1Verse is a multinational boy band which includes North Korea-born Seok and Hyuk among its five members.
We all know that K-pop is huge—not just in its home country of South Korea but in almost all corners of the world.
The POST recently reported on the numbers: K-pop alone was valued at US$8.1 billion in 2021 and is estimated to reach US$20 billion by 2031, per a report by Allied Market Research. In 2023, the South Korean music industry achieved a record-breaking sales revenue totaling 12.6 trillion won or US$9.3 billion, according to Statista.
With K-pop still proving itself a powerful force in the global entertainment industry, agencies regularly churn out groups for longtime fans looking for something new and to also amass a slew of new K-pop addicts. While a new K-pop group debuting always makes headlines, one stands out among the pack of newbies because of one special fact: it has not just one, but two former North Korean defectors as members.
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Yep, you read that right, the Hermit Kingdom finally has its representation in the crazy world of K-pop with the debut of boy group 1Verse (pronounced as “universe”). Managed by agency Singing Beetle, 1Verse is a five-member multinational boy band, with a showcase scheduled for July 18 which will be live-streamed for fans around the world, The Korea Herald reports.
While it’s not exactly news for K-pop groups to have non-Korean members, we have Blackpink’s Lisa who hails from Thailand as the most popular example, this will be the first time any South Korean group will be featuring a comrade from its not-so-friendly neighbor to the north.
The men of the hour are Hyuk, 25, and Seok, 24, both born in North Korea and later on defected to the South. K-pop is banned in North Korea, with very harsh penalties for those caught listening to it. In 2024, for instance, the regime publicly executed a 22-year-old man for watching and sharing South Korean films and music. In the same year, North Korean teenagers were sentenced to hard labor for watching and distributing K-dramas.
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In an interview with South China Morning Post (you can watch the video here), Seok said that having lived near the border, it was possible for him to buy and sell K-pop songs illegally from smugglers. “My older sister listened to a lot of K-pop, so I remember hearing a bit of it while I was in primary school,” he shared. Seok’s unni (ate) must be so proud of having her dongsaeng (younger brother) debut as a K-pop idol. I can’t help but smile at the thought.
Given how cruel and inhumane the DPKR is, it is refreshing—even inspiring—to see two North Koreans on the cusp of success in the cutthroat entertainment industry of South Korea. Their debuting as global pop idols is made even more remarkable by the fact that the chances of defectors making it out of North Korea alive is very slim. Pre-pandemic, a few hundred successfully escaped, but post-pandemic the numbers plummeted to less than a hundred each year, just 24 last year, and only one in the first quarter of 2025, per data from the Ministry of Unification.
Hyuk shared that it was his mom who first defected to South Korea. He admitted that it took some time for him to decide if he’ll follow her, but then people around him were saying ‘At least you should go and live well, don’t starve and survive.’” Then finally in 2013, he took a leap of faith and followed his eomma (mother) down south. When I checked the data from the Unification Ministry, only 369 male North Koreans successfully entered the South in that year, Hyuk being among those few lucky ones.
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The other members of 1Verse also come from different countries—actually, there’s not a single South Korean in the roster—there’s Japanese member Aito, Chinese-American Kenny, and Nathan, a Laotian-Thai American.
Given the multicultural background of 1Verse’s members, aside from the usual training, they practice each other’s languages and engage in daily conversations to “build mutual understanding and strong team chemistry,” according to their agency Singing Beetle. In fact, the group’s name, 1Verse, reflects the idea that each member brings their unique “verse” to form one unified “universe” of stories and identity, according to a report on The Korea Times.
Singing Beetle has immersed all five members on social media and YouTube, ensuring that they have amassed a strong fanbase in the months leading to their official debut. Last week, the group revealed its official fandom name: 5Tarz. The agency said that, thanks to their strong social media presence, 1Verse already has fanbases in multiple countries including the U.S., the U.K., Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, and the Philippines.
Going back to the SCMP interview, Hyuk said that achieving their dreams comes first, adding, “So long as we’re on the path towards that, I don’t think my background or other cultural experiences matter.”
Many are rooting for you, Seok and Hyuk (you can count me in)! You deserve the spotlight after all you’ve been through in your home country, and also in your new home with all the notoriously grueling K-pop training. Aja! Fighting!
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