Han (musician)


Han Ji-sung, known mononymously as Han, is a South Korean rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is a member of the South Korean boy band Stray Kids and its production unit 3Racha under JYP Entertainment.
Han has been a full member of the Korea Music Copyright Association since February 2023, becoming the youngest K-pop idol to be awarded such membership. As of May 2025, he has registered 174 songwriting and production credits, including works for NiziU, Show Lo, Yao Chen, JO1, and Nexz, as well as collaborations with artists such as Lil Durk, Sky-Hi, Tiger JK, and Lisa.

Early life and education

Han Ji-sung was born on September 14, 2000, in Incheon, South Korea as the youngest of two sons. His family moved to Mokpo when he was very young, and he attended elementary school there. Later, his family relocated to Malaysia, where he briefly attended Fairview International School before leaving to be homeschooled.
At fourteen, Han returned to South Korea intending to audition to become a K-pop idol, while also committing to pass all three levels of the as part of a promise to his parents that he would return to Malaysia to pursue further education if he was not successful at auditioning within twelve months. Three months after he had returned to South Korea, Han initially auditioned for JYP Entertainment and following a second audition, was accepted as a trainee.
After debuting, Han enrolled at Gukje Cyber University, to study performance and broadcast entertainment.

Career

2017–present: Stray Kids and 3Racha

While a JYP Entertainment trainee, Han attended Def Music Academy in Gangnam District. He co-founded 3Racha with bandmates Bang Chan and Changbin after they took MIDI classes together. Formed in 2016, they serve as the primary production team for Stray Kids, contributing significantly to the group's musical output.
Prior to making their official debut, 3Racha released three mix-tapes on SoundCloud: J:/2017/mixtape on January 18, 2017. The second mix-tape, 3Days on August 16, 2017, featuring Han's solo track, "I See", under the alias J.One, and, Horizon on December 21, 2017. Several pre-debut songs were later reworked as Stray Kids' B-sides.
In the latter half of 2017, Han participated in the reality competition series Stray Kids. Han officially debuted with Stray Kids on March 25, 2018, with the debut extended play I Am Not. 3Racha made no further releases on SoundCloud until the release of the song "Carpe Diem" on January 18, 2020 to commemorate their third anniversary.
In February 2023, alongside fellow members of 3Racha, Han was promoted from associate to full member of the Korea Music Copyright Association, making him, at age 22, the youngest K-pop idol to be awarded membership. As of September 17, 2025, Han has credits for 186 songs registered with KOMCA. This places him behind bandmates Bang Chan and Changbin within the ranks of fourth-generation idols, and among the top ten most credited K-pop idols overall. He is also the eighth-most credited K-pop idol overall.
In summer of 2024, a year ahead of its expected expiration, it was announced that alongside his bandmates, Han had renewed his group contract with JYP Entertainment.

2019–present: Solo and subunit activities

In 2019, Han appeared on episode 197 of King of Masked Singer, competing under the alias Imgeokjjeong. In October 2022, he appeared on episode 32 of LeeMujin Service where he performed a jazz-inspired remix of Stray Kids' then-new release "Case 143", as well as songs by Twice, YB, and Se So Neon.
Individually, Han has participated in special performances for Korean music festivals, including a cover of SSAK3's "Play That Summer" with Lia of Itzy and Juyeon of The Boyz at MBC Music Festival 2020, and a cover of Kim Sung-jae's "As I Told You" with bandmates Hyunjin and Felix at KBS Song Festival 2022.
As part of 3Racha, Han has performed with N.Flying at 2019 KCON LA, and on a remix of their pre-debut track "Runner's High" at 2019 KCON Thailand with Soyeon of I-DLE and Hongjoong of Ateez. 3Racha have also given numerous performances, whether as an introduction, outro, or act independent of wider Stray Kids sets at the MAMA Awards, including a special stage at MAMA 2022 with Tiger JK and Jung Jae-il.
In February 2022, 3Racha announced their first official guest single "Just Breathe", a collaboration with Japanese rapper SKY-HI. In September 2022, 3Racha composed the track "Heyday" for the fourth soundtrack compilation of Street Man Fighter.
After a minor car accident which prevented the full Stray Kids lineup from originally performing as intended, Han made his first international festival appearance as part of 3Racha at the Global Citizen Festival 2023 in New York City.
In April 2020, Stray Kids sang the soundtrack for the anime adaptation of Tower of God, with 3Racha writing and composing for the opening theme "Top" and Han himself writing and composing for the ending theme "Slump". In October 2024, Stray Kids were invited back to create theme music for the second season of Tower of God, with Han co-writing and co-composing the opening theme, "Night". In July 2020, all members of 3Racha received writing and composition credits on Stray Kids' second domestic television OST, "Hello Stranger" for the drama Pop Out Boy!. In 2023, "Maniac" and "Venom" were featured in the first season of XO, Kitty.
In April 2024, as part of 3Racha, Han co-produced Stray Kids' first OST for a Japanese drama, "Why?" for Fuji TV's RE: Revenge – At the End of Desire. In July 2024, 3Racha co-wrote and co-produced the Stray Kids song "Slash" for the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack, marking Han's first contribution to the soundtrack of a Hollywood cinematic release, and his second major film OST after 3Racha were approached to produce a theme song for Doraemon: Nobita's Sky Utopia. In September 2024, it was announced Stray Kids would perform "Come Play" with Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Young Miko for the second season of Arcane.
In April 2025, it was announced Han had co-written a song for label-mates Nexz, "Run With Me", to be released on their second mini album, O-RLY?.

SKZ-Record/Player and solo music

After debuting, Stray Kids began a YouTube-based non-album singles project, SKZ-Record/Player, where individual members could upload solo and/or sub-unit original songs, cover versions, or dance performances, exploring their own artistic expression beyond the group's collective style. As of August 2024, Han was the most prolific contributor to the project, with eleven original solo songs, three original sub-unit songs, one original duet with Bae of Nmixx, and two cover versions. He was also credited as the lyricist and co-composer of "Hold On", recorded for the project by Seungmin.
Six of these, plus a further, previously unheard solo song, "Run", were released to digital platforms as part of Stray Kids' digital compilation album, SKZ-Replay, in December 2022. As of July 2024, the remainder had yet to see wider release, though "Respirator" was performed in March 2024 on the final day of Stray Kids' fourth fan-meeting, SKZ Magic School. "Hold My Hand", first performed in August 2024 as part of Stray Kids' DominATE tour in Seoul, was later released as part of Stray Kids' special album, Hop, in December 2024, with an accompanying music video released to the band's SKZ-Record/Player YouTube project. In March 2025, as part of Stray Kids' digital single album Mixtape: Dominate, Han and Felix released a duet, "Truman"; an accompanying music video was released on the Stray Kids YouTube channel.
As of April 2025, Han has had several additional songs which had neither been released to SKZ-Record/Player nor to wider digital platforms, including "Scissor", which was performed at the Unite ON: Hallyu Festival in 2020, and "Don't Say", which was performed during Stray Kids' 5-Star Dome Tour in 2023, where Han played guitar during concert for the first time.

Soundtrack appearances

In October 2025, it was announced that together with bandmates Felix and I.N, Han would feature on the soundtrack for Netflix original series, Genie, Make a Wish, with the song "Genie". The song debuted at number 147 on the Circle Download Chart, and reached number 4 on the Billboard World Digital Sales chart. Later the same month, it was announced that Han would be releasing his first solo original soundtrack, "Updraft", for TvN's period drama Typhoon Family, on October 26, 2025. The song debuted at number 92 on the Circle Download Chart, number 68 on the Circle Background Music Chart, and number 65 on the Circle V Coloring Chart.

Artistry

Media coverage has highlighted aspects of his live performances, including stage presence and choreography.
Han plays piano and guitar. He contributes to songwriting and production for Stray Kids' releases.
Han has appeared in various rankings, including Tumblr's annual K-Pop Stars of the Year lists from 2018 onward, sixth place on Billboards 2024 K-Pop Artist 100, and, as part of Stray Kids, selections for Forbes Koreas 30 Under 30, Gold Houses A100 list, and Times Next Generation Leaders. In a 2022 article for We Got This Covered, Demi Phillips included Han on a list of the 10 best male K-pop singers of all time.

Songwriting and production

Han has composed music across various genres and melodic styles. He has written lyrics and composed songs for Stray Kids, including unreleased tracks. He has stated that he once had around 40 archived songs that no longer aligned with his artistic development.
Han has described initial challenges in organizing songwriting ideas, noting that experience helped him develop concepts more fluidly. His inspirations include films, anime, and reality television. The song "Wish You Back" was inspired by the 2016 film Your Name; its director, Makoto Shinkai, called the track "beautiful". In 2024, during an appearance on MMTG, Han discussed interest in writing a sequel to "13" following the real-life reunion of the couple from EXchange who inspired it.
Han's lyrics address themes of love and introspection through techniques such as wordplay, storytelling, mood, and symbolism. In a review of Stray Kids' album Noeasy for NME, Carmen Chin described "Secret Secret", which Han wrote and composed, as "lyrically stunning".
Following Stray Kids' performances on Kingdom: Legendary War, the production sub unit 3Racha, which includes Han, received attention for their arrangements of "Pray " and "Jasin", a mashup of the group's songs "God's Menu" and "Side Effects". Han has stated that he aims for Stray Kids to "become a genre" unto themselves. Stray Kids are recognized as a self-produced group, with media noting their role in the "mala " genre and trends in fourth-generation K-pop.
Han has directed vocals for several Stray Kids releases, emphasizing each member's individual qualities over rigid adherence to his initial concepts.
In addition to Stray Kids' material, Han has co-written and produced tracks for other artists, mainly those affiliated with JYP Entertainment. These include the Chinese artists Show Lo, Yao Chen, and members of JO1, and the Japanese group NEXZ. The track "Paradise" by Japanese girl group NiziU, produced by 3Racha and used as the theme for the 2023 film Doraemon: Nobita's Sky Utopia, was the first 3Racha production to reach number one on the Japan Hot 100.