Meet 1VERSE, the K-pop group transcending borders

1VERSE is the first K-pop group with members from North Korea

(Photo credit: Singing Beetle)

When 1VERSE debuted in July 2025, they made headlines around the world—becoming the first K-pop band to feature two North Korean defectors.

“When I came to South Korea, I was not really into K-pop. I was more into ballads,” says Seok, who was born in Ryanggang Province in North Korea, in an interview with bunni pop through an interpreter.

“It was only when I joined [my company] Singing Beetle that I started to learn what K-pop is, and what I would need to do to become a K-pop star.”

Seok along with member Hyuk are both 25 and from North Korea. As teenagers, they defected from their home country and eventually landed in South Korea. Between 2021 and 2022, both were recruited by the boutique K-pop label Singing Beetle to be part of a group.

Now alongside their members Aito, Nathan and Kenny, 1VERSE (pronounced like “universe”), is set to tour across North America this January and February on tour. Their sole Canadian tour stop will be at Montreal’s Club Soda on February 27.

“Now that we’re going on tour, I think I’ll be able to see people in person because [interacting with fans] was all digital before,” Seok says about performing in North America.

“I would love to feel comfortable and close to our fans, enough to shake hands and give each other a hug.”

(Photo credit: Singing Beetle)

What makes 1VERSE unique as a K-pop group is that every member can be described as a bit of an outsider to South Korean society.

While Hyuk and Seok both had to adjust to life outside of North Korea, their members also come from different places. Aito, 20, hails from Chiba, Japan and worked as a dance teacher before moving to South Korea to train as an idol. Meanwhile, members Kenny and Nathan both come from the United States. Kenny is of Chinese descent and was raised in Orange County, California. Nathan is Laotian and Thai, and grew up in Bentonville, Arkansas.

1VERSE is the brainchild of Singing Beetle CEO Michelle Cho, who formed the company in 2019 after working at SM Entertainment in Artists and Repertoire. At SM, Cho worked with artists including EXO and SHINee. But over time, she also saw the challenges aspiring artists faced to achieve their dreams of performing, with many leaving music entirely because they could not sustain a livelihood from it.

(Photo credit: Singing Beetle)

In a separate interview, Cho says Singing Beetle was formed with the goal of making K-pop “more inclusive.”

“I wanted to contribute in helping create a bridge for up and coming writers to have access to the market, and also create more opportunities for people to connect and work together.”

According to Cho, Hyuk was the first member to be recruited into the group. Despite having no musical background or education, she saw the raw talent immediately after he submitted a few rap verses he wrote to her.

“I could hear that the elements a song needed to have was all there,” she says of her early impressions of Hyuk. “So I was like, ‘Ok, if the guy can do this, he’s obviously talented. It’s just a matter of developing that potential.”

As of reporting, Hyuk is currently on hiatus for personal and health reasons and did not participate in an interview with bunni pop.

Seok, who grew up near the Chinese border in North Korea, had a little bit more exposure to South Korean culture as music and K-dramas would sometimes be smuggled through the North Korean border via SD cards and USBs.

Still, music was not something he considered doing growing up. In North Korea, Seok was a competitive soccer player until he defected in 2019 alongside his father and grandmother.

It was only after defecting to the south that Seok started considering music, turning to ballads as a source of comfort and encouragement. “I wanted to do something similar. I wanted to be a comfort to people as a singer and performer,” he says.

Upon seeing Seok during an audition, Cho knew she found someone special. “I loved him right away, like the voice as well as the attitude he had towards things. It was really great.”

Following a round of auditions, Aito, Kenny and Nathan rounded up the lineup that now makes up 1VERSE.

Aito, who grew up in Japan as a dancer, first fell in love with groups like Super Junior, inspiring him to move to Korea and pursue a career as an idol. Before joining Singing Beetle, Aito was a K-pop trainee at another label, but ultimately failed to debut in a group under that company.

“I’ve experienced some of my own failures during that time, but I think I was able to still hold on to my dream,” Aito says of his journey to finding his way into 1VERSE.

Meanwhile, Kenny grew up performing at events and auditioning at casting calls wherever he could, until someone suggested he try out for a K-pop group. Following his high school graduation, he made the leap and moved to Korea to become a singer.

Nathan, on the other hand, discovered K-pop as a high school freshman through his cousins in Texas. Inspired by groups like EXO, he’d send online auditions for seven years. In 2024, it was Kenny who discovered Nathan’s YouTube channel and sent it over to Singing Beetle for consideration. Things moved quickly soon after. In December of that year, Nathan was announced as the newest member to join 1VERSE.

“It went from sending auditions every year to well, I don’t think it’s gonna happen because I never hear anything back,” Nathan recalls. “Them reaching out, I was like, ‘Wow, I have to take it!’”

Through 1VERSE’s different lived experiences, the group now hopes to connect with their fans—known as 5TARZ—together through their music.

Their latest single, “WABIF (Wide Awake Before I Fall)” digs into the feeling of being lost and lonely. Meanwhile, “Shattered” discusses feeling like the world is collapsing around you, and finding strength to overcome it.

For Seok, “Shattered” represents leaving behind a long-held dream he once had of becoming a national soccer player, and finding a new path to become a singer.

“It’s a song for people who are kind of lost,” Seok says. “I think it’s such an honour to be able to be presented in front of so many people and I have a lot of gratitude in my heart.”

For Nathan, the song represents his journey coming from a small town.

“The song itself really reflects my experience back home living in Arkansas, having this dream of being an artist. But due to the lack of resources, and just not having the ability to pursue that career, I felt like I was falling apart,” he says.

“Coming out to Korea and finally being able to pursue it, I also was in the mindset of, ‘I can’t go back. This is my end goal and the career I’ve always wanted.’”

Soon, Nathan will finally reach a full circle moment in February, when he and his bandmates travel to his hometown of Bentonville, Ark. to perform two concerts. According to Nathan, it’ll also be the first time a K-pop group will play in the city.

“There’s nothing close to K-pop there!” Nathan laughs. “[My friends and family] are begging to come.”

From escaping to a new country to embracing new cultures, 1VERSE hopes to continue to break down barriers and achieve new goals as a group.

“Whatever stage that we’re on, we [want] to make it memorable,” Kenny says.

Nathan adds, “My goal is just to inspire people to follow their dreams just the way I did, regardless of your background. As long as you have a strong enough passion for it, then you can make it happen.”

Tickets to 1VERSE’s <SHATTERED> Tour are on sale now.

Follow 1VERSE Instagram.

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