Jungmin Choi / BBC Korean
Hyuk should make his debut as a member of the Boyband K-Pop this year
Yu Hyuk was only nine years old when he began to beg the streets of North Hamgyong, one of the poorest provinces of North Korea, nestled along the northern border with China and Russia.
In addition to begging, he did shopping for the soldiers and sold fuzzled mushrooms. Sometimes he stole food from hunger: once he was snatched a lunch box that was unattended in an underground station. Inside was a spoon of spoiled rice.
It was just “part of everyday life” for many North Koreans, he said, adding that her own life was so consumed by survival that she has left little room for dreams.
But dream he did. Later this year, the 25-year-old will make his debut in the United States as a member of a group of K-Pop boys.
1 versatile (pronounced “universe”) is made up of five members: Hyuk, Seok who is also from North Korea, Aito of Japan and Americans of Asian origin Kenny and Nathan – all prefer to go through their first name. They should make history as the first group of K-Pop boys to make their debut with North Korean defectors.
Rap remains
Hyuk was born in a seaside village in the county of Kyongsong and raised by his father and his grandmother, after his parents separated when he was only four years old.
Later, his mother fled the north to settle in the south and stretched her out to try to join her. But he refused because he was close to his father and did not want to leave him.
Hyuk says that his family was “not extremely poor” to start, but the situation quickly deteriorated after the separation of his parents. His father did not want to work and his grandmother was too old, so Hyuk was left to himself to survive.
Finally, his father persuaded him to join his mother and, in 2013, Hyuk escaped from North Korea.
It took him months to arrive in the South, after going through several countries. He chose not to reveal the details of the itinerary, because he fears to put other future defectors in danger.
Getty images
Hyuk lived in the northern province of Hamgyong
Once in the south, he lived with his mother for a year, before moving to a boarding school with the financial support of his mother. However, he had trouble dealing with the fiercely competitive education system in South Korea, because Hyuk had barely completed his primary studies before his defection.
Writing was the only thing he found comfort, he said.
He started with short poems alluding to his life spent in North Korea. “I couldn’t openly share what I had experienced, but I still wanted to make a file.”
At the beginning, Hyuk thought that his story could not be understood by others, but was encouraged by the friends and teachers of the music club of his school – and finally found his passion in rap.
Growing up, music had been a luxury, not to mention K-pop which he had barely heard. But now, he has channeled his thoughts to feel alone and miss his father in music, calling himself “the most lonely lonely” – an ordinary person, a rap song he composed for the next Group album.
Hyuk graduated from the 20 -year -old high school. Subsequently, he worked part -time in restaurants and factories to support himself.
But it was in 2018 when he was presented in an educational television program that his luck changed. Her unique background and her rap talent drew the attention of music producer Michelle Cho, who was previously SM Entertainment, the agency behind some of the biggest acts of K-Pop. She gave him a place in her agency, singing Beetle.
“I did not trust Michelle for about a year because I thought she was wrong,” said Hyuk, adding that the defectors are often targeted by scams in the south.
But gradually, he realized that Ms. Cho “was investing too much time and money” so that it was anything but authentic.
Singing
Hyuk (top), Aito (bottom left), Seok (Middle) and Kenny (right) – Nathan (not illustrated) later joined
“ I thought that the North Koreans could be frightening ”
Kim Seok, 24, also defeated and arrived in the South in 2019, although his experience was very different from that of Seok.
Coming from a relatively better off family, Seok lived near the border with China and had access to K-Pop and K-Drame thanks to USB smuggling and SD cards.
For security reasons, we cannot reveal much more about his life in the North and how he got to the south.
The two boys were described by Ms. Cho as “virgin canvases”, adding that she had never met trainees like them.
Unlike Aito and Kenny, who had been immersed in music and dancing from an early age, Hyuk and Seok were complete beginners.
“They had absolutely no understanding of pop culture,” she said.
But their ability to “endure physical challenges” surprised Ms. Cho. They spent exhausting hours of dancing practice with such a determination that it feared to “do too much”.
In addition to music and dance lessons, their training also covered the label and engage in discussions to prepare them for media interviews.
“I don’t think they were used to questioning things or expressing their opinion,” said Ms. Cho. “At the beginning, when a coach asked for the reasoning behind his thoughts, the only answer was:” Because you said it the last time. “
But after more than three years, Hyuk has made remarkable progress, she said.
“Now Hyuk questions a lot of things. For example, if I ask him to do something, he will answer” Why? Why is it necessary? “Sometimes I regret what I did,” explains Ms. Cho Gunoussant.
But what do the other two boys think of their group comrades?
“I was a little afraid at first because North Korea has a hostile relationship with Japan. I thought that the North Koreans would be frightening, but it turned out to be true, “said Aito, who at 20 is the youngest of the four.
Kenny, who spent a large part of his life in the United States, adds that there were also small cultural differences that took the time to get used to it.
“Korean culture is very (common) in that you eat together … it was a culture shock (for me),” he said. “I generally don’t like to eat with people, I prefer Netflix in my ear. But their joy has just been collective.”
At the end of last year, the group added a fifth member, Nathan, an American from the Laotian and Mixed Thai heritage to the group.
They aim to make his debut in the United States later this year – a decision that the label hopes could attract more American fans.
Singing
Hyuk (C) had to learn singing and dance from zero
Play one day – in North Korea?
Dozens of K-POP groups make their debut each year and only a few, generally those managed by large labels, become popular.
It is therefore still too early to say if 1stone will resonate with the public. But Hyuk has big dreams, hoping that this could be possible one day for his North Korean colleagues to listen to his songs.
With human rights activists often sending leaflets and USB containing content of culture K via balloons and bottles to the north, this can be less a pipe dream than it seems , although Hyuk also has his concerns.
To avoid being considered a vocal critic of North Korea, he calls his homeland as “the upper side” in the interviews and avoids mentioning the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Kim has been in recent years in recent years, has increased his repression against the influx of culture K. Since 2020, the consumption and distribution of this content has become a crime punishable by death.
A rare video obtained by the BBC Korean last year, which was allegedly filmed in 2022, shows two teenagers publicly sentenced to 12 years of hard work for having looked and distributed K-Dramas.
A academic says that it would lead to a “agitation” in North Korea if the music of 1 back would become a success.
“If a North Korean defector openly kissed their identity and would become a world class activist, I think that would make a sensation in the North,” said Ha Seung-Hee, a academic specializing in music and the media of the Institute from the Dongguk University of North Korean Studies.
But his main motivation, says Hyuk, is to prove that defectors can be a success.
“Many defectors see an insurmountable gap between them and the idols of K-Pop. This is not a career option for us, “said Hyuk.
“So if I succeed, other defectors could be encouraged () to have even more important dreams. That’s why I do my best.
