"Even Stole Leftover Rice"... North Korea's 'Kkotjebi' Former Idol Trainee

K-Pop Group Including Former North Korean Defector Member Set to Debut

A multinational K-pop idol group including a member who is a defector from North Korea is scheduled to debut at the end of the year.

On the 25th, BBC Korea reported that the K-pop group '1VERSE (Universe),' planned by the music producing company 'Singing Beetle,' is currently training with the goal of debuting in the United States by the end of this year.

This group is composed of Asian multinational idols: Yu Hyuk (24) and Kim Seok (24) from North Korea, Kenny (22), a Chinese-American, and Murata Aito (19) from Japan. In particular, the inclusion of defectors from North Korea has attracted global attention.

Yu Hyuk is known as a former 'kkotjebi.' Kkotjebi is a North Korean term referring to those who wander without a place to live. Yu Hyuk reportedly started begging and doing odd jobs on the streets from the age of nine to make ends meet.

North Korean defector idol trainee Yoo Hyuk preparing for his year-end debut in the United States
[Image source=BBC Korea YouTube capture]

He was once beaten after secretly stealing a merchant’s lunchbox at a subway station. Yu Hyuk recalled to the media, "The lunchbox only contained a lump of spoiled rice," and added, "Back then, I used to eat spoiled rice with soda or vinegar."

Chased by a life where "I had to work today to have dinner," Yu Hyuk says he never encountered K-pop even once while in North Korea. It was only after he defected in 2013 and set foot in South Korea that he first came into contact with K-pop.

He first developed an interest in writing at elementary school, joined a music club in his first year of high school, and began writing rap lyrics. In 2018, after briefly showcasing rap on an EBS educational program, he started his life as an idol trainee.

Another member from the same group who is also a defector, Kim Seok [Image source=BBC Korea YouTube capture]

Another North Korean member, Kim Seok, also defected in 2018. Before defecting, he lived near the Chinese border and learned about K-pop through smuggled CDs and USBs. Kim Seok said, "(When I encountered K-pop in North Korea) the songs and lyrics were directly delivered into me," adding, "(In North Korea) we only sang and listened to songs praising the General, that is, one person."

After Kenny and Aito joined the team, the group began serious debut training and feels a strong sense of responsibility as the "first idol group including defectors from North Korea." Yu Hyuk said, "I hope to be accepted as a trainee preparing for K-pop without the label of being from North Korea," emphasizing, "Still, if someone like me can become an idol, (other defectors) will gain more courage and dreams."