Defectors will get chance to share their artistry

Korean pop music, or K-Pop, has taken the world by storm in the last half decade or so, with South Korean artists, called “idols”, dominating global charts as of late. In 2012, Psy’s “Gangnam Style” became the first K-Pop song to reach the t

op spot on the Billboard Hot 100. 

In 2018, BTS became the first K-Pop act to debut at the top of the Billboard 200, with the album Love Yourself: Tear.  However, 2025 will bring something new to the table, as for the first time in history, three North Korean idols are expected to debut as members of two different groups.

K-Pop, while extremely popular in South Korea, is actually banned in North Korea, which claims that the genre undermines the country’s socialist ideology and strengthens the democratic influences of the southern half of the Korean peninsula, which is seen as a threat.  Additionally, the government believes that the genre could diminish support for the Kim dynasty.

1Verse, a group under the record label Singing Beetle, initially made headlines in October of 2023, when the company announced that North Korean defectors Hyuk and Seok would be joining the group, at the time known as a pre-debut trainee team called SB Boyz. 

The two were scouted by Singing Beetle founder Michelle Cho, who had heard of the two through friends.

Hyuk, from Kyongsong County in the North Hamgyong province of North Korea, has spoken publicly about his defection, recalling that he was doing farm work and hauling cement shipments by the age of 10, also stealing to provide food for his struggling family.

In 2013, at just the age of 13, Hyuk made the choice to defect so he could live with his mother, who had defected when he was younger. 

Seok, on the other hand, came from a family that was much more financially stable. 

Through his older sister, he listened to K-Pop at a young age, later buying videos of South Korean artists that were smuggled into the country illegally.  In 2019, Seok made the choice to defect at the age of 19.

The upcoming group had already gained attention due to one trainee, Kenny, having appeared on Asia Super Young.  Since the addition of Hyuk and Seok, the group has also announced that new trainees Aito and Nathan have joined.  1Verse is currently slated to debut in the latter half of 2025.

In April of 2025, OAK Company announced their new boy group BE BOYS would debut later in the year.  Among the members is Hak Seong, a North Korean defector who previously competed on Make Mate 1, making it to the final episode but finishing in 13th place, meaning he wouldn’t make his debut in the show’s resulting group, NouerA, which consists of the show’s top seven contestants.

Hak Seong has largely kept the details of his life in North Korea private.  In fact, he revealed that he was a North Korean defector during his time on Make Mate 1, and the only detail he has made public is when he defected, which was in 2017, when Hak Seong was just 13 years old.

BE BOYS has also announced fellow Make Mate 1 contestants Takuma and Won Cheon as members, alongside Build Up contestant Yun Seo, Fantasy Boys contestant Goo Hyun, and new trainee Min Joon.  They are expected to debut in the latter half of 2025 as well.

The debuts of these groups marks a major milestone in K-Pop, as Hyuk, Seok, and Hak Seong are set to make history as the first North Korean idols, and it is almost certain that more will follow.  Numerous entertainment agencies are openly scouting North Korean defectors as part of K-Pop’s expansion outside of South Korea. 

For now, the three of them serve as a reminder that overcoming extremes is possible.