Got7’s Park Jin-young: the polyglot K-pop star who speaks English and Japanese, starring in upcoming K-drama Devil Judge with It’s Okay to Not Be Okay’s Park Gyu-young
He’s got a big heart, a talent for acting as well as songwriting, and he speaks surprisingly great Japanese – here are 5 things you should know about the face of Got7, Park Jin-young, as he turns 26
The Changwon-born star celebrates his 26th birthday (or 27th in Korean tradition) on September 22 – so here are five things you should know about one of the two Virgos of the group.
He first debuted as an actor
Unlike most idols who debut as singers, Jin-young got his start in the industry through acting. He was cast in drama Dream High 2 with fellow Got7 member JB, and played the role of Jung Ui-bong. The drama aired in 2012 and he released his first soundtrack titled We Are the B. He went on to appear in MBC’s When A Man Falls in Love in 2013 before debuting as an idol a year later.
He is an active philanthropist
When he’s not busy with the group, Jin-young is a passionate philanthropist. Fans praised his donation to the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement in February that went towards helping wild animals affected by the bush fires in Australia. He also donated 20 million won (over US$16,000) to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association for flood victims in the country, and split a 30 million won (over US$25,000) donation with Got7 to help those affected by the Goseong Fire of 2019.
He’s a polyglot
Jin-young is one of Got7’s multilingual members, along with Jackson, Mark and Bambam. He says he taught himself English so he could easily communicate with fans around the world and be able to answer questions in interviews. He has been known to prepare goodbye speeches in English during the group’s world tour. The group’s fan base (Ahgases) as well as the other members all claim that Jin-young is the most fluent and confident in Japanese, especially during show breaks and fan interactions.
He was unaware of his ‘habits’
Jin-young was completely unaware of his quirky habits until fans pointed them out. He was surprised to hear from Ahgases that he displayed three habits in almost every show or interview. Aside from running his hands through his hair, he almost always bends his ankles when he sits, covers his hands with his sleeves, and covers his mouth when he laughs – habits all loved and appreciated by fans, of course.
He will play the lead in upcoming drama Devil Judge
It was announced in August that Jin-young will be playing the role of Associate Judge Kim Ga-on in the upcoming TVN drama Devil Judge opposite Ji Sung and It’s Okay to Not Be Okay’s Park Gyu-young. The drama will air in 2021, and has been written by real-life judge Moon Yoo-suk of drama Ms. Hammurabi, and directed by Choi Jung-kyu of Children of Nobody.
Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter .