ENHYPEN’s Members Were Discovered With So Much ‘Potential’ Before Appearing on I-LAND

Jungwon

Jungwon is ENHYPEN’s leader and trained at Big Hit Entertainment before appearing on I-LAND. He trained at the company for a total of one year and four months. He also trained at SM Entertainment. A mom of a Big Hit trainee showed casting head Hong Seung Woo a picture of Jungwon and thought that he was “extremely cute.”

“I was also surprised by how good he was despite only training at his previous label for a relatively short time,” Hong told Weverse Magazine. “Once he really started training, he improved in leaps and bounds. He soaked up everything he was taught like a sponge. I think he was so personally driven that he was bound to do well no matter what.”

Heeseung

Heeseung was a Big Hit Entertainment trainee for three years and a month. During his audition, Hong noticed that he was wearing a red padded jacket, but “his face is what immediately caught my eye.” Hong got him as soon as he came out from an entrance exam at Hanlim Arts School.

Heeseung didn’t have any formal training but Hong said, “you could tell HEESEUNG had a feel for singing right from the start.” ENHYPEN members have said that Heeseung became a “model image and paragon of a trainee.” 

Jay

Jay was a Big Hit Entertainment trainee for two years and eleven months before joining I-LAND. He auditioned and according to Hong, “stood out more than anyone his age” at the audition. He was also very popular among the trainees but “came across as shy at first.”

Jake

Jake auditioned for a BELIFT global audition. Originally from Brisbane, Australia, he was chosen among 500 applicants. He was in the process of auditioning to become a trainee at SM Entertainment, but he told GQ Australia, “I thought that [a survival show] might be a much quicker way for me to debut.”

Sunghoon

Sunghoon was a Big Hit Entertainment trainee for two years and a month. Before that, he was a competitive ice skater who competed in international junior competitions as a representative of South Korea. Hong scouted him after watching him figure skate in Crayon in the Mind. The casting director convinced his parents to let him train.

“I figured he would pick up dance quick thanks to all his experience figure skating and, seeing as he was an athlete, I was confident he would be responsible and competitive,” Hong said. “People with that kind of ambition always end up doing well.”

Sunoo

Sunoo auditioned for BELIFT LAB after finding information online about the company. He submitted an email and auditioned by dancing to the song “Growl” by EXO. He trained with the company for 10 months before appearing on I-LAND.

Ni-ki

Ni-ki auditioned for BELIFT LAB during a global audition and danced to the song “Lie” by BTS. Originally from Japan, he moved to South Korea when he was 13 and during his second year of middle school. He told Weverse Magazine, “I was just a little kid who liked to dance back then (laughs) but now I want to show everyone how much I’ve learned and grown through my experience as a member of ENHYPEN.”