Won Taehyun

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Won Taehyun
Won Taehyun in January 2025
Background
Birth Name	Won Tae-hyun (원태현)
Birth Date	October 28, 1999 (1999-10-28)
Birth Place	Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea
Hometown	Ulsan, South Korea
Nationality	South Korean
Career
Occupation	Singer, rapper
Group Debut	July 2017 (MNK) March 18, 2023 (Opal)
Years Active	2017 - present
Agency	Big Planet Creative
Associations	MNK Opal
OOU
Face Claim	Park Seo-ham

Won Taehyun (원태현) is a South Korean singer, rapper, actor, and model. He was a member of boy group MNK from 2017 until the group's disbandment in 2021. He participated in two different survival shows, Turbo Max (2022) and Outside The Box (2023), where he made it to the debut lineup of project boy group Opal in the finale.

Early life

Won Tae-hyun was born on October 28, 1999 in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. His first experience in the entertainment industry was becoming a trainee of Jellyfish Entertainment for one year.

Career

2017-2021

Taehyun made his idol industry debut as the lead rapper and lead vocalist of YB Entertainment boy group MNK in July 2017 with the single album Beast Boy. While MNK gained traction on several forums for their polished dancing skills and model-like visuals, the group's hip hop sound and mature concept did not stand out among the crowd of rookie boy groups holding a similar image. In an interview in 2022, Taehyun revealed that the group wasn't always perfect behind the cameras, and fights would sometimes break out between the members as they couldn't contain their individual frustrations over the state of their career paths.
In mid-2021, Taehyun made the courageous choice to participate in boy group talent competition program Sol Puzzle, which envisioned the formation of a five-member supergroup by the end of the show. Unfortunately, he was eliminated in the second ranking ceremony and returned to promote with MNK. The group released one more comeback, an extended play (EP) titled Venomous in September 2021; MNK recorded a moderate increase in album sales, selling over 16,000 copies. Unfortunately, MNK announced their disbandment in November 2021 after all members decided not to renew their contracts with YB Entertainment.

2022-2023

Won Taehyun in 2023

From May to July 2022, Taehyun participated in KBS2 and 32 MEDIA's survival program TURBO MAX; he finished 10th and was eliminated in the semi-finals.
From December 2022 to February 2023, Taehyun participated in KBC survival program Outside The Box as a member of Team Opal, one of the teams created for the competition. Team Opal would end up becoming the winning team of the show, allowing him to finally re-debut as an idol boy group member. Taehyun's reaction to Opal's name being called went viral on Twitter and several Korean platforms, and has been compared to the popular GIF of Sakamoto Mashiro during the Girls Planet 999 finale.
In June 2023, it was confirmed that Taehyun will be participating in MBS reality singing competition The Other World, where 10 idols from boy groups, including dancers, rappers, and others who does not hold the main vocalist position, show off their singing abilities that are often overshadowed by their main talent or role in the group. He would go on to become successful in the show, ranking 1st place for most of the rankings and going viral for his performances on Korean entertainment discussion websites. He ultimately ended up in 2nd place after his finale song accumulated 72,600 streams on Spotify Korea.

2024

Won Taehyun in December 2024 for Santa, Won't You Hear Me?

In January 2024, Won Taehyun officially signed with Big Planet Creative for his solo activities, following an agreement with Dazzle Entertainment that allowed him to remain as a member of Opal. In August 2024, he opened his solo YouTube channel, where he released a re-arranged cover of Solviz's "I'm Not Moving"; after gaining traction on TikTok, the cover received over 10 million views and numerous casual listeners demanded an official studio release, as they really liked his singing voice.
On October 7, 2024, he released his debut single "Primé", which featured Won Kyungjun of MERAVI as a featuring artist. The song was received generally favorable reviews from music critics, with its music video being praised for its symbolisms that paint an honest picture of his life trajectory as a K-pop idol. The single was nominated for Best Collaboration at the 2024 Seoul Music Performance Awards.
In December 2024, he released an R&B cover of the classic Korean holiday song "Santa, Won't You Hear Me?", as his first ever solo winter project.

2025

On April 14, 2025, Won Taehyun released his first extended play (EP) Too Bad For Me.. The EP included new collaborations with trot singer Bang Hyeonjae and Lee Hyunjae of rookie boy group NXG. Streams of the EP significantly increased following Taehyun's promotions in variety shows and the monthly music program Hangang's Mystery Coffee Shop.

PERSONAL LIFE

Relationships

• Close Friends
  • Won Kyungjun (MERAVI)
  • Han Yul (Former Solviz)
• Friends
  • Paek Beomjun (Former Solviz)
  • Kim Woojin (Former Opal)
  • Kim Taewoo (Former Opal)
  • Wi Yeonwoo (Former Opal)
  • On Hakkun (Former Opal)
  • Hou Sucheng (Former Opal)
  • Kim Yejun (Former Opal)
  • Nam Hye (Former Opal)
  • Yoon Ahnsung (Former Opal)

Discography

EPs (1)

	Title / Release Date	Label	Format
	Too Bad For Me. April 2024	BPC	Download · streaming

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2021	Sol Puzzle	Himself	Survival show
2022	Turbo Max	Himself	Survival show; ranked 10th (eliminated)
2023	Outside The Box	Himself	Survival show; Team Opal member
	The Other World	Himself	Reality singing competition