Joo Hak-Nyeon’s career is a story told in two acts, each defined by a process that has tested the limits of his resilience and has exposed the brutal mechanics of the modern K-pop industry. He is not simply a singer and dancer, but a figure whose professional life encapsulates intrinsic volatility and the immense pressures made on young artists.
His journey is framed by two distinct periods of intense public control: the first, a narrative made of greed and incompetence created for television evaluations in a national survival show; The second, a personal accident that has turned into a high -profile legal and public war, putting it against its agency.
Biography
Name: Yes Hak-Nyeon
Name at birth: Joo Hak-Nyeon (state study)
Birthday: March 9, 1999
Zodiac sign: fish
Height: 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Instagram: @ju_haknyeon (previously private/official depending on the activity)
Twitter: n/a.
Fun facts
- His father is from Hong Kong and his mother is Korean. He was born and raised on the island of Jeju and lived in Hong Kong for about a year during his childhood. It is very likely to hold double citizenship in Korea and Hong Kong. Perhaps due to the influence of Hong Kong’s father, he is occasionally seen speaking in Cantonese. Sometimes he unconsciously uses dialect Jeju, which adds to what makes Joo Hak-Nyeon so unique.
- Once it was selected as one of the three mixed breed models next to Jeon Somi and Han Hyun-Mi for the Skoolooks uniform school brand.
- According to what he shared on V Live, he was very grateful to his Boyz companions for remaining by his side when his father died and for helping to bring the coffin.
- His symbol and his mascot are a pig. Since the first episodes of Produce 101 Season 2, he attracted attention to his unique concept. In his autointroduction video, he pulled out a pork plush and sang a mysterious “pork song”. Since then, the pig has become its reference symbol when it interacts with fans through post-it-shaped pork-shaped pork, pork-shaped marshmallow, concert backpacks, real pigs and a pig named KKUL-I (or Kku -ri).
- According to reports, his mother manages the largest pig breeding in the city of Seogwipo, the special province of Jeju, collecting about 3,000 pigs. An school arrival video uploaded on May 19, 2017 on the Hanlim Arts High School Facebook page also said it raises chickens for consumption.
- Horse riding is both his hobby and his specialty. He has competed twice in the athletic championships with Idol star, winning a silver and gold medal, and is officially recorded as an equestrian athlete.
- The day was chosen on which he took his practical exam for Anyang Arts High School.
- Even before it produced 101 season 2 broadcast, it became a hot topic like “Sangam Kiss Boy”. The photos taken in Sangam continue to resurface, so it is impossible to forget.
- It is also indicated as part of “B1f4” together with Park Ji-Hoon, Lai Guan-Lin, Yoo Seon-Ho and Bae Jin-Young.
- It is sensitive to heat and you don’t like to wear more layers personally. Often the jacket is often removed and it is assumed that his expression in a viral gif is to feel suffocating in his clothes.
- It has an incredibly powerful vocal projection. Even when it accidentally says a single word, it is very clear and easy to hear his reactions on V in a particularly evident life.
- In 2020, Joo Haknyeon appeared on Mnet’s Tmi News and revealed that his ideal type is Girls’ Generation Yoona, calling himself a longtime fan.
Career
The Cogiolo di Produce 101: A Trial by Fire
Before debuting with Boyz, Joo Hak-Nyeon gained the first fame as a producer of Produce 101 Season 2 in 2017. Initially a favorite by the fans, he became the target of the so-called “Evil Editing”, who interpreted him as selfish and unqualified during team performances. This has triggered an intense public backlash, cyberbullying and even threats to his family. Despite having maintained a strong rank of votes, in the end it was eliminated in the final round, ending 19th. Many fans believe that his negative representation derived from the company rivalry, since his agency was affiliated to a competitor of the show issuer. The experience has left a lasting impact on his image and public career.
Debut with the boyz
Following the tumultuous experience of Produce 101, Joo Hak-Nyeon’s career officially began on December 6, 2017, when he made his debut as a member of the boy group The Boyz Under Cre.ker Entertainment. The group was launched with their first mini-album, “The First”, and Hak-Nyeon was positioned as a key member, holding the roles of dancer, sub-vocalist and sub-land. His pre-debut fame of the survival show gave the group an initial increase in public recognition, a precious resource for any rookie act.
During the following years, Boyz has constantly climbed the ranks of the K-pop industry. They built a substantial and dedicated fan base, known as “BB”, and have achieved significant commercial success with a series of successful songs, including the vibrant summer hymn “Thrill Ride” and the powerful and charismatic traces “Maverick” and “Lip Gloss”. A fundamental moment in their ascent arrived in 2020 when they participated in the Mnet Show Road competition for the Kingdom. Their creative and high energy performances gained their widespread success and in the end the winner’s crown, ensuring a point in the next main show, Kingdom: Legendary War, in 2021
During this period, the group also underwent internal changes. In October 2019, Member Hwall started from the group due to health problems, establishing a precedent for training changes within the boyz. At the end of 2024, when their initial contracts ended, all the eleven members of the Boyz made a collective decision to move from their original agency, Ist Entertainment (the result of a merger involving Cre.ker), to a new co-founded label by important characters in the Mc Mong and Cha Gawon sector. This transition was presented as a new chapter for the group, an opportunity to exploit their consolidated success in the context of a new management.
Acting
His most significant step in a new artistic field was his official actor debut in the Horror film of Omnibus of 2022 Myths Urban (also published under the title Soul Ghost Stories). He starred in the segment entitled “Escape Games” as the NA RI character, joining a cast that presented numerous other k-pop idols. For his performance, he received the AAA Focus Actor award, a significant recognition of its potential in the acting sphere.
Personal life
First life
Joo Hak-Nyeon was born on March 9, 1999, in the scenic city of Seogwipo on the island of Jeju, in South Korea. This origin would then become a milestone of his public identity, gaining him the affectionate affirmation “Jeju Boy”. His background is remarkable for his mixed heritage; It is half Korean and a half Chinese, with his father from Hong Kong.
He attended the prestigious Hanlim Art High School, a well -known incubator for aspiring idols and actors. He was explored by an agent immediately after taking an admission exam for the theater and cinematographic department at the Anyang Arts High School, a meeting that put him on the path to become a trainee. He would continue to train for a period of two years and a month before his official debut.
Starting dispute
The “new chapter” for the boyz under the management of Cento took a dark and unexpected turn in the middle of 2025. A private event in Tokyo snowed in an important scandal, culminating in the sharp and controversial removal of Joo Hak-Nyeon by the group he had been part of for over seven years.
| Date | Event | Key details and accusations |
| May 30, 2025 | Private Gathering in Tokyo | Joo Hak-Nyeon attends a private encounter with alcohol in a bar in Roppongi, Tokyo. In addition, Asuka Kirara is also present, a well -known Japanese influencer and former adult video actress. The photos are taken that show them in the immediate vicinity. |
| Early-Mid 2025 | Tabloid request | The Japanese weekly tabloid Shukan Bunshun contacts Cento with an investigation on the meeting of Hak-Nyeon with Asuka Kirara, reporting imminent news. |
| June 16, 2025 | Pause announcement | Cento announces that Joo Hak-Nyeon will take a temporary break from all group activities, citing “personal reasons” not specified. |
| June 18, 2025 | Termination of the contract | Cento announces the termination of the exclusive contract of Hak-Nyeon and his permanent departure from Boyz. The agency cites “issues that involve the private life of Ju Haknyeon” and says that “it is no longer possible for us to maintain trust in him as an artist”. Media relationships begin to emerge with accusations of prostitution. |
| June 19, 2025 | Daniel of Hak-Nyeon | Hak-Nyeon publishes a handwritten letter to his Instagram. He admits that he is at the meeting, but says that it is “completely false that I have engaged in any illegal activity, such as prostitution that is mentioned in relationships and news items”. Excuses himself for causing shock and concern. |
| June 19, 2025 | Report of the deposited police | An anonymous individual presents a police relationship with Seoul Gangnam Police Station against Hak-Nyeon, which requires an investigation into the suspected prostitution stress, a crime for South Korean citizens even if committed abroad. |
| June 20, 2025 | Hak-Nyeon counter-hallies | Hak-Nyeon releases a long statement that accuses one hundred of orchestrate its removal. He claims to have never accepted to leave the group or stop his contract and that the agency has requested ₩ 200 million krw (~ $ 145,000 USD) in damage to pressure to leave. Promises to take legal actions. |
| June 20, 2025 | Rebuttal of the agency | Cento replies, calling the statements of Hak-Nyeon “unilateral” and “false”. They say that the termination was legitimate in accordance with the “dignity clause” of his contract (article 6, section 3), which allows termination due to “acts that damage the artist’s dignity”. The agency threatens a strong legal action against him. |
Joo Hak-Nyeon’s career is a narrative of immense promise shadow of profound adversities. His journey from the banks of the island of Jeju to the global K-Pop phases was marked by a recurring and punitive cycle of public control, an incessant struggle for narrative control and a direct clash with the most formidable pressures of the idol system. It has become famous through a process from Fire on produce 101, where its image was manipulated for corporate and entertainment purposes, leaving a lasting scar on her public reputation. He has therefore found success and stability for almost eight years as a fundamental member of the boyz, contributing to their ascent as a high -level group. However, that stability was broken in 2025 by a dispute that exposed the fragile bases on which the career of an idol is built.
