November 29, 2024
SEOUL – The four members of 1VERSE – Hyuk, Seok, Aito and Kenny – are about to achieve the first milestone that countless K-pop trainees dream of: an official debut with an album and showcases.
This group, tirelessly honing their skills with the goal of debuting by the end of this year, has one special distinction. It is the first K-pop group featuring North Korean defectors.
When 24-year-old Hyuk and Seok, who escaped North Korea and arrived in South Korea 10 years and 5 years ago, respectively, make their official debut, they will become the first North Korean defector idols in K-pop history.
Hyuk, who was a “kkotjebi,” a child living on the streets, fled North Korea in January 2013 after receiving a message from his mother who had defected in 2011. The 13-year-old boy fled alone, meeting other defectors just before crossing the Chinese border, arriving in South Korea after a grueling six-month journey.
“Life in North Korea was hard. From the age of nine, I lived on the streets, begging for food to survive,” said Hyuk in an interview with The Korea Herald on Oct. 15.
In South Korea, Hyuk worked part-time jobs from the age of 17 while attending school, never imagining that he could pursue a career as a K-pop singer.
“I didn’t know much about K-pop, but in high school, I wrote rap lyrics for fun and performed at a school talent show. My teacher encouraged me to keep pursuing it, which made me want to become a rapper,” Hyuk said.
Hyuk went on to university but dropped out after about a year and went to work in a factory. Just when he was about to give up on his dream of pursuing music, he met the Singing Beetle CEO Michelle Cho and became a K-pop trainee.
Seok fled North Korea and arrived in South Korea in 2019 after receiving messages from his uncles, who had already settled here. Seok, who had played soccer in North Korea, continued to play in South Korea for a while but had to give up his dream due to the challenges of adjusting to his new life.
“I deeply regretted having to give up something I loved,” said Seok, adding that the experience of abandoning his dream of being a soccer player made him even more desperate to pursue his second dream of becoming a singer.
Although he loved to sing, Seok had never considered the possibility of becoming a K-pop idol.
“I knew nothing about professional singing or dancing, but after hearing me sing, the (Singing Beetle) CEO told me I had potential. I knew that I might never get another chance, so I grabbed it with all my heart,” said Seok.
Seok (left) and Kenny. PHOTO: SINGING BEETLE/THE KOREA HERALD
The youngest member and the team’s main dancer, Aito, from Japan, has been breakdancing since six. “My sister loved Super Junior, so I naturally watched a lot of K-pop performances from a young age, and I started dreaming of becoming a performer.”
Kenny, a Chinese American, also dreamed of being a performer from a young age. Last year, at 20, he left everything behind, including college, and came to Korea to pursue music full-time. Signing his contract, he learned that he would be forming a team with North Korean defectors. “Honestly, at first, it felt a bit scary and surprising,” said Kenny.
Asked how the members bond despite their different backgrounds, Kenny said, “Everyone has the same goal: creating a group that’s good enough for the international market. And at the same time, we don’t harbor stereotypes about each other.”
One of the most urgent tasks for the members coming from such different backgrounds was language.
Hyuk and Seok began learning English, starting with the alphabet, while Kenny and Aito studied Korean. Since the four members became a team in January 2024, they have endeavored to become a solid team. Every morning, the members still take vocabulary tests and spend a lot of time together outside of practice to build teamwork.
Seok admitted that the language barrier was challenging, but emphasized that their care for each other helped them overcome it.
“Just because you speak the same language as a hometown friend doesn’t mean you always get along. Even though we sometimes misunderstand each other due to the language barrier or cultural differences, we know that we genuinely care for each other, and that’s what matters,” Seok said.
Aito (left) and Hyuk. PHOTO: SINGING BEETLE/THE KOREA HERALD
Unlike Aito and Kenny, who grew up surrounded by dance and music, everything was a challenge for Hyuk and Seok, who had to start from scratch. When asked what was the hardest part of the trainee life, both members shyly smiled and said, “Everything.”
“The songs I grew up listening to were very different from K-pop, so it was tough. The hardest moments were when I felt like I wasn’t improving. But I desperately wanted to prove that I could do this,” said Seok, adding that even his family was against him pursuing the K-pop dream.
Hyuk said that the thrill of being on stage was too great to give up. “I learned everything from scratch — vocals, rap, dance, how to move my body and singing and rapping techniques. But once I stood on stage, it was so much fun. Connecting with the audience felt like a dream and was so meaningful.
“Because the stage brings me so much joy, I found the courage and the will to push through the training.”
Kenny, who is actively involved in working on their debut album, explained that their first album would focus on sharing the members’ stories. “Our basic concept is to tell everyone’s story. For the debut album, we want to share our stories first and then tell our fans that we want to hear theirs.” While the exact date of the album release could not be confirmed, CEO Cho said it could happen by early next year.
Hyuk, who hopes to write lyrics based on his experiences, said he wants to touch people with “honesty.” “I believe that everyone has emotions they can’t fully express to others. I want to be someone who can knock on that door through music and my story.”
Hyuk emphasized that he wants to approach the public as an ordinary person they can connect with.
“Before I became a trainee, I thought idols were people living in a completely different world. But we want to be seen as ordinary people, and be a group that can bring a lot of smiles to our fans,” said Hyuk.
Aito expressed his hope that 1VERSE’s music would deliver a message of “resilience” and comfort to listeners. “Even if you make mistakes, don’t give up, and keep moving forward with the support of those cheering for you,” he said.
“We want 1VERSE to be ‘universal,’” Kenny said, concluding, “We’re not just making our own music; we want to make music that can connect with everyone in some way.”
Clockwise from top: 1VERSE members Seok, Aito, Kenny and Hyuk. PHOTO: SINGING BEETLE/THE KOREA HERALD