The members of the highly anticipated project K-pop boy band known as the Gomak Boys, which will be featured on Kakao TV's new reality music program were tipped-off by JTBC on Friday.

They are Paul Kim, Jung Seung-hwan, Kim Min-suk of MeloMance, and Big Naughty and Ha Hyun-sang of Hoppipolla. Kakao TV was yet to make the announcement.

Gomak is the Korean word for “eardrum” and is often used to describe singers who have great voices that sing beautiful ballad songs about love that “resonate with the eardrums of the listeners.”

Kakao TV’s new reality, which follows the debut of a new ballad boy band while documenting their efforts to make it happen, from writing music to shooting music videos, is slated to air from next month.

Paul Kim, who debuted in 2014 is one of the first names that pops up when Koreans think of love songs. He has an array of songs that he’s written himself that continue to rank high on major music charts, including “Would You Like Some Coffee,” “Rain,” “Her,” “Dear My Love,” and “Gloomy Sunday” among others.

Jung has been dubbed the “season of ballads” since his 2014 appearance on “Kpop Star.” 'Season' was the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) title for the eldest son of the crown prince, a joke about how young and promising of an artist Jung is.

Kim from ballad duo MeloMance is also a proven singer of popular love songs.

Big Naughty, whose real name is Seo Dong-hyeon, first garnered attention when he appeared on the eighth season of the rap competition show “Show Me the Money” in 2019. After the competition, he signed with H1ghr Music and released his debut EP “Bucket List” last year.

Ha is a veteran singer, songwriter and a producer, who is the vocalist and guitarist in the band Hoppipolla, which won JTBC’s music competition show “Super Band” last year.


BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]