# The Boyz (더보이즈) (South Korean band)
**The Boyz** (더보이즈) is a South Korean boy group formed in 2017 by Cre.ker Entertainment, later IST Entertainment under Kakao Entertainment, and now under the label ONE HUNDRED, known for an upbeat pop, hip-hop and dance-influenced sound and for winning Mnet's survival program [Road to Kingdom](https://www.edgepedia.org/road-to-kingdom) in 2020.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939) • [2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) The group debuted on December 6, 2017, and currently consists of ten members: [Sangyeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/sangyeon), Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q, Sunwoo, and Eric.[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) • [3](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/20047680)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Debut | December 6, 2017, with the mini album *The First*, under Cre.ker Entertainment[4](https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/THE_BOYZ) • [2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) |
| Name meaning | "To become the one boy who captivates the hearts of the masses"[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) |
| Competition record | Won Road to Kingdom (2020) on both cumulative points and the final stage; second place on Kingdom: Legendary War (2021)[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) |
| Chart peaks | *Reveal* (2020) topped the Gaon Album Chart; *Breaking Dawn* reached No. 4 on Oricon; *Unexpected* (2025) debuted at No. 1 on the Circle Albums chart[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939) |
| Touring | Four completed world tours; the 2023 Japan tour Zeneration covered 6 cities and drew about 50,000 attendees[3](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/20047680) • [2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) |
| Agency change | All members left IST Entertainment in late 2024 and moved together to ONE HUNDRED, keeping the THE BOYZ trademark[5](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/k-pop/20250621/k-pop-boy-band-the-boyz-struggle-with-ongoing-controversies-despite-distancing-from-ju-haknyeon-scanda) • [4](https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/THE_BOYZ) |
| Current lineup | Ten members after Hwall's departure (circa 2019) and Ju Haknyeon's removal (June 2025); leader Sangyeon is on hiatus for military service[3](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/20047680) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939) |
## Names, identity, and formation
The group's name carries the meaning "to become the one boy who captivates the hearts of the masses"; the Korean music service Bugs renders the same idea as "special boys who will captivate the public."[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) • [3](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/20047680) The Boyz debuted on December 6, 2017, under Cre.ker Entertainment, later IST Entertainment under Kakao Entertainment.[4](https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/THE_BOYZ) • [2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/)
AllMusic lists a ten-name original lineup of Sangyeon (leader, vocalist), Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Hwall (vocalist/dancer/rapper), Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q, and [Ju Haknyeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/ju-hak-nyeon).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939) A 2020 [South China Morning Post](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-china-morning-post) interview describes the group as Cre.ker's eleven-member boy band.[6](https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3106210/boyz-exclusive-interview-k-pop-boy-group-talk-hit-single) Fan-maintained sources state the group debuted as twelve members before an early reduction to eleven.[4](https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/THE_BOYZ) After Hwall left around 2019, the group had eleven members; Ju Haknyeon's 2025 removal brought the lineup to ten.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939)
## Debut and early career (2017–2020)
The Boyz debuted in December 2017 with the first mini album *The First*, led by the single "Boy."[3](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/20047680) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939) Through the following years the group released the EPs *Reveal*, *Chase*, and *Thrill-ing*, building an identity, in Bugs' description, around addictive melodies and powerful performance.[3](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/20047680)
In February 2020 the group released its debut full-length album, *Reveal*, led by the title-track single; it topped the South Korean Gaon Album Chart and reached number 32 in Japan.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939) That September the group held its first solo virtual concert, titled [Re:al], on September 19, and released its fifth EP, *Chase*, two days later.[6](https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3106210/boyz-exclusive-interview-k-pop-boy-group-talk-hit-single)
## Road to Kingdom, Kingdom, and breakout
The group's competitive performances changed its public profile. On Mnet's 2020 survival show Road to Kingdom, The Boyz competed against six other K-pop acts and won both the cumulative points standings and the final stage.[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) The victory, announced on the June 18, 2020 finale, earned the group a place in the follow-up program [Kingdom: Legendary War](https://www.edgepedia.org/kingdom-legendary-war); six days before the finale, on June 12, they released "Checkmate" as part of the Road to Kingdom Final digital EP.[4](https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/THE_BOYZ)
On Kingdom: Legendary War, broadcast from April 2021, The Boyz finished in second place, with [Universal Music Japan](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-music-japan)'s biography crediting their performances as standing out among the competing acts.[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/)
## Discography and chart milestones
The group's Korean releases have repeatedly topped domestic album charts. The single album *Maverick* (November 2021) and the EPs *Thrill-ing* (2021), *Be Aware* (2022), and *Be Awake* (2023) all reached the top of South Korean charts, according to AllMusic.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939) The ninth Korean mini album *導火線* (*Trigger*), with the title track "TRIGGER (導火線)," was announced in October 2024.[7](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/)
In Japan, the debut Japanese album *Breaking Dawn* hit number four on the Oricon Albums Chart, *Delicious* (2023) reached number two, and *Gibberish* (2024) placed in the Oricon Top Ten.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939) The Japanese single "Last Kiss" was released on December 2, 2024.[7](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/)
The 2025 cycle marked a new phase. In March 2025 the group released its third full-length Korean album, *Unexpected*, anchored by the single "VVV," which debuted at number one on the Circle Albums chart; the tenth mini album *a;effect* topped the chart later in 2025, and the year closed with the special single *Still Love You*.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939) • [3](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/20047680)
## By the numbers
Touring scale is the best-documented quantitative record of the group's growth. The 2022 B-Zone world tour covered 6 US and 4 European cities and closed with a three-night encore at KSPO DOME in Seoul; that October the group staged its first Japan tour in Kobe, Fukuoka, and Tokyo.[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) The second Japan tour, Zeneration (2023), covered 6 Japanese cities and mobilized about 50,000 attendees.[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) Bugs counts four completed world tours in total.[3](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/20047680) The sales trajectory can be described through chart positions: repeated No. 1 placements on Korean album charts from 2020 through 2025 and consistent Oricon Top Ten entries in Japan.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939)
## What has changed since 2023
In November 2023 the group won the Best Asia Group special award at MTV VMAJ 2023, given to a group representing Asia.[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) In July 2024 it launched its third world tour, Zeneration Ⅱ, which included an Osaka-jo Hall performance in Japan that September.[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) • [7](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/)
**The agency move.** In September 2024, TenAsia reported that the group would leave IST Entertainment as contracts expired in mid-December; on November 15 the new label ONE HUNDRED, founded by MC Mong and Cha Ga-won, confirmed the group would join, and on December 5 IST announced that the members' exclusive contracts had ended.[4](https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/THE_BOYZ) The Korea Times describes the simultaneous transfer of all eleven members to a single new agency as rare and as a sign of group unity, dating the departure to November 2024.[5](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/k-pop/20250621/k-pop-boy-band-the-boyz-struggle-with-ongoing-controversies-despite-distancing-from-ju-haknyeon-scanda) After initial negotiations reportedly fell through, ONE HUNDRED and IST reached a mutual agreement allowing the group to keep the THE BOYZ trademark.[4](https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/THE_BOYZ)
**2025 lineup changes.** In June 2025 ONE HUNDRED suspended and then terminated Ju Haknyeon's contract over matters of his private life, removing him from the group.[4](https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/THE_BOYZ) Also in 2025, leader Sangyeon went on hiatus to fulfill his mandatory military service.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939) The group continued releasing through these changes: *Unexpected* in March, *a;effect* later in the year, and *Still Love You* to close 2025.[3](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/20047680)
## Membership changes and current composition
The lineup has evolved in stages from the 2017 debut. Hwall, the vocalist/dancer/rapper of the original roster, left around 2019 for health reasons.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939) In 2022, Eric went on an indefinite health-related hiatus announced on March 4, and Sunwoo's hiatus was announced on August 30.[4](https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/THE_BOYZ) Ju Haknyeon's 2025 removal and Sangyeon's enlistment leave a current roster of ten members as listed by Bugs: Sangyeon, Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q, Sunwoo, and Eric.[3](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/20047680)
## Competitive record and musical identity
The group's distinguishing record is competitive: it is the act that won Road to Kingdom, the Mnet program that pitted performance-oriented boy groups against one another, and it followed that with a second-place finish on Kingdom: Legendary War.[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/) Its musical identity, as characterized by Bugs and AllMusic, rests on upbeat pop, hip-hop, and dance material with performance-driven presentation, rather than a single signature subgenre.[3](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/20047680) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939)
## References
1. [The Boyz – Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-boyz-mn0003771939)
2. [BIOGRAPHY – THE BOYZ, Universal Music Japan](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/biography/)
3. [더보이즈(THE BOYZ) – 벅스 (Bugs artist registry)](https://music.bugs.co.kr/artist/20047680)
4. [THE BOYZ – Kpop Wiki](https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/THE_BOYZ)
5. [The Boyz struggle with ongoing controversies despite distancing from Ju Haknyeon scandal – The Korea Times](https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/k-pop/20250621/k-pop-boy-band-the-boyz-struggle-with-ongoing-controversies-despite-distancing-from-ju-haknyeon-scanda)
6. [The Boyz exclusive interview – South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3106210/boyz-exclusive-interview-k-pop-boy-group-talk-hit-single)
7. [THE BOYZ – Universal Music Japan (news/topics)](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/the-boyz/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › East and Southeast Asian pop scenes › K-pop and the Korean popular music scene › Artists, groups, and people: K-pop and the Korean popular music scene › Third-generation idol groups › Surnames T to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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