Pre-debut
Two of the five members of the band are North Korean defectors.[1] Yu Hyuk, one of the members, is from North Hamgyong Province and grew up with his father and grandmother, after his parents separated and his mother defected to South Korea.[1] His family was poor and as a child he worked odd jobs, begged on the streets and sometimes stole food to survive.[2][3] He said that he usually ate only one meal a day and he never heard of K-pop music while in North Korea.[3] Hyuk was contacted by his mother, who requested he join her in South Korea, and he undertook a six-month journey through several countries to escape, arriving in Seoul, South Korea, at age 13, in 2013.[1][2] After arriving in South Korea, he became interested in K-pop, joining a music club in his first year of high school and writing rap lyrics.[4]
The other North Korean member, Kim Seok, grew up in a region near China and was from a "relatively better-off family."[1] He was able to listen to K-pop and watch South Korean television shows that were smuggled in with USBs and SD cards.[1] He defected to South Korea in 2019 after several of his uncles had done so.[5] He had been a football player in North Korea, but gave up the sport after defecting.[5]
In 2020, Hyuk met Michelle Cho, a former representative at SM Entertainment and the founder of independent label Singing Beetle.[2] She offered to provide rap lessons and Hyuk left his job as a factory worker to enter music full-time in 2021.[2] He thus became the first member of the boy group SB Boyz under the Singing Beetle label, later renamed to 1Verse (pronounced "universe").[2][5] A year and a half later, Seok was added to the group.[3] Cho, their trainer, described the two as "blank canvases" and complete beginners, noting "they had absolutely no grasp of pop culture," but praised their development and ability to "endure physical challenges."[1]
In 2024, Hyuk released a rap song, titled "Ordinary Person" as part of a pre-debut project.[1] By early 2024, the group had added two more members: Aito, who is Japanese and Korean, and Kenny, who is Chinese-American.[6] A fifth member, Nathan, an American of Lao and Thai descent, joined by the end of the year.[1]
On July 4, 2025, 1Verse released their pre-debut single, "Multiverse", co-produced by 1Verse member Hyuk. They also released a music video paired with the song.[7]
2025–present: Debut
On June 20, Singing Beetle announced that 1Verse would debut in July.[8] Their debut single album The 1st Verse and the music video for its title track "Shattered" were released on July 18.[9]
In September 2025 it was announced via 1Verse official social media channels that Hyuk would be taking a hiatus from the group due to personal and health reasons.[10] In October 2025 1Verse announced their first tour titled "Shattered",[11] which began in January 2026.[12]
In January of 2026, 1Verse released their first comeback, a single by the name of "WABIF" (Wide Awake Before I Fall).
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