after an accompanying performance video was posted on the BTS YouTube channel that same day. The video ranked first on YouTube's World Popular Music Video for eight consecutive days and trended in 56 countries, including Korea, Peru, and Singapore. A subsequent dance challenge arose on
TikTok, with videos using the sound receiving over 141.8 million cumulative views in 10 days. Jin collaborated with
Nexon in August 2022 as a special game developer for
MapleStory. The project was chronicled in the form of a two-episode mini web series,
Office Warrior Kim Seok Jin, published to MapleStory Korea's YouTube channel. On October 21, "Tonight", "Abyss", and "Super Tuna" were made available on streaming services worldwide as official singles under Jin's name. All three songs subsequently simultaneously occupied the top three of the November 5 issue of the World Digital Song Sales chart, making Jin the third solo artist in the history of the chart to do so. He performed the song live with the band later that same day in
Buenos Aires, Argentina during their
Music of the Spheres World Tour; the show was broadcast live to cinemas worldwide in over 70 countries. The single earned Jin his first solo entry on the
Billboard Hot 100 at number 51 and his third number one on the World chart. The following month, South Korean food manufacturing company
Ottogi announced Jin as the new advertising model for its
Jin Ramen instant noodles brand; a commercial featuring Jin was released on November 11. The partnership was a success, with Ottogi recording the highest first quarter exports with 15.4% increase in domestic sales and 40% increase from US subsidiary in 2023. On November 12, the first two episodes of Jin's web show
The Drunken Truth (also known as ''Jin's Traditional Alcohol Journey'') aired on BANGTANTV channel on YouTube; episodes 3 and 4 aired a week later on November 19. On the show, Jin learned the process of brewing alcohol, including
makgeolli, with veteran alcohol artisan Park Rok-dam and celebrity chef
Baek Jong-won. On December 13, Jin began his military enlistment. then
served as a torchbearer for the South Korean delegation at the
Summer Olympics in Paris. On August 13, the first episode of Jin's weekly variety show
Run Jin, a spin-off of
Run BTS, aired on YouTube. Each episode of
Run Jin features Jin competing in activities by himself or with different guests. Jin was appointed the first
global brand ambassador for the French jewellery and watch brand
Fred, with a global ambassadorship for
Gucci following that. In September, he became the first male global ambassador for
Laneige and the face of its Cream Skin campaign. In October, Jin was name the global ambassador of
Alo Yoga; of the partnership, vice president of marketing and creative at Alo Yoga Summer Nacewicz said Jin "has the ability to ignite change through his powerful platform." A new campaign launched in January 2025, ahead of the brand's first South Korea flagship store opening in April 2025. An extended version of his 2021 single "Super Tuna" was released in October, along with a new music video. Big Hit published news of Jin's debut mini album,
Happy, shortly afterwards. Comprising six tracks, the album was released on November 15. It was supported by two singles: "
I'll Be There"—released October 25—and "
Running Wild"—released the same day as the album. The latter earned Jin his second entry on the US Hot 100, at number 35.
Happy peaked at number 2 on
Billboard US World Albums and number 4 on
Billboard 200. It is certified platinum in Japan and 3× Platinum in Korea. In November, Jin appeared as a guest on the
tvN variety show
Handsome Guys. In December, it was announced that Jin will sing the theme song for the
TvN drama series
When the Stars Gossip. On February 26, 2025, Jin was named as the global brand ambassador of
Jin Ramen. In April, Jin appeared on
Netflix's variety show ''Kian's Bizarre B&B'', along with Kim Hee-min, better known as
Kian84, and actress Ji Ye-eun. On April 14, Big Hit announced that Jin's second album,
Echo, would be released on May 16. It charted at number 3 on
Billboard 200, while its lead single "
Don't Say You Love Me" entered the
Billboard Hot 100 at number 90. He also embarked on his first solo tour,
RunSeokjin Ep. Tour, during the summer: the tour began on June 28–29 in
Goyang before heading to
Chiba,
Osaka,
Anaheim,
Dallas,
Tampa,
Newark,
London, and
Amsterdam. The tour concluded on November 1, 2025, in
Incheon. == Artistry ==