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Many K-pop idols who have debuted as soloists or in different groups were once BIGHIT trainees before deciding to switch companies. The switch could have taken place for a myriad of reasons, such as changes in the final debut line-up or lucrative opportunities with other companies.
Back then, Big Hit Entertainment was a small company with very little to offer. BTS is the first group to debut under erstwhile Big Hit Entertainment. With the group’s rising popularity and fame, the music label, Big Hit Entertainment, grew as well to become HYBE Corporation. However, the music label continued as a subsidiary under HYBE and changed its name to BIGHIT MUSIC.
Seeing as BIGHIT MUSIC houses two of the most popular boy groups in K-pop, it’s interesting to look back and see all the K-pop idols who could've debuted under BIGHIT MUSIC, especially since many of these K-pop idols have expressed regret about jumping ship too early.
5 K-pop idols who are former BIGHIT trainees
1) Kidoh
Jin Hyo-sang, better known as Kidoh, was a BIGHIT trainee alongside BTS leader RM and they had their own underground group named DaeNamHyup. The two were training to make the cut to be a part of BTS, but Kidoh decided to leave the label before the group’s debut.
He moved to Stardom Entertainment, now known as Hunus Entertainment, to debut in a boy group called Top Dogg, currently known as Xeno-T, which he also left in 2015 to pursue his solo ambitions.
2) SinB
BIGHIT MUSIC used to co-manage a girl group named GLAM with Source Music. However, after the group got into serious scandals, GLAM was disbanded and the label let go of all their female trainees.
Hwang Eun-bi, better known as GFRIEND’s SinB, used to be one of those trainees under Big Hit Entertainment. She was with the label since she was 12 years old and grew up with BTS. When the female BIGHIT trainees were let go, the K-pop idol joined Source Music and debuted as part of GFRIEND.
As fate would have it, SinB was back as part of the BIGHIT family when HYBE added Source Music as their subsidiary. When GFRIEND disbanded in 2021, SinB moved to BPM Entertainment with two other members to form the trio VIVIZ.
3) Park Seo-ham
Actor and K-pop idol Park Seo-ham’s real name is Park Gyeong-bok, however, back when he was a BIGHIT trainee, he went by the name Seungjoon. He trained under Big Hit Entertainment along with the current BTS members and there are many pictures that showcase their closeness. After BTS' rise in popularity, the idol mentioned that he does regret having left the company.
Seungjoon left the label to become a trainee actor at JYP Entertainment before finally moving to YNB Entertainment and debuting under the group KNK in 2016. In 2021 he left the group and focused on pursuing his acting career, which landed him the lead role in the 2022 iconic BL drama Semantic Error based on the webtoon of the same name.
4) Suwoong
K-pop idol Lee Su-woong, better known as Boys Republic’s Suwoong, used to be a BIGHIT trainee prior to BTS’ debut. This meant that he was part of the line-up of members who could debut in BTS. He trained with the current BTS members for a year.
He left the label to debut in 2013 as part of Universal Music Korea and Happy Tribe Entertainment’s boy group Boys Republic. The group had decent success until they went on an indefinite hiatus in 2018. Suwoong also participated in an idol rebooting show called The Unit in 2017 where he finished in fifteenth place and even went on to pursue his acting career.
5) Jo Ga-bin
Jo So-jin, better known as Sojin, was one of the few female BIGHIT trainees. After she was let go, she joined Star Empire Entertainment and debuted as a mystery member of the trio NASTY NASTY in 2014.
In 2015 was introduced as one of the members of the 2010 debuted group 9MUSES. When the group disbanded in 2019, the K-pop idol signed with SE M&M Entertainment as an actor to pursue an acting career under the name Jo Ga-bin, which is now also her legal name.
BIGHIT MUSIC is yet to debut a girl group since the GLAM debacle. The label has already shown its deftness in producing top-notch boy groups, but a girl group from the label is much-awaited.
