You might have heard about the ‘Big 3’ in Korean pop culture which refers to the biggest K-pop agencies, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment. Anyone who debuts under them is sure to gain recognition and be successful. However, that was the case a few years ago until boy groups like BTS and ATEEZ proved them wrong. Both BTS and ATEEZ debuted with lesser-known labels, BigHit and KQ Entertainment but that didn’t stop them from achieving their dreams. It has been a while since BTS has established itself not only in the domestic industry but also in the worldwide music field. And ATEEZ is already here to continue their legacy.
The boy group made their debut in 2018 with eight members: SeongHwa, HongJoong, Yunho, Yeosang, Wooyoung, San, Mingi and Jongho and have released three Japanese albums, six Korean-language EPs and one full-length album to date. All of their albums have topped the charts and surprisingly, have sold more than one million physical copies in South Korea, that too, within just a span of few years after their debut. Let’s try to know more about these new talents closely who are soon going to dominate the music charts worldwide.
SeongHwa
Birth name: Park Seong Hwa
Born – April 3, 1998
SeongHwa is termed as the mom of the group who loves cleaning the dorms, cooks the best food among the rest of the boys, and even nags at them to keep their stuff tidy and in place. Although he is the oldest member of the group, he catches the attention of the new fans almost immediately owing to his attractive visuals. SeongHwa had auditioned for the K-pop survival show ‘MIXNINE,’ but he wasn’t selected. But that doesn’t matter, does it? One of the main vocalists in the band, he has a powerful stage presence with an on-stage and off-stage duality that literally puts everyone in awe.
The other members of ATEEZ have stated how incredible this guy is when it comes to supporting his friends and bandmates. He provides emotional support to everyone whenever necessary, feels genuinely happy with other people’s success and strongly encourages self-love. He is no less than a fictional male character in books, written by a woman, on whom everyone has a crush.
HongJoong
Birth name: Kim Hong Joong
Born – November 7, 1998
The leader of the group, HongJoong is one of the four contestants who passed the audition for the show, ‘MIXNINE’ and later debuted with numbers like ‘Treasure’ and ‘Pirate King’. He is skilled in various fields including singing, rapping, playing instruments and composing. A responsible and hard-working leader, HongJoong always tries his level best to take care of his fellow band members with love and respect. He puts a lot of time and effort into creating amazing covers of his favourite artists’ songs, some of which includes ‘Space Oddity,’ ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘Black or white’.
Apart from all of his qualities, HongJoong is also a proud and vocal advocate for a number of social causes including ‘Polished Man,’ ‘Dear Heart,’ ‘Happy Hippie Ring’ and ‘Remember Sewol’. In an interview, he has mentioned that he considers each and every ANITY as his friend and loves them the most.
Yunho
Birth name: Jeong Yun Ho
Born – March 23, 1999
He is a versatile singer and can make his voice suit almost every genre ranging from soft and yearning notes to hard-hitting and powerful ones. He holds the position of a vocalist and the main dancer of ATEEZ with sharp and killer dance moves that look absolutely effortless and natural. He is a fast learner and has the ability to pick up any dance move easily and keeps it in his mind even after a very long time.
Yunho is the energizer of the group who lives every moment of his life either laughing or trying to make others laugh. He has a natural inclination towards humour and leaves no opportunity to show this side of his during variety shows. Yunho is adorable and he knows that. The boy stays very optimistic even during hard times and never feels shy to express his love for his band members. As mentioned earlier, he is super-energetic, thus loves doing active things like gaming and sports.
Yeosang
Birth name: Kang Yeo Sang
Born – June 15, 1999
Yeosang is very popular in the fandom when it comes to his visuals. His birthmark on the left eye is one of his most beautiful features even though he says he’s insecure about it. As much as he is skilled at dancing, Yeosang is also a good vocalist with a unique voice that one would like to play for hours. He is a former BigHit trainee but later auditioned for MIXNINE.
He is best friends with his bandmate Wooyoung whom he has known for a long time. However, he treats all of them with equal love and sincerity, even though he himself is an introvert and has a dry sense of humour. Yeosang is an observant and calm person and one of the most thoughtful and mature ATEEZ members. According to ATEEZ fans, he’s the idol who grew on them gradually though they didn’t notice him at first. He loves collecting drones and has a total of five drones as of now.
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San
Birth name: Choi San
Born – July 10, 1999
It’s pretty funny how he had begun his career as a lead vocalist only and didn’t use to dance at all and now he is termed as the lead dancer of the band. That alone shows how much he’s hard-working and passionate about learning from his bandmates. The fandom is really find of his vocals as he never fails to bring the required emotions and characters to his singing. Not to mention how he absolutely owns the stage when he performs, especially his performances on the songs with darker concepts with haunting and sensual quality.
San is everything we would like a person to be, humble, honest and polite. He is indeed a proud country boy who loves to talk about his hometown Namhae with an endearing smile on his face, showing off his dimples. San is arguably the most popular member of ATEEZ and stands out even among a team of exceptional performers.
Mingi
Birth name: Song Min Gi
Born – August 9, 1999
Song Min Gi is one of those K-pop idols who have the most distinguished rap voices. People can recognise his voice even if they have heard him rapping just once. No one can help but admire his confident and cool stage presence even though he has struggled a lot in this field in the past. He is the main rapper as well as the main dancer of ATEEZ with amazing control over his body. He has the ability to provide great fluidity to his movements making them look natural and complete.
Let’s talk about this boy’s dual personality. While on stage he looks super badass and someone who can flip your entire world, he’s as soft as a teddy bear off the stage. In the beginning, he appeared to be a bit of a goofball but it’s just that he’s not expressive about his feelings. In reality, he is quite observant, introspective and super smart. His relationship with his fans is one of a kind as he can sit and talk with them alone for hours as if they are his buddies. He took a break for a period of eight months to cope up with his psychological anxiety. Thankfully, our idol is back now and has returned to doing all the group activities.
Wooyoung
Birth name: Jung Woo-young
Born – November 26, 1999
The boy can be either the sweetest person in the room or the most annoying one! No doubt he is loud and quirky most of the time, but he has a genuine and affectionate heart. He was once a BigHit trainee but left the agency and joined KQ Entertainment because of his friendship with Yeosang. If that’s not friendship goals then nothing is!
We have seen him evolve as a dancer and now he is known for his captivating and impressive stage performance. He has a high-pitched voice which is very soothing to listen to and suit the parts that he sings. A labelled entertainer, he is very good at socialising with people effortlessly which makes the environment more relaxed and less awkward whenever there is a tight situation.
JongHo
Birth name: Choi Jong Ho
Born – October 12, 2000
The maknae of ATEEZ, the boy just turned twenty-one this month. In spite of being the youngest of all, JungHo has a mature heart that wants to care for people. Contradictory enough, right? At least we know why he is known as the strict but dorky dad of the group!
Let’s talk about his voice first. He has one of the best vocals in the industry and his voice gives the boy band an emotionally volatile edge. From powerful high notes to chilling vocals, JongHo can pull all of them off. Not only is he an amazing singer but also is quite impressive in acting. He made his acting debut with the 2021 TV series, ‘Imitation,’ playing the character of Hyuk. He’s physically very strong and loves to exercise and play various sports.
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