[HA ROOKIE SPOTLIGHT] SEVENTEEN

Pledis Label officially debuted their 13 member boy group, SEVENTEEN, on May 26, 2015!

The group originally had seventeen members who were active through “Seventeen TV” in 2012-2014 in a total of five seasons. They showcased their talents by holding performances and more through the live streaming and many have fallen for the members of Seventeen. Now in 2015, only thirteen members debut but they debut strong with their first mini album “17 Carat.” The group still continue to keep their name as Seventeen explaining that the reason behind their name meant that there are 13 members, 3 units but they are still 1 team, making them 17. The group performed a total of two tracks for their debut, including their charismatic song “Shining Diamond” and their adorable title song “Adore U.” Through their debut stages, they showcased two sides of their music.

Shining Diamond –

Adore U –

Let’s meet the members of SEVENTEEN now!

The members are split into 3 sub-units including Hip-Hop Team, Vocal Team and Performance Team.

The Hip-Hop Team consist of members S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, Vernon.

S.Coups is the leader of the group, as well as, the leader of the Hip-Hop Team. His real name is Choi Seung Cheol and his birthday is August 8, 1995. They call him the father of Seventeen as he has trained for a total of 6 years and was originally supposed to be a member of NU’EST and is formally a member of Tempest before Seventeen was created. His role models are Zico, Yunho and G-Dragon. Fun fact: his favorite singer is Taeyang.
Wonwoo who’s real name is Jeon Won Woo is a member of the Hip-Hop Team and his birthday lands on July 17, 1996. His specialty includes writing lyrics, rapping and dancing. He was a trainee for a total of 4 years. Fun fact: he originally wanted to be a singer but after being told he had a great voice for rapping, he looked into it and soon enough, pursued rapping.
Mingyu‘s real name is Kim Mingyu, was born on April 6, 1997 and is now a member of the Hip-Hop Team. Mingyu also trained for 4 years before debuting with SEVENTEEN. He is known as the loudest member of the group and he is also the tallest. He wants to pursue acting one day. Fun fact: his role model is T.O.P.
Vernon is the last rapper of the Hip-Hop Team and is born on February 18, 1998. His real name is Hansol Vernon Choi and he was born in New York before moving to Korea at the age of 5. He trained for a total of 3 years and 3 months. Even though he is very charismatic on stage, the member was voted as the most shy by the members of SEVENTEEN. Fun fact: he plays guitar which he learned from his father.

The Vocal Team consist of members Woozi, Jeonghan, Joshua, DK, Seungkwan.

Woozi is the leader of the vocal team. He is the shortest of the group but is deeply talented! His real name is Lee Jihoon and he was born on November 22, 1996. He trained for a total of 5 years and his specialty is producing, composing, and writing lyrics. The members voted him the most hard working member. Fun fact: he composes and makes the lyrics for most of Seventeen’s songs.
Jeonghan‘s full name is Yoon Jeong Han and was born on October 4, 1995. He trained for a total 2 years and 2 months before debuting with SEVENTEEN. He calls himself Angel due to his birthday being 10.04 which is 1004 (in Korean, the number “Cheonsa” means “Angel”). Even though he seems like a quiet person, he says he really isn’t. Fun fact: he ranks himself 3rd in looks in the group.
Joshua grew up in Los Angeles, California before moving to Korea and training for 2 years and 2 months. He was born on December 30, 1995 and his real name is Joshua Hong or in Korean Hong Jisoo. The singer plays guitar and was apart of the praise team and played the guitar at his church. He says he wants to be like Shinhwa. Fun facts: He is a fan of YouTube stars AJ Rafael, Gabe Bondoc and Jeff Bernat. He is also a fan of EXO and his favorite Korean artist is 2BiC.
DK‘s real name is Lee Seokmin and was born on February 18, 1997. He shares a birthday with member Vernon who is only 1 year older than he is. He was a trainee for a total of 2 years and 7 months. DK is the last member to join SEVENTEEN. The members say he is the funniest member among them all. He was a part of a rock band when he was in middle school. Fun fact: his role model is Yoon Dohyun and Moon Myungjin.
SeungKwan‘s full name is Boo Seung Kwan and his birthday is on Janauary 16, 1998. The singer has plenty of specialties like singing, writing lyrics, MC-ing, DJ-ing, and vocal imitations. He trained for a total of 3 years and 2 months. He was offered to join JYP Entertainment (home to 2PM, miss A, Wonder Girls and Got7) but rejected the idea. He says his role model is Kim Junsu of JYJ as he has been active in musicals and through solos. Fun fact: his favorite food is hamburgers.

The Performance Team consist of members Hoshi, Jun, The8, Dino.

Hoshi‘s real name is Kwon Soonyoung and he is the leader of the performance team. His birthday is June 15, 1996 and he trained for 4 years. He is in charge of moves in SEVENTEEN and often choreographs the routines for the group. He speaks Japanese and basic Chinese. He was voted by the members to be the cutest and to be one of the most hardworking. Fun fact: He has a black belt in Taekwondo.
Jun is one of the Chinese members in the group. His real name is Wen Junhui (or in Korean Moon Joonhwi). His English name is Jerry and he was born on June 10, 1996. He trained for a total of 2 years and 7 months. This member plays the piano and is an actor in China. It’s been said that he admires Ren of NU’EST. Fun facts: he knows Wushu and his role models are Henry and Zhoumi of Super Junior M because they receive a lot of love in both Korea and China.
The8 is the 2nd Chinese member in the group. His full name is Xiu Ming Hao (or in Korean Seo Myung Ho). He was born on November 7, 1997. He trained for only 1 year and 5 months. His specialty includes break dancing, martial arts, and even tumbling. His role model is also Henry of Super Junior M because he is Chinese and works hard. He want’s to be like him. He never skips a meal! He will wake up 1 hour before just to eat, even if that means waking up at 3AM. Fun fact: he is a b-boy and has been practicing wushu since he was 5 years old.
Dino is the magnae of not only the Performance team but also the group.His birthday is on February 11, 1999 and his real name is Lee Chan. He was a trainee for 3 years. He is a fan of EXO and his role model is Michael Jackson. He also enjoys choreography as he did the dance for “Jam Jam.” Fun fact: he appeared on MBC The Great 2 and Korea’s Got Talent.

Check out their music video for Adore U below!