I. Introduction:
KNK (크나큰) is a five-member boy group under 220 Entertainment and originally 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."
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.
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.
On May 23, the group announced through a teaser photo that they would be making a comeback with their first mini album, Awake.
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. On November 16, YNB announced that the music video for "U" would be not be released due to quality issues. 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.
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. 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.
On September 10, KNK announced they have left YNB Entertainment with Youjin leaving the group as well. 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 with five-members with the addition of the new member. The following day, KNK officially introduced their newest member, Lee Dong Won.
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 Airl!ne
On March 30, KNK announced that they would be launching a Makestar campaign for their comeback album project. The campaign began on March 31 and concluded on June 19 with ￦110,197,335 (USD $89,957.01) raised, over their ￦20,000,000 goal.
The group returned with their third mini album, KNK Airl!ne, on September 17 with "Ride" as the title track.
On September 30th, 2021 220 Entertainment Announced that Seoham has left the group.
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.
On November 5, tickets went on sale for their online fanmeeting. The fanmeeting was then held on November 21.
On November 26, it was revealed that they would be holding a premium live in Tokyo on December 13. 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.
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.
On December 4, 2023, ROMEO's Kim Hyun Jong was revealed as a new member of the group.
KNK Fandom Name: Tinkerbell
KNK Official Fan Colors: Pantone 176 U, Pantone 183 U and Pantone 192 U
KNK Official Accounts:
Twitter: @KNKOfficial220
Instagram: @knk_official_knk
Facebook: knkofficial.ynb
Fan Cafe: officialknk
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.
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!".
II. Members:
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Stage Name: Jihun (지훈) Real Name: Kim Jihun (김지훈) Position: Leader, Main Dancer, Vocalist Birthday: February 20, 1995 Zodiac Sign: Pisces Nationality: Korean Height: 187 cm (6’1″) Instagram: @kimzzihun He releases solo music under the name HALF (하프). Pre-debut Kim Ji Hun is a former Nega Network trainee. Before debuting with KNK, he was a backup dancer for the live performances of BESTie's "Zzang Christmas" as well as "I Need You". Discography Digital singles "Behind U" (2021) Filmography Music video appearances BESTie – "Zzang Christmas" (2013) Jihun is credited for 1 works on KOMCA under the name KIM JI HUN(10026949) |
| Stage Name: Dongwon (동원) Real Name: Lee Dong Won (이동원) Position: Rapper Birthday: January 1, 1994 Zodiac Sign: Capricorn Height: 185 cm (6’1″) Weight: 68 kg (149 lbs) Blood Type: B Instagram: @2_dongwon_ He participated in YG Entertainment’s idol survival show ‘MIXNINE’, but didn’t pass the audition round. He made a cameo appearance in drama “20th Century Boy and Girl” as part of boy band Boys Be Ambitious alongside Seoham, Inseong, Heejun and Youjin. |
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Stage Name: Inseong (인성) Real Name: Jeong Inseong (정인성) Position: Main Vocalist Birthday: July 1, 1994 Zodiac Sign: Cancer Nationality: Korean Height: 185 cm (6’1″) Instagram: @in_ddoni Pre-debut Along with Seungjun, he was a former Big Hit Entertainment trainee where they both trained with the members of the boy group BTS. Upon moving to FNC Entertainment, he appeared as one of the trainees in its reality show Cheongdam-dong 111 along with Heejun in 2013. Before debuting with KNK, he was a backup dancer for the live performances of BESTie's "I Need You". Filmography Reality shows Cheongdam-dong 111 (2013) MIXNINE (JTBC, 2017–2018) - contestant Variety shows Let's Go! Dream Team Season 2 (2016) Duet Song Festival (2016) - contestant with Kim Wan Sun Hello Counselor (2016) Hitmaker Season 3 (2017) Music video appearances 2AM – "You Wouldn't Answer My Calls" (Japanese Ver.) (2012) BESTie – "Excuse Me" (2015 |
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Stage Name: Hyunjong (현종) Birth Name: Kim Hyunjong (김현종) Postion: Maknae Birthday: September 5, 1998 Zodiac Sign: Virgo Height: 184 cm (6’0″) Weight: 62 kg (136 lbs) Blood Type: O Nationality: Korean Instagram: kimhyunzzong He was revealed as a new member of KNK on December 4, 2023. He is a former member of ROMEO, under the stage name Hyunkyung. His nickname is jonggi. Hyunjong was a participant on MIXNINE. (He ranked 17th) He is a former Fantagio trainee, he only trained for two weeks. |
III. Discography:
Korean
Mini albums
Awake (2016)
Remain (2016)
KNK Airl!ne (2020)
Single albums
"Knock" (2016)
"Gravity" (2017)
"Gravity, Completed" (repackage) (2017)
"Lonely Night" (2019)
"KNK S/S Collection" (2019)
Digital singles
"I Remember" (2016)
"Closer" (2018)
Japanese
Singles
"U / Back Again" (2017)
IV. 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
