Believe it or not, despite having debuted 5 years ago, WINNER has NEVER held a concert in K-Pop-obsessed Malaysia. They were guest performers for 2NE1’s 2014 concert in Malaysia, but has never performed in a full concert.
The closest they ever came was in 2014, when they performed as part of YG Family’s concert in Singapore. Or last year in Bangkok for iMe K-Pop Fantival. But Malaysian fans can have a reason to celebrate because WINNER will finally be having a full concert in Malaysia this Sunday (14th October)!
If you’re a casual or new fan to the group, we’ve prepared just the thing for you – a beginner’s guide to the boys of WINNER. If you’re a hardcore Inner Circle, there’s nothing here you won’t already know – but it’s always good to remind yourself of the boys’ goofiness, right?
Jinwoo is known as the international lost kid
We have the term ‘evil maknae’ for the youngest members who dominate over the older members in a group, but what about the eldest member who actually acts like the maknae?
Jinwoo is one of them. He’s 27 years old but looks not a day older than 20. He’s the mat hyung (literally translates to eldest brother) but looks like a maknae. He also has many nicknames, among the well-known ones are ‘Imjado Prince’ and ‘International Lost Kid’. The former because he was born in the small island of Imja, and the latter because he gets lost frequently.
The poor boy can’t even find his way around in a hotel lobby. Don’t believe us?
Watch this:
The maknae who is also the leader
Maknae-cum-leaders in K-Pop-verse don’t happen often, but Seungyoon is one of these rare specimens. However, he was neither the maknae nor the leader from the start.
The original maknae was Taehyun and the first leader was actually Mino. When Taehyun left the group in 2016, Seungyoon – the second youngest – became maknae. As for the leader position, Mino actually held the role during WINNER’s pre-debut reality show “WIN: Who Is Next”. Unfortunately, the rapper hurt his leg during a challenge and Yang Hyunsuk passed on leadership to Seungyoon.
The talented singer also placed fourth in “Superstar K2”, a singing contest similar to “American Idol”. He then debuted as a solo artiste in 2013 with “Wild and Young” and “It Rains“.
Here’s his most famous performance from “Superstar K2”:
Seunghoon’s love for Inner Circles run deep
Seunghoon uses a unique way to express his love and gratitude for Inner Circles – by tattooing a special logo on his body. The tattoo shows the group’s logo with the fanclub’s logo orbiting around it. It’s quite a beautiful tattoo and he wears it proudly on his back.
He is also a dancing genius. Seunghoon showed this off during his “K-Pop Star” days, when he impressed judges with his witty and creative dance performances. His dances focused more on storytelling than sharp moves, which brought him far into the competition – he managed to place 4th after all.
Some of WINNER’s dances are also choreographed by Seunghoon, for example “Empty”, “Fool”, and “Really Really”. The 26-year-old is recently catching attention again for his role as mentor on “Dancing High”, a dancing competition.
Here’s one of our favourite performances from him:
Mino debuted in a quartet in 2011 and almost made his debut as a member of Block B
Yup, WINNER is not Mino’s first group. He used to be part of K-pop group BoM (Blooming of our Music) but it disbanded in 2013. We’re not sure how it happened, but he joined YG Entertainment as a trainee after that and the rest is history.
He’s also known for his close friendship with some of the Block B members, particularly P.O and Zico. Mino and P.O have been best friends since high school, and Mino almost ended up as a member for Block B but was kicked out (or left?) for unknown reasons.
He’s now known as the variety genius after showing his unexpected comedic side on seasonal variety show “New Journey to the West 3”. The latest season of the show also reunites him with his best friend P.O!
Here’s a cute video of their friendship:
Now that you are familiar with the members, get ready to have a good time at the concert 😉
Tickets for “WINNER 2018 EVERYWHERE TOUR IN KUALA LUMPUR” available here.
