🚨The year may not be exact🚨
There was a trainee turnover after EXO's debut in 2012.
Around that time, NCT's Taeyong joined the company.
Shortly after, he became the leader of the trainees and began leading the training.
In the same year, NCT members Jaehyun, Mark, and Yuta joined.
Johnny (from Chicago) joined SM in 2007 and only came to Korea for training during vacations.
It's said that Taeyong once went to pick up Johnny at the airport...
The following year, 2013,
NCT members Taeil, Doyoung, Ten, Winwin, Haechan, Jeno, Jaemin, and Jisung joined.
From this point, the vibe of a bustling big family began.
After that,
In 2015, Renjun joined.
In 2016, Chenle also joined.
After practicing together for a while,
In 2016, NCT U, NCT 127, and NCT Dream debuted.
After their debut, the member who became the leader of the trainees was
NCT's Jungwoo (joined in 2014, joined NCT in 2018).
At this time, there were also many foreign trainees, but Jungwoo was the eldest among the Koreans, and Kun from NCT was the eldest among the foreigners, and both played a leadership-like role as senior trainees.
The trainee who came in when Jungwoo was the leader of the trainees was
RIIZE's Sungchan (Joined in 2016)
Sungchan said he learned about trainee life in general from Jungwoo when he first joined the company.
(For reference, Jungwoo learned how to buy meals in SM Ent. from Doyoung and Jaehyun)
The following year, in 2017, Eunseok, who is the same age as Sungchan, joined, and Jungwoo's children were born.
(= Referring to the trainees who trained together during Jungwoo's leadership, a term coined by Doyoung)
During this time, the WayV members were also practicing together.
The members involved in the infamous cola water purifier incident
〈Jungwoo, Seongchan, Eunseok, and WayV members〉
Curious if cola would turn into purified water in the water purifier, they filled an empty bottle with cola, and for the next 6 months, the water had a cola scent.
In 2018, Jungwoo debuted with NCT U in "Boss".
WayV debuted in 2019.
When WayV debuted, Sungchan became the eldest trainee.
The trainees who came in at that time were
RIIZE's Wonbin (Joined in 2019)
(Wonbin, please share some trainee stories...)
After that, Shotaro, Sohee, and Anton joined in order.
In September 2023, RIIZE debuted.
And now, among the members of NCT's final team, NCT Wish,
Long-time trainees Sion (joined in 2018) and Yushi (joined in 2016)
practice together with some members of NCT and RIIZE.
Especially Yushi who joined at a very young age and even witnessed the debut of NCT Dream.
The shining Yushi, who was very shy, joined the company around the time when NCT Dream debuted. Although he didn't say anything, he watched the Dream members learn to ride hoverboards. After the summer vacation training ended, he returned to Japan and immediately bought a hoverboard and started to learn how to ride it.
Quiet but with a passion greater than anyone else's in his heart, our Yushi is making his debut.
Thus, the final debut of the grand NCT and RIIZE is complete.
TMI
1. Eunseok and Jungwoo shared a dorm together when they were trainees.
2. Wonbin and Sion became close due to their similarities of being the same age, coming from regional areas (Ulsan, Mokpo), and being cast through DMs. They were always spotted together.
Trainees spotted in SM Town Concert
The one in the black hoodie is Wonbin, the one in the green vest is Sion.
3. Anton and Yushi are close friends, as they are the same age.
4. Anton's first encounter with a trainee after joining was Wonbin, and the first impression was intimidating.
5. Eunseok and Sion were spotted going to practice together during their trainee days. It seems like Eunseok, Sion, and Wonbin practiced together for a long time and were close.
6. Shotaro's first friend upon arriving in Korea was Wonbin.
7. In the growl cover video that Shotaro uploaded during his time with NCT, the person dancing alongside him wearing a black hat is Yuushi, who was 17 at that time.
8. There are so many anecdotes about NCT trainees... It's almost like we need to start a new thread.
For instance, Taeyong noticing that the company were picking trainees to debut so he made them practice even harder; Taeyong ensuring Haechan, who was too young, to not go home alone but with Mark after practice; Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jaemin, and Jeno went to COEX; when Doyoung took Haechan, Jaemin, and Jeno to the Han River on a holiday; inviting foreign members (Johnny, Ten, Yuta) to Doyoung's house for holidays... and so on.
9. Also, among the trainees who debuted in other companies, it's presumed that some briefly trained in SM during the time when Jungwoo was the trainee leader, such as Enhypen's Jungwon (joined in 2017) and TWS's Shinyu (exact year unknown).
SM has a trainee system, so there are many trainees who passed through briefly.
And that's it.
theqoo
-The Dream members were really babies, huh.
-This is interesting.
-I need more stories about RIIZEㅋㅋㅋ
-The Dream members joined when they were so young...
-NCT had many members and activities as rookies, so there are lots of interesting stories. RIIZE and Wish are still newbies, so there aren't many stories yet. From what I saw at SM Town Concert, the two teams seemed really close, so I hope they share a lot in the future.
-So Jungwon was in SM, huh? Even Shinyu?ㅋㅋㅋ I'm curious about those stories.
-RIIZE hasn't had many chances to share stories yet. It's only been half a year since their debut, so they're not doing many live broadcasts or using Bubble yet. Waiting for the day they share trainee stories.
-Taeyong was the youngest when he joined, but then all the older ones left, and he clung to them crying, like, what should I do? And now he's the leader of NCT.
-They must have worked hard from a young age.
-Can't wait for Jungwoo's Children's stories to be revealed...
-I'm really curious about RIIZE's stories as trainees
-Taeyong, Jungwoo, Sungchan, especially, must have felt proud and pitiful. Just imagine, their older brothers who trained with them either debuted or left, and suddenly they became leaders, leading the practice, and they're still young.
-In RIIZE, Anton was the first one to join and Sohee was the last to join in 2022.
-Johnny, in the early days of his trainee life, traveled between the US and Korea... He also practiced when EXO was formed, so he was a trainee for almost 9 years?
-NCT has been together for so long and has so many members, so they have the vibe of a big family ㅠㅜ Let's be happy together.
-If it weren't for the NCT system, with so many members, they probably wouldn't have all debuted...? In a way, it seems like a well-made system.
-There are not many Jungwoo's Children moments, right? Even just watching the videos, they were so heartwarming and fun
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