Biography
Kim Minju is a South Korean actress and former member of the popular girl group IZONE. Born on February 5, 2001, she first rose to fame as a contestant on the reality competition show Produce 48 in 2018, where she earned a spot in the final lineup of IZ*ONE, a project group formed by CJ ENM and Stone Music Entertainment.
Profile
- Name: Kim Min-joo (Kim Min-joo), Kim Minju)
- Birth: February 5, 2001 (age 23)
- Bongcheon- dong , Gwanak-gu, Seoul
- Nationality: Republic of Korea
- Family: Parents, older brother (born 1999), younger sister (born 2004), cousin Kim Gyu-min
- Education:
- Seoul Danggok Elementary School (graduated)
- Seongbo Middle School (graduated)
- Samsung High School (transferred)
- Seoul Performing Arts High School (Department of Theater and Film / Graduated)
- Agency Management: Forest
Early Life
Kim Min-ju was a trainee at Urban Works Entertainment for nearly three years, where she initially entered the entertainment industry through an audition. This information was shared by fellow artist Kriesha Chu, who revealed Min-ju’s dedication during their trainee years on a V LIVE broadcast. At Urban Works, Min-ju had dreams of debuting in a girl group and even worked as a student model during her early years in the industry. Notably, she was part of a girl group project called Girl’s Recipe, alongside Kriesha Chu and Shin So-yi, but the group unfortunately never debuted.
Participating Produce 48
After Girl’s Recipe disbanded, Kriesha Chu went on to debut as a soloist, but Kim Min-ju’s dream of debuting seemed increasingly distant. However, her path changed when she joined the Produce 48 competition in 2018, where she was the only girl group trainee from her agency.
Despite facing many setbacks and the disappointment of failed debut attempts, Min-ju continued to push forward in her career. Her previous efforts included appearances in iKON’s music video for “#WYD” and a special role in the web drama Immortal Goddess.
The performance of former singers who turn into actors has already been one of the driving forces leading the entertainment industry for a long time. Regardless of genre or activity type, such as idols or soloists, many stars who took on the new challenge of acting after building up a certain level of careers have stood out in various works, sometimes receiving favorable reviews and sometimes criticism from the public.
Originally an aspiring actress, she appeared as the younger version of Moon Gayoung in MBC’s “The Great Seducer” in 2018. However, in the same year, she participated in Mnet’s “Produce 48” and started a career in the music industry. At that time, she was selected to join the final debut girl group IZ*ONE.
As IZ*ONE received a lot of love during their promotions, there was speculation that Kim Minju would continue to be an idol even after the group’s official activities ended. However, Kim Minju pulled another twist. She’s been active as an MC on MBC’s “Show! Music Core” and tvN D studio’s “Get It Beauty”. She had not revealed her next acting project until this June. She recently confirmed her appearance in MBC’s upcoming drama “The Forbidden Marriage”, announcing a new start as an actor.
In the process, it was reported that Kim Minju showed a strong will for developing a career in acting by rejecting even an offer from HYBE to debut in a girl group. Considering that the girl group that debuted after HYBE’s proposal to recruit Kim Minju was LE SSERAFIM, it would have been an attractive offer if Kim Minju wanted to maintain her idol career.
Debut as Actress
In 2022, Kim Minju left the agency Urban Works, and moved to Management SOOP, revealing her career path in a clear way. At that time, Management SOOP also formalized Kim Minju’s acting activities, emphasizing that “We will actively support Kim Minju to take a step forward as an actor.” Gong Yoo, Gong Hyo Jin, Kim Jae Wook, Seo Hyun Jin, Jeon Do Yeon, Jung Yumi, Suzy, Choi Woo Sik, etc. are all famous actors currently managed by Management SOOP.
Kim Minju’s move is unlikely to cause her any difficulties for the time being, as she has decided to resume her acting activities immediately. However, there are still problems that she has to solve in the future. In the past, Kim Minju’s acting skills were still in the realm of a ‘question mark’, although she occasionally continued acting by appearing in “The Great Seducer”, the movie “The Fault Is Not Yours”, and the web drama “A-Teen Season 2”.
Kim Min-ju is also recognized for her versatility in the entertainment industry, making appearances in various television shows, variety programs, and even acting as a weathercaster in a Newsroom episode in November 2024, where she wowed audiences with her beauty and ability to use sign language fluently.
Filography
Drama
| Air date | Broadcaster | title | casting | activity | note |
| 2016 | |||||
| 06. 08. | Naver TV | Immortal Goddess | Join child actor | Child actor | |
| 2018 | |||||
| 03. 12. | MBC | The Great Seducer | Choi Soo-ji child actor | Child actor | |
| 2019 | |||||
| 05. 26. | Playlist Wordmark | Eighteen season 2 | Part-timer | Special appearance | |
| 2022 | |||||
| 12. 09. | MBC | Marriage ban, Joseon marriage ban | Crown Princess Ahn / Next year | Supporting role | |
| 2024 | |||||
| 05. 24. | SBS | Connection | Oh Yoon-jin | Child actor | Jeon Mi-do child actor |
| 2025 | |||||
| 02. 14. | MBC | Undercover High School | Lee Ye-na | Supporting role | |
| Undecided | Undecided | Shining | Moeun-ah | starring | |
Movies
| Year of release | title | casting | activity | attendance |
| 2019 | Everything was okay yesterday | Suyeon | starring | 18,851 people |
| 2020 | Eyes on Me: The Movie | Me (Kim Min-joo) | 39,719 people | |
| 2024 | Clearing the snow | West Autumn | ||
| Cumulative audience number | 58,570 people | |||
Music Video
| Release date | Artist | sing | References | note |
| 2016 | ||||
| 05. 29. | iKON | Today’s Mohae | MV | Before debut |
| 2017 | ||||
| 05. 24. | Krisha Chu | Trouble | MV | Before debut |
| 2018 | ||||
| 01. 03. | Krisha Chu | Like Paradise | MV | Before debut |
Facts
- Names: She has two English names—Amy and Rina, the latter of which was given by her academy teacher.
- Name Romanization: While she prefers her name romanized as Minjoo, it is officially romanized as Minju by Off The Record Entertainment.
- Specialties: Minju is skilled at playing the guitar and doing animal imitations.
- Early Career: She began her career as a child actress before pursuing music and acting professionally.
- Language Skills: Minju is fluent in English.
- Flexibility: Known as the most flexible member in IZ*ONE.
- Speed: Minju is a slow runner and was even nicknamed “tortoise” during middle school.
- Aegyo: She tends to do aegyo (cute gestures) when feeling embarrassed.
- Catchphrase: One of her often-repeated phrases is “Should we try it?”
- Favorite Number: 2 is her lucky number.
- Likes: She loves gummy bears, cheese balls, chocolate ice cream, roller coasters, and the Harry Potter franchise.
- Hobbies: Minju enjoys walking, taking pictures, watching sitcoms, and going on amusement park rides.
- Cooking: She is known for her cooking skills.
- Reading: Minju is an avid reader, as her former groupmates have noted.
- Close Friendship: She is close friends with Kriesha Chu.
These personal details highlight Minju’s versatile talents, interests, and warm personality, contributing to her popularity both as an entertainer and a friend.
Source: daum
