Kang Ji-young, also known mononymously as Jiyoung or under the stage name JY in Japan, is a South Korean singer and actress. At age 14, she rose to fame as a member of the South Korean girl group Kara, joining the group in 2008. Dubbed as "Hallyu Queens", Kara achieved mainstream success across Asia, particularly in Japan where they earned ten top-five singles on the Oricon Singles Chart, and became the first female South Korean act to perform at the Tokyo Dome. Kang left Kara in April 2014, but rejoined for the group's 15th anniversary commemorative album Move Again, and subsequent concert tour.
After leaving Kara, Kang moved to Japan to pursue an acting career. She achieved recognition for her portrayal of characters in many live-action adaptations of popular manga series, including Yukime in the Nippon TV series Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube, Irina Jelavić in the Assassination Classroom duology, and Itori in the film Tokyo Ghoul S. She received further praise for playing multiple characters in the science-fiction thriller series Orphan Black - 7 Genes.