JISOO is a member of the world’s most famous girl group, BLACKPINK, an ambassador for Dior and Cartier, and has so much influence that a single upload to her Instagram can create a huge buzz. Clearly she’s the most popular singer, or even celebrity, in the world. But despite her high profile, there’s also a laid-back, everyday side to JISOO. She sticks with her favorite cartoon characters and games whether they’re in fashion or not and has her own unlikely philosophies on things. In her vlog, she comes across as a regular, everyday, honest person. The singer once described herself as “a rabbit with the shadow of a tiger” and if you get to know her better it’s clear that she’s not easily shaken on the inside. Here’s five tidbits to help you see JISOO in a more colorful light.

​​JISOO the vlogger

JISOO was the last among the BLACKPINK members to start her own YouTube channel, which she calls HAPPY JISOO 103%. Within 15 minutes of posting her first video, “LONDON vlog,” she already had over 100,000 subscribers. Ten hours later, that number jumped to one million, and the video had been watched 13.2 million times. As of April 11, over four million people subscribe to her channel. All the videos on HAPPY JISOO 103% so far show what the performer was up to in the downtime between concerts during BLACKPINK’s tour in Europe this past winter. The videos unfold the life of a hardworking, passionate artist—in London one day, Barcelona the next and Cologne soon after. Of course, there’s also the side of celebrity life where she has to take a charter flight between countries while on tour and have a bodyguard accompany her when she’s out in crowded tourist spots, but JISOO captures it all from her perspective with minimal editing. It makes for the occasional rough but candid moment, haphazard and shaky like a beginner’s vlog would be. Some shots give viewers a taste of the beautiful Christmas atmosphere in Europe, while scenes where she dines belie her true location since JISOO visits Korean restaurants or eats hot pot exclusively. We also get images of tourist life that should be familiar to everyone: wandering around with JENNIE to find some strawberry tanghulu at a market in Berlin, lining up for a popular photo spot and being turned away from a fully booked museum. JISOO’s videos also have a special charm thanks to her calming, kind energy as she quietly narrates her life. She said she named the channel HAPPY JISOO 103% because she “wanted everyone’s happiness index to increase while watching.” And no doubt you’ll find yourself involuntarily smiling if you watch, too.

JISOO, the rabbit with a tiger inside

In an interview with Cosmopolitan Korea, BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky director Caroline Suh describes JISOO: “It’s possible to look at JISOO and see someone gentle and underestimate her inner strength,” she said. “But she’s a really strong person.” JISOO is all smiles, but she’s also very strong on the inside. In the documentary, we learn that JISOO went on stage at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival despite suffering from severe back pain. But in the same film, she explains how she channels her difficulties into stepping stones on a path toward improvement: “I think I figured out how to have fun on stage. Don’t concentrate on just yourself, but feed off this passion raging around you.” If she’s enjoying the moment, it means she’s completely focused on what she needs to do at any given time while also “not regretting or dwelling on the past” (Marie Claire Korea), which is closely related to when she’s called herself “a born hard worker” when interviewed (Marie Claire Korea), pinpointing her “biggest strength”: “never giving up, never feeling defeated and always trying hard and smiling” (Harper’s BAZAAR Korea). The reason she’s able to arrive at a place where she can speak so confidently to her consistent work ethic and acknowledge all the effort she’s put in is all the self-reflection she practices. In the end, JISOO thinks “everyone should create their own role model within themselves” (ELLE Korea), showing what she thinks true positive self-acknowledgement looks like. The kind of gentle exterior paired with inner strength that JISOO possesses is the most beautiful and powerful ability there is, and it belongs exclusively to those who really look at themselves and have passion for what they do.