Hwang Hyunjin of Stray Kids, who is better known by his stage name, Hyunjin, is a member of the K-Pop boy band “Stray Kids.” He is the main dancer, singer, rapper and visual of the group.

In this article, we will learn more about Hyunjin of Stray Kids. Both as an individual and as a member of the group/band.

Who Are Stray Kids?

Popularly known as SKZ, Stray Kids are a South Korean K-pop group. They are a boy band formed by JYP entertainment in 2017. A reality show by the same name selected them.

The band consists of eight members: Bang Chan, Han, Felix, Lee Know, Changbin, Seungmin and I.N. In October 2019, the ninth member of Stray Kids, Woojin, left due to unsaid reasons.

So Who is JYP Entertainment?

JYP Entertainment is also called JYPE, as an abbreviation. JYPE is one of the largest known south Korean record labels. It was founded by J.Y. Park in 1997. It is a talent agency, music production company, and event management company.

Some notable solo artists and kpop groups have been announced under JYPE. 2 PM; twice, Itzy is a famous kpop act under JYPE. Day6, a Korean rock band, is also independently under JYPE.

How were the “Stray Kids” formed?

In 2017 August, JYPE officially announced that they would host a reality survival show. They named the reality show- Stray Kids. It was being created to form the next boy act in the world of K-Pop.

Unlike any other reality show, Stray Kids focused on the contestants forming a band of their own by the show’s end.

All the contestants became close to each other during the show as they practised together. However, before the group’s final line-up, Lee Know and Felix contestants were eliminated.

Lee Know was a former backup dancer of BTS. And thus, with the final line-up, the group was formed.

The boy’s first single was called “Hellevator”, a pre-debut single, along with a new official website launch. JYPE also officially announced a pre-debut EP called, Mixtape. The band members co-wrote this Mixtape and seven tracks. The songs included Hellevator and other tracks such as Beware.

The song Beware also had a performance video. It was a fourth-generation K-pop boy act in South Korea. The boys had their official showcase debut on March 25, 2018, at the Jangchung Arena.

Stray Kids and their Fandom name

Stray Kids were called Boy’s Project Team originally. The name Stray Kids is given by the members themselves and not by the agency, JYP entertainment. The name expresses their place as kids in South Korea.

They wanted to become extraordinary, and with their name, they intended to express a lost child chasing after his dreams.

SKZ and their fandoms hold a very close bond. They use the popular platform VLIVE to host live shows. They often have very interactive lives with their fans.

The group leader Bang Chan or Christopher Bangchan comes live every Sunday. He shares his thoughts stories of the week, talks about music and interacts with his fans.

The official fandom name for Stray Kids is “Stay”. The members gave an explanation for this name, that although the members are ‘stray’ kids, the fans make them stay.

South Korea 4th Gen Kpop Members: Stray Kids?

The group currently has 8 members. They are Christopher Bangchan, known by his stage name Bangchan. Bangchan is also the leader.

Lee Min Ho or Lee Know is the main dancer of the group. Han Jisung or Han, Seo Changbin or Changbin. Lee Yongbok, or Felix, who is known for his distinct deep voice.

Hwang Hyunjin or Hyunjin is often called a prince and visual of the group. Kim Seungmin or Seungmin is the main vocalist. And the final member is Yang Jeongin, who goes by I.N.

A former and ninth member of the team, Woojin left Stray Kids in 2019.

Stray Kids has two main sub-units: 3RACHA and Dance Racha. 3RACHA is the hip-hop sub-unit group. It consists of members Bangchan, Han and Changbin. Three of them write and compose most of the songs. They have also been making music even before the debut of Stray Kids.

The second sub-unit is the dance unit of Stray Kids called Dance Racha. It consists of the main dancer Lee Know, Felix and Hyunjin.

Hyunjin of Stray Kids:

Hyunjin, better known as Hwang Hyunjin, is the main dancer, lead rapper and sub-vocalist. He is also called the visual of the group. However, in past interviews, Hyunjin has mentioned how he doesn’t like being known just as the visual.

Hyunjin is currently 21 years old. He was born on March 20 2000. He was born in Seongnae-Dong in the Gangdong-gu province of Seoul, South Korea.

As a kid, he used to visit Las Vegas, where he used an English name, Sam. He also had a pet dog when he was a kid.

Once, when Hyunjin went shopping with his mother, his life changed for the better good. He was selected by JYP entertainment to become a trainee under their agency.

That was the start of Hyunjin’s career.

Hwang Hyunjin and Stray Kids

As a JYP trainee, he participated in the reality show for Stray Kids. He competed in the show along with his current band members.

He made it to the finals and was added to the final line-up. He promoted the first album during the boys’ debut, which is known as “I am NOT.” The single District 9 was the leading track in the album.

He promoted the mini trilogy albums in the I am trilogy following the debut. The albums in succession were I am NOT, I am WHO? and I am YOU.

In Stray Kids new album, NoEASY, in 2021, Hyunjin collaborated with Bang Chan in the song Red Lights.

Hwang Hyunjin and his nicknames

Hyunjin is one of the most adored members of the group. He is loved by his fans and by the members. Some of the popular nicknames he has received over the years are Jinnie Jin, The Prince, Drama Llama and Night Fury.

Hyunjin’s Profile:

As already mentioned, Hyunjin was born on March 20 2000. His sun sign is Pisces. His Chinese Zodiac Sign is Dragon.

As a child, he lived for a while in Las Vegas, and he studied there during kindergarten. He was around six or seven years old at that time. He was known as Sam during those days. He had a pet dog named Kkami.

Hyunjin attended the SOPA (School of Performing Arts) in Seoul. He graduated in 2019 with a degree in Practical Dance. Hyunjin has often stated he practises during the wee hours of dusk and practices till dawn. He finds the time around this to be quiet, and he can focus.

Hyunjin is part of the dance sub-unit, DanceRacha. He is also a lead rapper for them.

Hyunjin also has niche interests. He loves to draw and read books.

He uploads a lot of his paintings and works on the official Instagram Account of Stray Kids. Hyunjin’s favourite colours are black and white.

In an interview, he said that he likes the music of Dean and Crush. If Hyunjin weren’t a member of Stray Kids, he would have been an interior designer.

Hyunjin’s role model is GOT7’s Jinyoung. VERIVERY’s Youngseung and DCRUSH’s Chanyoung are his SOPA Classmates. He and the maknae I.N. are the closest. He is also very close to Felix.

Hyunjin was chosen as Studio Choom’s artist of the month in October 2021.

He can speak basic English, and he thinks his lips are his charming point.

Hwang Hyunjin: Hiatus and Comeback

In 2021, during the middle of February, a series of bullying accusations rose against Hyunjin.

This took the K-pop netizens on a roll. There was a distinct divide of people who believed the accusations and another half that defended him.

Hyunjin, however, came up and apologized. His management put him on an indefinite hiatus. All ongoing promotion works as well as upcoming promos were halted.

Hyunjin also did not participate in Stray Kids live broadcasts and other events.

On February 22, an anonymous person came to social media, and they accused Hyunjin Stray Kids of verbal abuse and violence during middle school.

Four days after the accusations surfaced, the accuser and former teachers were met by Hyunjin’s agency. Hyunjin officially apologized. JYP and the agency announced his hiatus.

However, there wasn’t any news on his activities for four months, during the release of Mixtape OH and SKZ’s comeback. Hyunjin finally made an appearance.

Hyunjin’s Comeback and Mixtape: OH

On June 26, 2021, four months after taking an official hiatus, Hyunjin made his comeback. He made a sudden appearance in the group’s music video. Fans were taken up by surprise and swept with emotions.

During the release of the promo images for the Mixtape on Stray Kid’s official Twitter handle, it featured images of Changbin and Hyunjin posing.

Hyunjin resumed all activities for Stray Kid’s following this comeback. He performed tracks for the team’s next album. It had a track with BangChan called Red Lights. It sounded like a dream turned into reality for fans.

SKZ and Their Music

SKZ had their showcase debut on March 25 in the JangChung Area. They had their official debut the next day with their album, I am NOT, and the music video for the leading track, “District 9,” was also released. Their album charted at number 4 on the Gaon Chart.

April 14 was the first overseas show for the kids at KCON Japan 2018. They had their second showcase in Kyung Hee University’s Grand Peace Palace on August 5. At the Olympic Hall, they had their third showcase on October 21.

Second Album and MIROH

After their “I am” trilogy, SKZ announced their third comeback in March 5, 2019. This was done to celebrate their anniversary. Their fifth EP, Cle 1: Miroh and the song MIROH were released on the said date. They also had their first win at the M Countdown.

They also released their top hit to date, and the song Double Knot made its release on October 9. They also had followed up on the release of their special albums, Cle 2: Yellow Wood and Cle: Levanter.

Latest Comeback: NoEasy

No Easy, which is named NOEASY, is SKZ’s second full-length album. It was released on August 23 2021. Thunderous is the title track for the album.

SKZ’s music is often termed as ‘noisy’ by K-pop netizens. The album’s title and tracks are a punchline to that accusation. The comeback album is experimentation of all the members.

The songs are of varying genres and are midi-heavy with catchy beats. It has smooth R&B songs such as Hyunjin and Bangchan’s Red Lights and Beach and Summer vibes with Changbin, Lee Know and Felix’s Surfin’.

The title is designed to hide part of the letters E and A to read out as NOISY.

Stray Kids Awards

SKZ won their first award in 2018, the Rookie of the Year Award. They won numerous awards during their debut in 2018 and early 2019. These include Best New Male Artist at the 2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards.

They also have two nominations for Artist of the Year, one at the Mnet Asian Music Awards and the other at the Genie Music Awards. These were both from 2018.

Their last video, Thunderous from Noeasy, surpassed 10,733,393 views on Youtube.

Their other popular videos include Backdoor with 232,541,761 views and God’s Plan  158,701,064 views.

It is hard to measure all the achievements of SKZ in one short article. One can not simply measure the performance and show that the kids bring to the table.

Indeed, these boys will develop with the growth of K-pop beyond South Korea.

So, this is all about Stray Kids and Hyunjin of Stray Kids. If you want to know more about him, you can check out this article.

If you are a fan of Stray Kids, do tell us which song of theirs is your favourite. And if you are new to the whole K-Pop world, you should seriously start listening to Stray Kids.

I hope you had a great time reading this article.

Last Updated on August 26, 2023 by Gauri Singh