In the galaxy of talented stars that shine in K-pop, birthdays are one of the best opportunities for fans to get together and remember just how much they love their favorite artists. To add to the celebration, the Korea JoongAng Daily’s entertainment brand Celeb Confirmed will take votes from fans on their favorite stars born in each month and dive into their careers, achievements and more in the newest series — Birthday Bios.

Jeno of NCT was named No. 1 among April-born stars in this month’s Celeb Confirmed K-pop birthday poll, winning 2,808 votes — a whopping 90.61 percent of the total.

NCT’s Jeno is often referred to as “the Samoyed of NCT” by both his listeners and NCT Dream bandmates due to his cute and loveable appearance. Fans have also, awarded Jeno the moniker of “half-Samoyed, half-Doberman” in reference to his contrasting muscular body.

Such nicknames, however, are more than skin deep. Beneath the aesthetic moniker, Jeno is the main rapper of NCT Dream, capable of writing his own rap lines; the lead dancer of NCT who leads the band’s powerful choreographies; and the caring and diligent sub-leader of NCT Dream.

Jeno was born in Incheon on April 23, 2000 under his real name, Lee Je-no. But he spent most of his early life in Ilsan in Goyang City, Gyeonggi, attending Hyunsan Elementary School and Hyunsan Middle School. Others quickly noticed Jeno’s born-to-be charms; he appeared as a ‘well-raised kid’ in milk, phone, snack and even in insurance commercials.


Jeno joined his current agency, SM Entertainment, in June 2013 before being revealed to the public as a member of SMRookies later that year, alongside Seulgi, a future member of Red Velvet and Taeyong, who would later also debut in NCT. As a member of SMRookies, SM Entertainment’s predebut project aiming to familiarize its trainees among K-pop fans, Jeno appeared on the Korean version of “The Mickey Mouse Club” (2015) and on “NCT Life in Bangkok” alongside his future bandmates.

Jeno eventually debuted as a member of NCT Dream on Aug. 25, 2016, with the subgroup’s first digital single, “Chewing Gum.” While he may have started his career as a rather quiet member who rode hoverboards while dancing to the track, he slowly but surely grabbed the attention of the K-pop community.

Jeno’s big year came in 2018. He began his career in May as the co-presenter of SBS M’s weekly music program “The Show” (2011-) and became the leader of NCT Dream after Mark graduated from the subgroup. The less-noticed member came to embody the positive qualities of both a presenter and a leader, guiding the show while also filling the gap as the band’s new head.

Even after Mark returned as the leader of NCT Dream in 2020, Jeno’s bandmates elected to name him sub-leader and sub-captain of the group. Jeno also joined subunit NCT U in 2020, participating in the unit’s 2020 album “NCT Resonance Pt. 1.”

Jeno, as the main rapper of NCT Dream, is also known for his lyrics. He wrote his own raps on “Dear Dream” (2018); is credited with the rap-making process of four out of the six tracks on “We Boom” (2019) and also took part in albums “Hot Sauce” (2021), “Glitch Mode” (2022) and “ISTJ” (2023). He was also involved in the production of “Unknown” and “Breathing” on the band’s most recent album “Dream()Scape.”

Eleven years after he was first revealed as a member of SMRookies and seven years after his debut, Jeno had a busy 2023. NCT Dream’s third full-length album, “ISTJ,” sold more than 3.6 million copies in the first week of its release, making it the most-sold album within SM Entertainment and the third most sold album in the first week in Korea.

In fact, the band’s world tour “The Dream Show2: In a Dream” saw Jeno spend the better part of April in the United States, performing in Newark, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle before returning to Korea on his very birth date of April 23.

Just as Jeno called “Dream()Scape” a new journey and new beginnings for NCT Dream, he will continue to be diligent, powerful and Samoyed-like in 2024.

The band dropped its fifth EP, “Dream()Scape,” in March and will kick off its third world tour “The Dream Show 3: Dream()Scape” in May, performing in Seoul, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines and more.

But in the meantime, we wish a happy birthday to Jeno, who turned 24 on Tuesday.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]