10 K-Pop Idols Who Debuted Before Joining Their Current Groups Part 2

Which K-pop stars debuted with another group before joining their current one? The following idols did not make their debut as singers with their current groups. Instead, their first step into the entertainment industry came much earlier.

Following up on our first list of idols who debuted before joining their current group, here’s a list of 10 more idols who had their debuts prior to joining their current groups.

Song Mino first made his debut as a rapper in the four-member ballad group BoM in 2011, under the stage name Tagoon. However, the group disbanded after two years, at which point Mino was recruited into YG Entertainment. He debuted in Winner in 2013.

Song Mino was originally a trainee intended for Block B, but he dropped out for personal reasons before the group debuted.

JB and Junior first made their appearance in the 2012 KBS drama “Dream High 2.”

Not long after its conclusion, they came out as a duo called “JJ Project,” debuting under JYP Entertainment in May 2012 with the single “Bounce.”

The two later joined GOT7 and debuted with them in January 2014.

As some 4Minute fans might know, Sohyun actually debuted at age 12 as a member of a girl group named “ORANGE.” Unfortunately, the group disbanded later that year due to cyber bullying and online anti-fans. Sohyun revealed in an interview that she was distraught by what she saw online and almost gave up her dream of being a singer due to all the negative comments she read.

However, the group did end up releasing a music video for their debut single, and Sohyun even made appearances on variety shows, despite only being in elementary school.

Solji, now a member of EXID, made her debut under ballad duo 2NB way back in 2006. The duo disbanded after 6 years in 2012, with Solji joining EXID that same year.

The other member of the duo, Kim Song Yi, joined girl group Blady under the stage name “Gabin” in March 2015.

Kahi, the former leader of After School, joined a Korean-American group called S.Blush in 2006, following a lengthy career as a professional dancer, during which she danced for artists such as Jinusean, BoA, and more. S.Blush peaked in May 2007 at No. 2 on the Billboard Dance Charts, but disbanded soon after, which led to Kahi joining Pledis Entertainment in late 2007.

Kahi wasn’t the only member of After School to debut before joining the group. Kim Jungah was part of a short-lived idol group called Kis Five that debuted in 2005 and put out a single music video.

However, Jung Ah didn’t stay with Kis Five for long and ended up debuting with After School in 2009.

Currently a member of Boys Republic, Sunwoo debuted with the five-member group TOUCH in 2010, but left the group in early 2011 under the name Dabin. In 2014, he announced that he had changed his name to Sunwoo.

Fun fact of the day: TOUCH is an acronym for “The Original Undeniable Charismatic Homme.”

Many members of mid-2000s boy group XING left to join other groups. Two of XING’s former members are Kevin and Kibum, who are current and former members of U-KISS, respectively.

Kevin left XING in 2008 and debuted with U-KISS later that year. Kibum also debuted with XING, but left the group shortly after. The group unofficially disbanded in 2010 after a series of member additions and lineup changes.

Along with Kevin and Kibum, BEAST’s Junhyung was also part of XING, where he went by the name “Popping Dragon.” Junhyung joined the group in 2007, but left in early 2008 and debuted with BEAST in 2009.

Can you think of any other idols that debuted before joining their current group? Comment below!

kafox is a K-pop addict and avid viewer and subtitler of Korean dramas on Viki.