TWICE Jihyo's Parents Open Up About Their Initial Doubts Regarding Her K-Pop Idol Career

TWICE‘s leader, Jihyo, recently filmed a special episode of Zyo’s Zone.Zip for the group’s official YouTube channel, where she took a trip down memory lane with her family to celebrate her solo debut and 18th anniversary with JYP Entertainment.

During her solo promotions, Jihyo opened up about joining JYP Entertainment as a trainee in 2005 at only eight years old.

She joined the company on the same day as current soloist and former Wonder Girls member Sunmi and trained with the Wonder Girls members, members of 2PM, Miss A, and more.

TWICE’s Jihyo (front center) as a trainee with members of 2PM, Wonder Girls, Highlight’s Kikwang, CL, and more.

So, how did her parents feel about Jihyo becoming a trainee as an elementary student? They kickstarted her career in entertainment by signing her up to be a child model.

While Jihyo received praise as a model, her parents revealed they didn’t initially think she was going to “make it” as an idol.

Her parents shared that Jihyo was so shy that she would cry when she was near strangers. When she landed an audition for a film as a kid, the TWICE member cried when the director entered the room and she wasn’t able to complete her audition.

When Jihyo appeared on stage as TWICE’s confident and charismatic leader, her parents were shocked and amazed, touchingly revealing they were “super proud” of her.