KNK (크나큰) is a four-member boy group under 220 Entertainment. Originally as five and formed by YNB Entertainment, they debuted on March 3, 2016 with the single album "Knock".
Their name stands for K-pop kNocK which means "to knock on the door of K-pop with their music."
History[]
2016: Debut, "I Remember", Awake, and Remain[]
On February 29, KNK held their debut showcase for their first single album "Knock", which was released three days later on March 3.[1]
On May 16, the group released their first digital single "I Remember". The song was performed for the first time at the C-Festival K-Pop concert on May 8.[2]
On May 23, the group announced through a teaser photo that they would be making a comeback with their first mini album, Awake.[3] The album was released on June 2 with "Back Again" as the title track.
On November 7, KNK released a coming soon teaser for their second mini album titled Remain.[4] On November 16, YNB announced that the music video for "U" would be not be released due to quality issues.[5] The album was released on November 17, with "U" as the title track.
2017: "Gravity", "Gravity, Completed", Japanese debut, and MIXNINE[]
KNK returned with their second single album, "Gravity", on May 25 with "Sun, Moon, Star" serving as the single's title track. A repackage of the single titled "Gravity, Completed" was released on July 20 with "Rain" as the title track.
In August, it was announced that KNK would be making their Japanese debut with the single "U / Back Again". The single was released on October 11.[6]
On September 29, YNB announced that the group would appear on JTBC and YG's survival show MIXNINE after receiving an offer from the producers.[7] Park Seung Jun, Oh Hee Jun, and Jeong In Seong passed the auditions but were eventually eliminated from the show.
2018: "Closer", departure from YNB, lineup changes[]
On April 28, KNK released their second digital single, "Closer", and was sung by the group's vocal line; Jeong In Seong, Kim Ji Hun, and Oh Hee Jun.[8]
On September 10, KNK announced they have left YNB Entertainment with Kim You Jin leaving the group as well.[9] On December 19, it was reported that the group would be making a comeback next year with a new member. The news was later confirmed and that KNK would promote as five with the addition of the new member.[10] The following day, KNK officially introduced their newest member, Lee Dong Won.[11]
2019: "Lonely Night" and "KNK S/S Collection"[]
On January 7, the group returned with their third single album "Lonely Night". It marks the first release with Lee Dong Won.
KNK released their fourth single album, "KNK S/S Collection", on July 15, 2019 with "Sunset" as the title track.
2020: KNK Airline[]
On March 30, KNK announced that they would be launching a Makestar campaign for their comeback album project.[12] The campaign began on March 31 and concluded on June 19 with ￦110,197,335 (USD $89,957.01) raised, surpasing their ￦20,000,000 goal.[13]
On September 17, they returned with their third mini album, KNK Airline, with "Ride" as the title track.
2021: Talking events and Park Seo Ham's departure[]
On June 18, an online livestreaming and talking event was announced with tickets for sale the same day. The show was then held on July 4.[14] On July 22, tickets were open for purchase for another online livestreaming and talking event called KNK Summer Party. The event was then held on July 31.[15]
On September 1, tickets went on sale for an online talking event with the event being held on September 12.[16]
On September 30, it was announced that Park Seo Ham has decided to leave the group and 220 Entertainment after long discussions regarding the future of his career.[17]
On October 15, they put tickets for an online talking event on sale. The event was then held on October 30 and 31 as four members.[18]
On November 5, tickets went on sale for their online fanmeeting.[19] The fanmeeting was then held on November 21.[20]
On November 26, it was revealed that they would be holding a premium live in Tokyo on December 13.[21] Unfortunately, a few days before the event, on December 8, they announced that their premium live in Tokyo would be postponed until a new date can be revealed.[22]
2022–2023: Departure of Oh Hee Jun, addition of Kim Hyun Jong[]
On January 13, 2022, 220 Entertainment announced the departure of Oh Hee Jun from KNK as he decided not to renew his contract with the company. In the same statement, they also revealed that Jeong In Seong would be enlisting on February 8.[23]
On December 4, 2023, ROMEO's Kim Hyun Jong was revealed as a new member of the group.[24]
Members[]
| Name | Position(s) | Year(s) active |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Dong Won (이동원) | Rapper | 2018–present |
| Jeong In Seong (정인성) | Main Vocalist | 2016–present |
| Kim Ji Hun (김지훈) | Leader, Vocalist, Main Dancer, Maknae (2022–2023) | 2016–present |
| Kim Hyun Jong (김현종) | Maknae (2023–present) | 2023–present |
| Former | ||
| Kim You Jin (김유진) | Main Vocalist | 2016–2018 |
| Park Seo Ham (박서함) (formerly Park Seung Jun (박승준)) | Main Rapper, Vocalist, Visual | 2016–2021 |
| Oh Hee Jun (오희준) | Rapper, Vocalist, Maknae (2016–2022) | 2016–2022 |
Discography[]
Korean[]Mini albums[]
Single albums[]
Digital singles[]
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Japanese[]Singles[]
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Filmography[]
Reality shows[]
- My Keunakeun Television (Naver TV Cast, 2015–2017)
- My Keunakeun Television 2 (Naver TV Cast, 2017–2018)
Dramas[]
- 20th Century Boy and Girl (MBC, 2017) - as Boys Be Ambitious
Trivia[]
- The literal translation of their group name KNK is "great" or "to be great".
- Labeled as one of the tallest idol groups, with an average height of 185 cm (6'1) at debut.[1]
- Their fan club name Tinkerbell was picked out by Park Seung Jun while the group were watching the movie 'Tinker Bell'. In his post in the fancafe he explained, "So KNK means to become “great” people and Tinkerbells are small cute fairies! So we are Peter Pan and Tinkerbells are fairies who protect us and we will protect Tinkerbells too!".
- Kim Hyun Jong is a member of ROMEO and a former MIXNINE contestant.
Gallery[]
Promotional[]
.png "KNK Airline group concept photo (1).png (1.2 MB)")
.png "KNK Airline group concept photo (2).png (2.76 MB)")
Pictorial[]
(February 2019)
(October 2019)
SNS[]
_-_March_3,_2022.png "KNK 6th anniversary (Twitter post) - March 3, 2022.png (437 KB)")
(2022)
References[]
Official links[]
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