In order to get to know the backgrounds of each ENHYPEN member and understand their individual personalities, I will organize and write about what I have researched about what motivated them to become trainees, the differences in the process, their trainee periods, etc.
For information on the length of time they spent as trainees, please take a look at the stacked graph tallying up the members by agency.
ENHYPEN members: The reason they became trainees
Each member of ENHYPEN has shared an episode that they believe was the reason they became a trainee during VLIVE and interviews, so we’ll summarize them for each member.
BTS appears on “I-LAND (Part 2),” and there’s no doubt that the members of ENHYPEN have been influenced by them to some degree.
Heeseung dreamed of being a singer
As he said during a VLIVE with Jungwon on November 27, 2020, he dreamed of becoming a singer from a young age.
With high school entrance exams looming, his father suggested he try for an entertainment high school.
For more information, please see the section “Scouts: Heeseung, Jay, Sunghoon, Jungwon.”
Jay had an “ARMY (BTS fan)” friend
As he said in his VLIVE with Heeseung on May 21, 2021, he was inspired to become a trainee at Big Hit Entertainment (hereinafter referred to as Big Hit) because he had an “ARMY (BTS fan)” friend.
He revealed that he got a BTS Jimin sticker from a friend and put it near the power button on his computer.
Buon appetito🍽
(“Have a good meal🍽”, May 21, 2021)(6′14″～)
HEESEUNG “I’ve been to Jongseong*1‘s home.”
JAY “Right.”
HEESEUNG “The wallpaper was Jimin’s picture. On hour computer.”
JAY “No. It wasn’t the computer…”
HEESEUNG “Was it a sticker?”
JAY “I got it from one of my friends. When I was in middle school, I joined Big Hit as a trainee. Then, one of my friends introduced BTS to me. This ARMY friend told me about who BTS is.”
HEESEUNG “Yes.”
JAY “When I was preparing for the training, that friend introduced them to me. I watched them and I learned about them then. So, as a gift… Well, I started liking them, saying ‘They’re so cool!’ I guess the friend was proud of it. The friend gave me a Jimin’s sticker. So… Thet’s why.”
HEESEUNG “The sticker. It was on his personal computer.”
JAY “Right, on the mainframe. I put it on the power button of it.
HEESEUNG “It was cute. It showed that he was a fan of them.”*1 Jongseong: Jay’s real name. Park Jong-Seong
Weverse
Jake watched BTS perform
Jake dreamed of becoming a K-pop artist after seeing BTS perform in America.
In I-LAND (Part 2) EP. 7, he said that he had a big dream: “I want to become a global idol and spread K-pop to the small town in Australia where I lived.“
“A growing character who has proven his potential” Jake (1′05–30″）
🗓August 14, 2020Mnet K-POP
Sunghoon decides to pursue a new dream
Sunghoon also seems to have been inspired by going to see a BTS concert.
Like Jake, his background was also revealed in EP. 7 of “I-LAND (Part 2)”.
At the urging of his mother, he took up figure skating for 10 years and finished 7th in the Korean men’s figure skating world, winning several medals, but more than that, he was attracted to the BTS stage and their amazing humanity, and he found a new dream to be like him.
“Shining Presence” Park Sung-hoon（0′58″–1′48″）
🗓August 14, 2020Mnet K-POP
Sunoo has always liked to sing in front of people
Sunoo has always loved to be in front of people since his school days, and actively participated in choral competitions in middle school. In high school, he became interested in K-POP and joined the dance club, so he seems to have always loved singing and dancing.
He seems to have had confidence in his singing since he was in elementary school, and his teachers at school would often tell his mother, “Why don’t you appear on TV on a music program?“
When he was in the second year of junior high school, he was invited to audition by an agency, and he tried it, and it seems that he experienced failure when his voice changed, but it seems that he has auditioned several times in the past.
Jungwon was introduced through a friend’s mother
As he said in a VLIVE with Heeseung on November 27, 2020, this started when the mother of a friend who was in Big Hit showed a photo of Jungwon to the casting team.
ㅈㅇ ㅎㅅ🐈🦌
(“Jungwon Heeseung🐈🦌”, November 27, 2020)(30′58″–)
Weverse
JUNGWON “For me, Before I joined Big Hit, I was in another agency. But my friend was in Big Hit”
HEESEUNG “Who?”
HEESEUNG JUNGWON ‘Oh, …’ (can’t tell you the name)
JUNGWON “I’m really close with that friend and his mother showed my picture, and she showed my picture to Big Hit casting team. And that’s how I casted.”
NI-KI dreams from SHINee’s stage
NI-KI began his entertainment career in Japan as “Riki Jackson” when he was in elementary school.
He appeared on stage at Tokyo Dome as a dancer for SHINee Kids during SHINee’s “SHINee WORLD 2017 -FIVE- Special Edition” (September 2nd – September 24th, 2017), and it seems that this is where his dream began.
The episode became a hot topic in the content video “Complaints Manager Heo” posted on SBS’s YouTube channel “한밤 HANBAM.”
[Complaints Manager Heo] ENHYPEN is back as vampires 🧛 and Young-ji is here to solve their problems! (5’40”–6’37”)
🗓June 13, 2023Note: The Complaint Manager is played by KARA member Heo Young-ji.
한밤 HANBAM
NI-KI appeared on stage alongside the other SHINee members with a deeply emotional expression on his face, but he said he was instructed by his mother to act out his crying side.
It may be an excuse to hide his embarrassment, but even if it’s just acting, his abilities are impressive.
ENHYPEN members: The “process” of becoming a trainee
When I looked into the “process” that members go through to become trainees, I found that it can be broadly divided into two parts: scouting and auditioning.
Scouts: Heeseung, Jay, Sunghoon, Jungwon
It’s well-known that Heeseung was scouted by multiple entertainment agencies when he graduated from middle school, and he himself talked about it on VLIVE.
ㅈㅇ ㅎㅅ🐈🦌
(“Jungwon Heeseung🐈🦌”, November 27, 2020)(31′38″–)
Weverse
HEESEUNG “I’ve said this a lot. It’s my dream since I was 6. But I had no confidence and couldn’t train as a singer and just living my life normally. But when I passed by the high school my dad told me ‘Try the preliminary exam’, so I went there to take the exam. But I didn’t make it. And on my way, I got cast by some companies about 6 companies.”
JUNGWON “Really?”
HEESEUNG “Yeah, about 6–7 companies. And because of that this is boasting… When I was on my way they gave me their name card.”
JUNGWON “Wow”
HEESEUNG “And among them Big Hit is the quickest who wanted to sign contract with me, and because I want to go to Big Hit.”
JUNGWON “It’s like destiny.”
HEESEUNG “I think so too.”
JUNGWON “It was destiny to become ENHYPEN.”
HEESEUNG “There is a connection.”
JUNGWON “Like our ‘connect!'”
Jay was apparently scouted when he visited Lotte World on a middle school field trip.
If the field trip was a school trip, I guess it was around the second year of middle school.
Sunghoon and Jungwon were also apparently scouted.
Details were published in the April 10, 2023 issue of Weverse Magazine.
Jungwon was approached after completing his traineeship at another agency, while Sunghoon was scouted after two years of constant persuasion.
Audition: Jake, Sunoo, NI-KI
Jake is famous for taking part in a global audition and beating out fierce competition with around 500 applicants to win.
It was also featured on “I-LAND.”
Sunoo also spoke later on VLIVE about being selected through an audition.
2월의 마지막 날 with ENHYPEN 🔀
(“ENHYPEN and the last day of February🔀”, February 28, 2021)(31′12″–)
Weverse
JUNGWON “SUNOO, how did you join this?”
SUNOO “How did I become a trainee?”
JUNGWON “Yes.”
HEESEUNG “I heard he was scouted on the street.”
SUNOO “It’s something different.”
JAKE “He was a trainee at another company.”
SUNGHOON “Wasn’t it an audition?”
SUNOO “Yes. I passed an audition.”
JAKE “It was a similar audition to mine.”
SUNOO “But I…”
JAKE “Not the same one.”
HEESEUNG “Global.”
SUNOO “Not the same one. I was in the first batch and JAKE was in the 2nd.”
JAKE “Right.”
HEESEUNG “Was it a global audition?”
SUNOO “Yes.”
NI-KI moved to Korea in August 2019, where he auditioned for BELIFT LAB, passed, and became a trainee.
The video was also posted on their official YouTube channel, with NI-KI saying on VLIVE that he performed a dance cover of BTS Jimin’s “Lie” at the audition.
선우의 궁금증 연구소 : 니키 편🧐
(“Sunoo’s Curiosity Lab: Niki Edition🧐”, March 14, 2021)(12′54″–)
SUNOO “And, any cover dance you want to do in the future?”
NI-KI “A dance cover?”
SUNOO “Is there any?”
NI-KI “I did it once.”
SUNOO “So, I… Jimin’s ‘Lie’.”
NI-KI “‘Lie’.”
SUNOO “That’s really… It’s got so many viewers and you dance so well.”
NI-KI “Yes.”
SUNOO “It was such a huge hit. Is there anything else you want to try?”
NI-KI “But, from all the dances I covered, I was the most confident about ‘Lie’ actually. If I were to share a TMI*1, this is the song I did on the audition to go into BELIFT. This was.”
SUNOO “Really?”
NI-KI “Yes.”
SUNOO “Wow.”*1 TMI：It is an abbreviation for “Too Much Information,” a coined word used among young people in Korea as “a little information.”
Weverse
NI-KI’s BTS ‘Lie’ DANCE COVER
🗓January 24, 2021ENHYPEN Official YouTube
ENHYPEN members: The “period” of being a trainee
The trainee period of each member revealed on “I-LAND”
Heeseung has the longest trainee period released on the I-LAND program at 3 years and 1 month, followed by Jay’s 2 years and 11 months, Sunghoon’s 2 years and 1 month, Jungwon’s 1 year and 4 months, Sunwoo’s 10 months, Jake’s 9 months, and Niki’s 8 months.
Jay and Jungwon were SM trainees
As mentioned in the previous chapter, it seems that Jay was scouted by SM Entertainment.
Counting backwards from the period of his membership before moving to Big Hit, we can see that he was an SM trainee for about a year.
In his debut interview with Weverse Magazine (December 24, 2020), he talked about how he was scouted on the street and invited to audition for another agency, but that he left due to circumstances.
Jungwon was also a trainee at SM Entertainment.
He was scouted on January 2, 2017, so going back from his time as a trainee at Big Hit, he was enrolled as a trainee at SM for just over two years.
Invitation to ENHYPEN Sunghoon and NI-KI’s birthday party (6′23–42″)
🗓December 27, 2021JUNGWON “I was 13 when I got cast. I remember this clearly. It was January 2nd in 2017. I got to the dorm. I just went for it. And learned how to dance. It was so fun. I was learning both Taekwondo and idol stuff together. But I became a full time trainee. “
W KOREA
At the time, he was in sixth grade (13 years old), and I don’t know if he had a clear intention behind it… but he may have been a trainee, like someone learning a sport.
Showing the trainee period in a graph
Based on what was said in the previous section, I tried to organize the trainee period of each member in a graph. (2016-June 2020)
It seems that filming for “I-LAND” began at the end of May 2020, so I’ve added the trainee period revealed on “I-LAND” and Jay Jungwon’s SM trainee period as a cumulative total from June 2020.
Looking at it this way, we can see that Jungwon spent 3 years and 5 months and Jay spent about 4 years in total, which is longer than Heeseung’s 3 years and 1 month.
All applicants had moved on to become trainees at BELIFT LAB by the time the I-LAND TV program began, so the period is unknown, but I have represented it on a graph.
Considering that Heeseung has stated that he has “maintained the number one spot ever since” since transferring to BELIFT, it is easy to imagine that Jungwon will transfer to BELIFT within a few months.
Thank you for reading to the end.
Dear ENGENE reserve members, did you gain some understanding about the ENHYPEN members’ trainee days?
Also, to my fellow ENGENE seniors, if there are any errors in what I have said about the ENHYPEN members’ trainee days, I would appreciate it if you could point them out to me.
Special Thanks 🙌
Featured Image: Tommy Kwak @ Unsplash
Thumbnail image for embedded video: Jan Alexander, Gerd Altmann @ Pixabay
コメント / Comment