The Rundown:

For this week’s edition of Soompi’s “Throwback Thursday,” in honor of BEAST‘s five year anniversary and their subsequent “12:30” comeback, we delve deeper into Cube Entertainment’s six-member outfit, whose unwavering popularity through the years truly reflect their status as one of the K-Pop mainstays.

Even prior to their 2009 debut, BEAST had attracted buzz from fans for having members that are no strangers to the entertainment world. Leader Doojoon, for example, had previously vied for a spot in 2AM and 2PM through reality program “Hot Blooded Men,” Hyunseung was the unofficial sixth member of Big Bang before being cut from the group on their predebut “Big Bang Documentary,” rapper Junhyung had been in boy band Xing with U-KISS’ Kevin, Kikwang has had a solo career under the name AJ, and Yoseob and Dongwoon have both served as trainees with JYP Entertainment.

In 2009, with an explosive debut mini-album that proclaimed “BEAST is the B2ST,” the six boys won over fans’ hearts, selling out the album’s original print in just one month. The next few months proved BEAST to be an important addition to the industry’s boy group line-up  – just a few months later, the group clenched their first music show win with their second title track “Shock.”

Known for their catchy refrains and dynamic dances, BEAST continued their streak of success with “Breath” and “Beautiful” later on that year, becoming the first rookie group to have sold a combination of over 100,000 copies of their 4 released mini-albums in 2010. The following year, the group made their debut in Japan, though the group’s continued activities in Korea showed the members’ dedication to their original fanbase. “Fiction,” released in mid-2011 in their first full-length studio album “Fact or Fiction,” is still an iconic K-pop dance number for many.

Over the next few years, the members also expanded their involvement in various parts of the industry: Yoseob was cast as one of the original line-ups of “Immortal Song 2,” Kikwang and Doojoon held roles in various television series, Dongwoon, Yoseob and Junhyung made their respective solo debuts, and Hyunseung went on to become one-half of the “Trouble Maker” dynamic duo with 4Minute’s HyunA, which became one of the most successful project groups. In the meantime, after an international tour that touched 17 cities in 12 countries and brief periods of hiatus as a group during the next years, Beast once again proves their unwavering popularity, going on to release chart-toppers “Beautiful Night,” “Shadow,” and “Good Luck.”

Today, five years after their debut, BEAST is getting ready to stand on the stage together again.

Flip through the pages below to see a comprehensive list of BEAST’s “Firsts” (debut MV, first music show win, etc), and play the Soompi Who’s Who game!

(The Rundown | BEAST’s Firsts | BEAST Who’s Who? Quiz)