The Aussies Who Are Dominating The K-Pop Industry
More and more Australian performers are finding success in K-Pop — this week I'm taking a look at the ever-growing Aussie line.
The Aussie line in K-Pop — idols who were born and/or raised in Australia — is flourishing. It’s a brutally competitive industry, so it’s exciting to see so many Aussies not just debuting but also achieving great success in the Korean music industry — and frequently, by extension, other global music markets like America and the UK and yes, sometimes even Australia! We need to celebrate them more, so here’s a start…
Rosé from BLACKPINK
Perhaps the most famous Aussie in K-Pop, Rosé was born in New Zealand, but grew up in Melbourne. She auditioned for YG Entertainment when she was 15 and then moved to Seoul, where she was a trainee for four years before debuting in BLACKPINK in 2016. BLACKPINK have since become one of the biggest music acts in the world. Rosé has also released solo music and become an ambassador for brands like Tiffany & Co and Yves Saint Laurent.
Danielle and Hanni from NewJeans
NewJeans only debuted in 2022, but they’re already superstars, and amazingly two of the five members are Australian. Korean-Australian Danielle is from Newcastle in New South Wales. She lived in South Korea with her family for a few years as a child, but spent most of her time in Australia until she moved to Seoul in 2019 at just 14, after successfully auditioning for HYBE (formerly Big Hit). In addition to her activities with NewJeans, she recently voiced the Korean dub of The Little Mermaid live action and became an ambassador for Burberry and YSL Beauty.
The other Aussie NewJeans member is Hanni, who is Vietnamese-Australian, born and raised in Melbourne. She also auditioned for HYBE in 2019, and she moved to Seoul in 2020 at the age of 16. Before debut, she appeared in BTS’s ‘Permission to Dance’ music video, and after debut she became an ambassador for Gucci and Armani Beauty.
Bang Chan and Felix from Stray Kids
Stray Kids is another group with two Aussie members — Bang Chan and Felix. Bang Chan is actually the leader of the group and was born in Seoul but grew up in Sydney until he joined JYP Entertainment at just 13. He was a trainee for seven years, releasing music with fellow Stray Kids members Changbin and Han as 3RACHA before officially debuting with Stray Kids in 2018. Starting in 2019, he began hosting a regular livestream show called Chan’s Room — originally on VLive, and now on YouTube.
Felix, meanwhile, was born and raised in Sydney. He moved to Seoul as a teen to join JYP, and he was a trainee for less than a year before appearing on the reality show that went on to form Stray Kids. Although he was eliminated from the show, he was brought back before the end, allowing him to join the group. In addition to his work with Stray Kids, he was an MC for the show Pops in Seoul in 2019, and he was a feature on Nayeon from Twice’s solo song ‘NO PROBLEM’.
Jake from Enhypen
Jake grew up in Brisbane and moved to Seoul in 2019 at the age of 16 after successfully auditioning for HYBE. He was a trainee for nine months before appearing on reality show I-LAND, from which the group ENHYPEN was formed. Jake debuted with his six fellow members a few months after the end of the show, in November 2020. Since then, they’ve achieved much success, including charting on Billboard.
Lily from NMIXX
Lily was born and raised in Victoria, becoming a trainee with JYP when she was 13. She was a trainee for seven years before debuting with NMIXX in February 2022. In the past 18 months, the group have released an EP and three single albums.
Nina from IRRIS
IRRIS is the third girl group who debuted in 2022 that also happens to have at least one Aussie member — in this case, the maknae, Nina. She was born in Brisbane and is reportedly still studying law at an Australian university around pursuing her idol career in Korea. IRRIS have so far released one EP and a single.
Steven from LUMINOUS
Steven was born in South Korea but moved to Sydney when he was five and lived there until his teens. He moved back to Korea and became a trainee with JYP before joining DS Entertainment and later SE Group Entertainment, who debuted him as part of four-member boy group LUMINOUS in 2021. Since then, the band has released three EPs and a studio album.
Kyungjun from TNX
Kyungjun was born in Korea, but lived in Australia for 10 years growing up, from the age of five to the age of 15. When he moved back to South Korea he became a trainee, first with Big Hit/HYBE and later with P Nation. He became a contestant on reality competition show LOUD in 2021, from which TNX was formed. The six-member group officially debuted in 2022 and have released three EPs since then.
DPR +IAN
DPR +IAN, aka Christian Yu, was born in Sydney and went to high school in Wollongong. He left the University of Sydney after one year to move to Korea and pursue an entertainment career. He debuted with idol group C-Clown in 2012, when he was 22, and was active with the group until they disbanded in 2015. He later co-founded label Dream Perfect Regime (hence the DPR in his stage name), and went on to release a solo EP in 2021 and a solo studio album in 2022.
BÉBE YANA
Born in Seoul but raised in Australia before moving back to Korea, BÉBE YANA debuted under the stage name Hayana with girl group EvoL in 2012. The group were active until 2015. Two years later, in 2017, Hayana made her solo debut and released several singles that year. She wasn’t active again until 2021, when she made a comeback with the new stage name BÉBE YANA. She has since released a number of singles, appeared as a feature on other artist’s songs, and also released her own EP.
JEY
Born in Australia, JEY, like DPR +IAN and BÉBE YANA, is not strictly a K-Pop artist. He was a trainee with a couple of companies before debuting as a soloist in 2017 under SFR Entertainment. He then formed his own label, Alfha, in 2022. He’s released several EPs and singles, and has a new EP coming out later this month.
REBOOT by Treasure: REBOOT is Treasure’s second full album, and features 10 energetic songs, including electrifying title track ’BONA BONA’ as well as pre-release sub-unit single ‘MOVE (T5)’.
KILL MY DOUBT by Itzy: This six-track album features the absolute earworm of a title track that is ‘CAKE’ plus addictive pre-release singles ‘BET ON ME’ and ’None of My Business’ along with three catchy b-sides.
13egin by INFINITE: The long-awaited comeback of INFINITE and the first release under their own label, this six-song album is a strong offering, including title track ‘New Emotions’. The group most definitely have still got it.
Putting the “hot” in hot topic, my timeline has recently been consistently filled with wet and glistening idols and artists lately thanks to the Waterbomb Festival — a music festival taking place across Asia that involves both artists and the audience being sprayed with water, including by each other. Understandably, there have been many viral moments. Some highlights include:
With love,
Jenna
I love seeing the Aussies doing so well 💜