1VERSE Members Flee North Korea, Now Chase K-pop Dreams
A new K-pop group called 1VERSE is making waves not only in their music but in the background story. Two of the five members of this group are young men who defected from North Korea and now find themselves performing in the South Korean spotlight.
Their names are Hyuk and Seok. Hyuk escaped North Korea at the age of 12. He became a factory worker in South Korea. One day, as he did his regular shift, he encountered a representative from a music label. That brief encounter turned his life around. He started taking rap lessons every weekend.
Seok took a different route. He used to listen to K-pop through USB sticks smuggled into North Korea. It was f(x)’s LA chA TA that revealed to him a world he was unaware of. He made it to South Korea years later, too, and discovered music.
K-pop Group 1VERSE Unites Teens From Four Nations With Shared Stories of Struggle
1VERSE is not merely another idol band. Joining Hyuk and Seok are Aito from Japan, Kenny, who is Chinese-American, and Nathan from America, who has Lao and Thai descent. They make up a group that best illustrates how music transcends boundaries.
Michelle Cho, a once-SM Entertainment rep turned independent label owner, created the group. She believed in these boys not because they were perfect, but because they were real.
Their name, 1VERSE, translates to every member being like another verse of a large song. They began posting online months ago and now have followers all around the world—from Indonesia to Mexico to the States.
Debut Song ‘Shattered’ Echoes the Pain of the Past and Hope for What’s Ahead
Their English-language debut song, Shattered, is a love song about healing and heartbreak. The fans online comment that the lyrics resonate deeper when you know where the members are from. One of the comments stated, “Now I know why this song made me cry. It’s not just music. It’s survival.” For 1VERSE, this debut is only the start but it’s already something exceptionally special.
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