TWICE’s Jihyo Launches Her Own Company After 21 Years

Jihyo, leader of TWICE, has founded her own entertainment company after 21 years with JYP Entertainment. She announced the news herself on Instagram on October 21, posting a long personal message that began simply, “Hello, this is Jihyo.” The move marks one of the most significant personal milestones in TWICE’s history.

Twenty-one years is a long time by any measure. Jihyo joined JYP as a trainee back when she was just a child, and she grew up inside that system alongside future TWICE members. So what does it mean when someone leaves the only professional home she has ever known?

Jihyo’s New Chapter After TWICE

Jihyo’s Instagram post read like a farewell letter and a fresh start wrapped into one. She thanked fans for sticking with her through two decades of training, debut, and global stardom. She also confirmed that she has officially established her own company, though details about its name and direction remain limited for now.

This is not a retirement announcement. TWICE fans, often called ONCE, immediately flooded social media with questions about what comes next. Will Jihyo continue promoting with TWICE? Will her new company handle only her solo work, or will it grow into something bigger?

Industry watchers note that Jihyo’s move follows a familiar pattern among senior K-pop idols. Many veteran performers eventually seek more control over their own careers after years inside a major label system. Her decision fits a broader shift happening across TWICE’s generation of idols, many of whom are now in their late twenties and early thirties.

For readers curious about the full announcement, you can review additional reporting from Maeil Business Newspaper, which first covered Jihyo’s statement in detail.

Why TWICE’s Jihyo Left JYP Entertainment

JYP Entertainment built TWICE from the ground up, debuting the group in 2015 after a survival show that captured national attention. Jihyo was trained longer than almost anyone else in the K-pop industry, joining JYP as early as 2005. That means her relationship with the company predates TWICE itself by a full decade.

Why leave now, after such deep roots? The summary suggests this was less a dramatic exit and more a natural evolution. Idols who have spent their entire adult lives under one label often reach a point where founding an independent venture feels like the logical next step.

Think of it like a longtime employee who helped build a company from scratch, then finally opens her own shop down the street. The skills, the audience, and the trust are already there. What changes is who controls the decisions, the schedule, and the direction of the work going forward.

Jihyo’s case carries extra weight because TWICE remains one of the most commercially successful girl groups in the world. Her choice to establish an independent company while TWICE continues its group activities signals a hybrid path. It is not a clean break, but rather a careful renegotiation of her professional life.

What This Means for TWICE’s Future

TWICE operates under a renewed contract structure that allows individual members some flexibility outside group promotions. Jihyo’s new company likely fits inside that framework rather than threatening the group’s existence. Still, fans are right to wonder how this changes the balance within TWICE.

Will Jihyo need to split her schedule between her company’s projects and TWICE’s group comebacks? Can a member run her own business while remaining fully committed to eight other members and a shared brand? These are not small questions, and the answers will likely unfold slowly over the next year.

K-pop history offers some guidance here. Members of groups like EXO, Girls’ Generation, and Big Bang have launched solo ventures or companies while staying loyal to their original group identity. TWICE has weathered member departures before and managed to adapt its structure without losing momentum.

That track record offers some reassurance, even as new uncertainty settles in. Jihyo’s announcement does not appear to signal her departure from TWICE itself, based on available reporting. Instead, it suggests she wants more ownership over projects that exist alongside her group work.

A Bigger Pattern in K-pop Business

Jihyo’s decision reflects a larger trend reshaping the K-pop industry. More idols are founding their own labels, management companies, or content studios once their initial contracts mature. This shift reflects growing financial literacy and negotiating power among artists who were once simply trainees under a single system.

Here is where it’s worth pausing for a moment of honest reflection. The idol training system in Korea has produced extraordinary global stars, but it has also drawn fair criticism for placing enormous pressure on very young trainees for years before debut. Jihyo’s own 21-year journey, starting as a child, captures both sides of that story at once.

The same system that demands sacrifice and discipline from children also builds genuine skill, lasting friendships, and eventually real independence for those who endure it. Jihyo founding her own company looks less like an escape and more like a graduation, proof that the system can, at its best, lead somewhere good. That does not erase the hard years it took to get there, but it does offer a hopeful marker for how far the industry has grown.

For global fans watching from outside Korea, this story offers a small window into how K-pop stars manage long careers. (Twenty-one years in any industry would earn you a very generous retirement party in most countries.) TWICE’s continued popularity, paired with Jihyo’s new independence, suggests the group’s story is far from finished.

Jihyo’s path forward will likely shape how other veteran idols approach their own next chapters. Her company could become a small but important case study in artist-led business models within K-pop. What do you think TWICE fans should expect from Jihyo’s next move?

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