Let’s see to find out. Psst, he’s the bias list ruiner type of guy, so please be careful, you might fall in love.
Young K’s Pre-debut
Brian Not Young K
Way before Day6 debuted in 2015, there was a boy named Brian Kang living in Toronto, Canada. He had a lot of passion for music as a teenager. He covered a lot of songs on YouTube, and even already performed on a lot of stages along with his bandmates back in his hometown. Not only he succeeded to steal a lot of girls heart, but he also succeeded to impress a talent scout of one of the largest entertainment companies in Korea. This Brian Kang is the same guy as Kang Young-hyun, that later becomes known as Young K. Even after years have passed. He was still the same teenager Brian Kang that is full of passion for music. Besides, he now has grown a lot and became a bigger musician than ever. But one thing you have to know. Brian and Young K are not the same person. What, is it Hannah Montana? No, that’s not what I mean. Young K is Brian’s stage name. So if he has done his makeup and hairstyle, ready to get on to the stage—he’s Young K. He is Brian when he’s offstage, that’s a simple logic. So it was a bit upsetting for him when everyone called him Brian in a TV show, in a concert, in a fan signing event, in every place where he got to be Young K of Day6. Who is Brian, is the question that Young K asked everyone each time he got called as Brian. But then again, why did he get a stage name after he debuted, after all? What’s the point of having a stage name if everyone prefers calling him Brian? Well, my friend, it’s not as easy as that. As you know, there are a lot of Brians in the world. Brian the musician, Brian the rapper, Brian the meme, or your classmate, who is also named Brian. The world has too many Brians and Young K just didn’t want to add another Brian in the entertainment industry. Or, at least, that was what he said on a V Live. He said that there are many powerful Brians so he prefers to have a stage name instead. And before he officially debuted, he prepared a lot of stage names and listed it all. He finally chose Young K as the one he likes the most, and the rest is history. So for everyone who still calls him Brian instead of Young K, this is a gif for you.
Canada
As we know, Young K was living in Toronto, Canada before he moved to Korea again to be a trainee at JYP Entertainment. He spent his younger days in Toronto and graduated from a high school that he attended, that is York Mills Collegiate Institute. There, he also met his friends that later on became part of a band called 3rd Degree. The high school band consisted of Brian—the younger version of Young K, Don Lee, and Terry He. They covered some songs, or sang their original songs and uploaded them on YouTube. They also performed on some off-air stages and already got many fans even back then. Not only he formed a band, but Young K also had a gang while he was in high school. Look at the cute pictures of them, then and now. Young K met again with his high school friends when he visited Toronto for a concert.
English
He lived in Canada for years, so yeah, of course, he has good English skills. Does his voice change when he talks in English? Well.. yeah, no, maybe? Hmm, let’s see. P.S. it doesn’t change, it becomes sexier instead.
Not only he has a nice English pronunciation, but he can also be a good translator for English to Korean and vice versa. He helped some international trainee like Got7’s Jackson, Mark, and Bam Bam, or Korean overseas trainees, like Jae, who didn’t speak very good Korean. Young K, while he was still just Brian, was once involved in a ‘little fight’ between Got7’s Mark and JB, and also B.A.P’s Young-jae when they were trainees at JYP Entertainment. It was revealed by Got7’s Jin-young as he was reminiscing of their past days on a V Live.
For your information, Young K was not born in Canada, as he moved there when he was a teenager. He was born in Ilsan before his family moved to Toronto. You must be curious about how he learned English despite the fact that he’s a native Korean speaker. Truthfully, Young K once revealed that he learned English—not from a bonafide English course, but from watching Shrek over and over again until he understood the dialogue without subs.
— Day6 Jae (@Jae_Day6) August 8, 2018 He literally did that, everyone! What a surprising man he is.
Appearance in Dream High
Before debuting with Day6, Young K made an appearance in Dream High 2, the popular Korean drama, starring actress Kang So-ra, actor Park Seo-jun, Got7’s JB and Jin-young, Hyo-rin from Sistar, Jin-woon from 2AM, and Ji-yeon from T-Ara. But unlike his fellow JYP trainees, JB and Jin-young, his appearance in Dream High was only a short one. Brian appeared as a friend of Jinyoung’s character that performed in a showcase. Young K calmed down Jin-young’s character when he got angry. Even though it was so short, Young K showed his amazing talent as a JYP trainee back then. Other JYP trainees that also appeared as a cameo in Dream High 2 are Na-yeon and Got7’s Mark. Let’s see the full clip here!
Collaborations
Aside from being a cameo in Dream High 2, Young K also made a collaboration with some artists before Day6 made their debut. In June 2015, the same year Day6 made their debut, which was in September 2015, he was featured in fellow JYP artist, the solo artist Baek A-yeon’s song titled “Shouldn’t Have” where he did and wrote the rap part.
He was also featured in a song of Korean indie musicians, Park Sae-byul & Like Likes, in the song titled ‘Sky High.” Just like “Shouldn’t Have,” Young K did the rap part too. This was released in July 2015.
Education
College
When Young K was a trainee, he attended Dongguk University majoring in Business Administration. He entered the college in 2012 but he took a leave for two years, so he started the class in 2014 when he was still a trainee. But when Young K debuted with Day6, he had to live the life of university student, as well as a celebrity. You can imagine how hard it was. But the good thing we can learn from Young K is, he didn’t abandon his responsibility as a university student just like that. He then continued his studies while doing Day6’s activities. Since being a university student itself is already hard, it must have been a lot harder for Young K, who is also a bassist of the Korean hallyu band called Day6. In one of After School Club‘s episodes, Won-pil admitted that Young K is indeed a hard-working person. Even when the university semester was going on and he was busy with that, Young K still tried his best with the band. Jae also agreed to this, he said that Young K always studied all the time, and his daily routine was revolving around work, going home for studies, and then sleeping for an hour, and then going back to college again. Being a university student, he often talked about the difficulties he faced in a broadcasting show. For example, he answered some fans that questioned how was the semester going. He also liked talking to fans about his exams, especially when the final exam week was coming up. He once said that he had a lot of group projects as he was a Business Administration student, and how he struggled to cooperate with other students, especially those who were difficult to be contacted. It is so good to know that Young K has been experiencing the same struggles we do, right? In another After School Club episode, Young K replaced Ji-min, the regular MC because he was told to do so by the manager. Although he was getting ready to go to college, the manager called him to go to After School Club instead. Then again, Young K as a college student is just like us. Except for the part that we’re not a bassist and a composer, also a song-writer of Day6.
Graduation
After living the life of university student for around 8 semesters, although he enrolled since 2012, Young K finally tastes the sweetness from his hard work. He finally graduated from Dongguk University, everyone. He did that while doing every Day6 project, where Day6 had to release two songs in a month for a whole year in 2017. Where he also participated in the composing and writing of almost every song. He finished the last semester in 2017 and took a photo with his friends in front of Dongguk University building. Young K, as a bassist already looks cool, but he looks 100% cooler in this pic as a final year university student. Later on, in August 2018, Young K officially graduated and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. After all the hard work that he did for years, the sleepless nights and endless task; he finally graduated. He’s smiling so widely in the graduation pic. We’re all proud of you, Young K!
