Byun Baek - hyun

December 16, 2020

In this Korean name, the family name is Byun.

Byun Baek-hyun (born May 6, 1992), better known mononymously as Baekhyun, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actor. Baekhyun began training under SM Entertainment in 2011. A few months later, he made his debut in 2012 as a member of the South Korean-Chinese boy group Exo, its sub-group Exo-K and later on its sub-unit Exo-CBX. He is also the leader of South Korean supergroup SuperM.

Following the release of several albums and extended plays with Exo, Baekhyun pursued a solo career in 2019, releasing his first extended play, City Lights. The EP was a commercial success, selling more than half-a-million copies in 2019, and becoming the best-selling album by a solo artist of the 2010s in South Korea.City Lights was followed by his second EP, Delight (2020), that garnered sales of over 1 million copies, becoming first album by a solo artist in South Korea to do so in 19 years. He has been labeled as the "Genius Idol".

Early life

Baekhyun was born on May 6, 1992 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. He has a brother named Baek-beom who is seven years older than him. Baekhyun began training to be a singer when he was 11 years old, influenced by South Korean singer Rain. He attended Jungwon High School in Bucheon, where he was the lead singer in a band called Honsusangtae (lit. "coma") and won a local music festival. He received piano lessons from Kim Hyun-woo, member of South Korean rock band DickPunks. In addition to musical activities, Baekhyun trained as a martial artist in his youth and has a dan 3 black belt in Hapkido.

Baekhyun was spotted by an SM Entertainment agent while he was studying for the entrance exams to the Seoul Institute of the Arts. He later joined SM Entertainment in 2011 through the S.M. Casting System.

Fashion

In May 2018, Vogue magazine revealed that Baekhyun collaborated with Privé, and would be launching his own brand, "Privé by BBH", a unisex street-wear brand, on July 1. Baekhyun is now the co-creative director of the brand. In an interview with Forbes, Baekhyun explained that he wants to "encourage people to embody being fearless" when they wear clothes from his brand.

Personal life

Along with fellow Exo members Chanyeol and Suho, Baekhyun attends Kyung Hee Cyber University and take online classes for Culture and Arts Department of Business Administration.