You couldn’t stop listening to and watching the “Say My Name” music video, so you got a little more curious about ATEEZ. You’re not exactly an ATINY (ATEEZ stan) yet, but it’s not so bad to be part of a fandom that won the Best Fandom Award in 2022 at Forbes Korea.
ATEEZ is composed of eight members and is the first boy group from a newly formed entertainment company named KQ Entertainment. If you don’t want to get lost amidst a sea of fan cams and ATINYs gushing over their biases, here’s all you need to know about the eight men who form ATEEZ.
Hongjoong
A leader doesn’t have to know everything, but ATEEZ is lucky to have its own multi-talented Hongjoong as its leader. Kim Hongjoong was born on November 7, 1998, in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province. He’s the rapper, composer, and center of the group.
Hongjoong was a working student in high school and after sending a mixtape to KQ Entertainment, he was invited to audition as the company’s first trainee. Hongjoong’s talent as a rapper is undeniable, but it’s a well-known fact among ATINYs that Hongjoong has a great singing voice.
Seonghwa
Park Seonghwa is ATEEZ’s visual and vocalist. He was born on April 3, 1998, in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. Although he auditioned as a rapper, Seonghwa debuted as a vocalist for ATEEZ instead.
Seonghwa once went viral for cleaning his room in the middle of a livestream. While the fandom generally considers Seonghwa to have a cute and soft aesthetic, many ATINYs have a collective breakdown when Seonghwa speaks in his Satoori dialect.
Yunho
The main dancer in ATEEZ is Park Yunho. Born on March 23, 1999, in Gwangju Province, Yunho shares the same name and hometown as another first-generation idol from TVXQ.
There’s no denying that Yunho is a great dancer. But dancing aside, Yunho is known for energizing the rest of ATEEZ with his chaotic energy. Many other K-pop idols love to game, but recent interviews revealed that Yunho can play every agent at Valorant.
Yeosang
Kang Yeosang was born on June 15, 1999. Many ATEEZ fans know that Yeosang has a timid personality, but many ATINYs also refer to Yeosang as ATEEZ’s ace, and it’s not hard to see why.
He debuted in ATEEZ as a visual, rapper, and subvocalist. Yeosang speaks Korean and English, and he’s currently learning Chinese. He wasn’t initially part of KQ Entertainment but joined after he left BigHit Entertainment sometime before 2017 to join Wooyoung in ATEEZ.
San
San is both the lead dancer and lead vocalist of ATEEZ. Born on July 10, 1999, in Gyeongsan Province, Choi San practiced Taekwondo at an early age in his family’s Taekwondo dojo. This helped a lot with his flexibility as a dancer, and the fancams could say more than words could, for that matter.
San was not always a great dancer, and he did a lot of work to improve his dancing throughout the years, even as the lead singer of ATEEZ. Currently, San is known for his explosive dancing on stage and his mastery of krumping.
Mingi
Mingi holds the positions of main dancer and main rapper in ATEEZ. Born on August 9, 1999, in Gyeonggi Province, Song Mingi and Hongjoon have written songs since their debut. He’s written many songs and currently has more than 50 writing credits under his name.
Although he briefly went on hiatus in 2020, Mingi came back to ATEEZ in 2021. As the main dancer of the group, Mingi often posts short dance covers on the official ATEEZ TikTok account, which receives a lot of love from fans.
Wooyoung
Jung Wooyoung was born on November 26, 1999, in Gyeonggi Province. Wooyoung, like Yeosan, was also a former BigHit Entertainment trainee. He left the company before Yeosan and found his way to KQ Entertainment. They were eventually reunited and debuted together under ATEEZ, and Wooyoung became the vocalist and main dancer for the group.
Wooyoung used to have stage fright, which comes as a shock to many who’ve seen reels of Wooyoung confidently performing on stage. He loves cooking and is currently learning how to cook better.
JongHo
Choi Jongho was born on October 12, 2000, in Seoul. He debuted as the main vocalist of ATEEZ and is the youngest member of the group (maknae). Jongho is known for his six-octave range, which never ceases to amaze both ATINYs and spectators.
Jongho is strong and has never lost in arm wrestling. Fans know that Jongho could break fruits with his bare hands. Although he could’ve been an athlete because of his proficiency in soccer, Jongho chose to be an idol because he loves singing.
(featured image: KQ Entertainment)
