Meet some of the K-pop group leaders who weren’t born in South Korea
If you follow K-pop, you’re probably already familiar with the famous positions within the groups, such as main vocalist, main dancer, center, visual, face of the group, maknae, etc. They are responsible for dividing the roles of each member, based mainly on the idols’ main skills.
Nowadays, however, it has become increasingly common to find sets that do not have fixed positions, like NewJeans and BABYMONSTER, for example, where none of the members have been assigned to specific positions.
However, despite this fact, even if the company does not separate members into main dancer, lead rapper, visual, center and others, in most formations, there is a position that is generally maintained: that of leader.
In addition to guiding members, initiating the group introduction, or taking the lead at necessary times, the leader also ends up being responsible for being the main voice in relation to resolving problems with the company.
Among the great leaders of K-pop, we can mention RM (BTS), Taeyeon (Girls’ Generation), CL (2NE1), Gyuri (KARA), Onew (SHINee), Jihyo (TWICE), Suho (EXO), Irene (Red Velvet), Jay B (GOT7), Sowon (GFRIEND), Bang Chan (Stray Kids), Karina (aespa), Soobin (TXT), G-Dragon (BIGBANG), and much more.
As reported by Koreaboo, in the first generations, it was common for the oldest member to be chosen as the leader of the group. Nowadays, however, it is possible to see that other skills end up being taken into consideration and, not necessarily, the oldest will be the leader.
Despite this, it is still possible to notice a common characteristic between the generations: few foreign idols are chosen for leadership positions. Even though it is something a little more difficult to happen, it is possible to find some singers who were not born in South Korea, but were chosen as the leaders of their group — and RECREIO will introduce you to five of them now. Check out!
1. Shana (Lapillus)
Nonaka Shanaleader of MLD Entertainment’s girl group Lapillus, was born on March 13, 2003 in Kochi Prefecture, Japan.
2. Victoria (f(x))
The leader of the renowned second generation group f(x) is Song QianThe Victoria. She was born on February 2, 1987 in Qingdao, Shandong, China.
3. Kazuta (n.SSign)
Composed of 10 members, the leader of n.SSign is Japanese Chinen Kazuta. He was born on December 31, 1997 in Okinawa.
4. Keita (EVNNE)
Formed by Jellyfish Entertainment in 2023, EVNNE’s leader is Japanese Terazono Keitaborn on July 4, 2001 in the city of Osaka.
5. Mashiro (Kep1er)
Sakamoto Mashiro is the co-leader of Kep1er, alongside the South Korean Choi Yujin. She was born on December 19, 1999 in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. However, after not renewing her contract, Mashiro will leave training on July 15th.
Source: Recreio
