Big Ocean made history as the first K-Pop group made up entirely of deaf and firm artists when they debuted on April 20, 2024, representing a revolutionary moment for accessibility and inclusion in the competitive sector.
The group is made up of Park Hyunjin members (PJ art name), Lee Charyeon and Kim Jisek, which all have various degrees of hearing loss. Hyunjin began to lose hearing when he was three years old after a high fever and now uses a coclear system in his left ear and an acoustic device on his right.
Charyeon has lost hearing at 11 years old and received bilateral coclear implants. Jisek was born with auditory disabilities and is based on acoustic appliances together with the language of Korean signs for communication.
Before pursuing musical careers, members conducted several professional lives that had nothing to do with entertainment. Hyunjin worked as spectators by educating YouTuber on hearing disabilities. Charyeon was audiologist at the Anam hospital of the University of Korea. Jisek competed as a professional alpine skier in the Soul Para ski team.
Big Ocean operates under Parastar Entertainment, the first Korean entertainment company specially designed to cultivate artists with disabilities. The group was formed for a year and a half, learning singing, dancing and acting while also master the language of Korean signs, the language of American signs and the language of international signs.
Their “Glow” debut single is a remake of the 1998 “Hope” success of the legendary first generation K-Pop group The time of the debut of the group coincided with the day of the people of South Korea with disabilities, underlining a mission to challenge stereotypes and promote inclusiveness.
To overcome the challenges of the execution of music with auditory disabilities, Big Ocean is based on innovative technology rarely seen in k-pop. The members wear modified vibrant smartwatchs that clean rhythmic signals on the wrists during the performances. They exercise with LED visual metronomes that the signals of flash timing on the monitors to help them remain synchronized. The group also uses vocal artificial intelligence conversion technology to support vocal training and improve audio output after recordings.
Their performances perfectly merge the traditional K-Pop choreography with the language of signs, creating a unique artistic identity. When a member signs in the center, the others regulate their dance moves to maintain attention to the signature while ensuring that the message remains clear.
Big Ocean has gained significant International recognitionRecently by completing their first European tour and earning a place on Billboard’s K-Pop debutant of the month. Their fan base, known as “Pado” (which means “wave” in Korean), showed a considerable dedication by learning the language of the signs to communicate better with the group. The trio recently received recognition on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2025 list in the Entertainment and Sports category.
