Boyfriend is Starship Entertainment’s flagship boy-group that debuted in 2011, with the single of the same name. Contrary to popular belief though, Kwang-min and Young-min’s careers didn’t start there, as they were contracted and were very popular as child commercial models when they were still young. This has grown into them being known as the handsome twins who were training at Starship Entertainment when they started high school. It didn’t really help that they are enrolled in the School of Performing Arts Seoul, a high school that is known to have popular idol trainees. Are you curious as to how they are? What kind of bond they share as twins? Or maybe their time as part of the Real Men cast? Well the wait is over, let’s take a closer look at Kwang-min and Young-min’s career!
Profiles and Facts
Kwang-min’s Full Profile
Facts
Young-min’s Full Profile
Facts
Of the two brothers, Young-min is the older twin by 6 minutes. Different from Kwang-min, who is in charge of rap, Young-min is in charge of dancing for the group, as their lead dancer. The twins are the third-longest trainees in Boyfriend, next to Dong-hyun and Min-woo, after going from agency to agency trying to find one that matched up with the twins’ aspirations as artists. Young-min is the more charismatic and mature of the two, keeping up an icy prince image. Different than his older twin brother, who is known to be very quiet and mature, Kwang-min is known to have a very bright and loud personality. Some even describe him as being very 4D in nature, or a person that always thinks outside the box. Even in his interviews, fans can see that he is very carefree and answers the way he wants to answer. Due to his very loud, and often noisy, personality, he is often seen being scolded by Boyfriend’s leader, Dong-hyun. His carefree nature can be seen in one of the broadcasts where he suggested dropping by the agency’s CEO’s house. One of Kwang-min’s hobbies is playing Pokemon, thus he often receives pokemon related items as gifts from fans during fanmeets and fansigns. Other than that, Kwang-min is also very close with another 95-line friend, BTOB’s Sungjae. Most fans thought them being close as a very natural thing, as they are the same age and have similar personalities. He is also close to fellow maknae-line member, Min-woo, who is the same age he is. He often makes fun of the fact that Min-woo cries easily and does it often. Although he is dubbed so, Young-min is a very hard worker and is always working hard in trying to make jokes when appearing with the group. He always tries to show some sort of personal talent that could be seen as weird, or some sort of one-liner jokes that leave the members confused. This sometimes makes him very embarrassed, leaving him with red ears to match. He definitely shows his more mature side when pressed with troubles and struggles, always lending an ear to listen to all the members’ worries, aside from his own, giving very thorough and understanding suggestions. His aspirations to make jokes and be more outgoing can be seen when he messes around with the other maknae-line member, Min-woo. Not only that, Young-min also often serves as a translator for the times Kwang-min gets out of hand and spits out his 4D thoughts. Another habit of his is carrying a picture of his parents wherever he goes, as he keeps a picture of them in his wallet. He seems to care very much for his family, as he also likes to talk about his younger sibling at times, too. As mentioned before, Young-min is also close with BTOB’s Sung-jae, just like his brother.
Discography
Boyfriend’s Releases
Collaboration Singles
Being Twins
As previously mentioned, Young-min and Kwang-min are twin brothers, born just 6 minutes apart from each other. Most might think that they are very similar to one another due to their identical looks, yet as we come to know, they have very different personalities that complement one another and also different preferences. The twins showed off their brotherly chemistry in a photo shoot for the fashion magazine Singles. In the interview following the photo shoot, they shared their inner thoughts about each other. Despite the fact that they look alike, they actually have more differences than similarities. Young-min prefers ballad music while Kwang-min enjoys listening to hip hop, which is why Young-min is a vocalist and Kwang-min is a rapper. They have differences in how they like to dress, as well. The twins revealed that Kwang-min is more on the lively side, while Young-min has a calm personality. The two of them agreed that, since they’re different, they learn a great deal from each other. Young-min revealed that he envies Kwang-min’s carefree nature, as he tends to fear change, so he always feels like he’s stuck in a rut. On the other hand, Kwang-min admitted that he wants to show the sincere side of himself, that it would’ve been nice if they had half of each other’s personalities. The twins also discussed how special their relationship is. They said, “While being active as singers, we tend to rely on each other. We know about each other’s voices very well, so we share musical advice with each other.” Young-min added, “I had a lot of difficulties before and after my debut, but just knowing that my brother is in the same group comforts me. It’s because no matter what issues I face, I know that I’ll have at least one person who is always on my side.”
Real Men
The twins starred in Real Man in 2015, following in the footsteps of their close friend, BTOB’s Sungjae. In order to prepare for their appearance on the show, they really went all out, not skipping and missing any of the traditions upcoming soldiers usually do, such as shaving their head, training for grueling workouts, and really stripping off all the idol image they have built up. The visual shock of Young-min and Kwang-min caught not only the viewers’ attention, but also their mother’s as she saw both of her sons with shaved heads for the first time, leaving her speechless. The visual shock did not end there, as they are also seen wearing thick glasses during a training session. Young-min and Kwang-min received a level three on their fitness exams for their bad eyesight, thus it was mandatory for them to wear their eyeglasses while training daily. What the viewers saw was quite a shock, since it was so different from the twin’s idol image. The twins are known for their big, sparkling eyes, which gave them a flower-boy image. But with their glasses on, they soon become known as the “glasses” twins. Even idol senior, Super Junior’s Kangin, was worried over their image maintenance after seeing them in glasses. On the April 5th episode of Real Men, netizens once again fell in love with the twins, not only for their humble appearance, but also because of their bond and concern for each other. They had to do a 5-6 hour walk, while carrying 40 kilograms on their backs. Just before the first portion of the walk was finished, an ambulance had to be called for Kwang-min. Due to the weight he was carrying and the length of the walk, he suffered an ankle injury he sustained around the mid-portion of the activity, but he forced himself to keep on going. The injury led him to be transported by ambulance to the half-way point, where he insisted on walking the journey and finishing what he started. To ensure his safety, his superior agreed to his insistence, with the condition that is he walks back without his 40 kg of gear. Kwang-min was worried about what would happen with the gear, as someone still needed to carry it back to base, fortunately, Young-min offered to carry both his and Kwang-min’s gear in order for his brother to complete the walk. He started to tear up when his brother started to carry both sets of gear. Young-min carried it for a while, and on the last leg of the journey he took it back. They also walked most of the way holding hands, creating a heartwarming scene and touched the hearts of viewers.
This led to some heartwarming comments from fans and viewers praising their bond, with words such as ‘First time watching an entertainment program where I cried.’, ‘The twins seem to be real. Very cool. Fighting.’, ‘While watching them I teared up. So cool.’, ‘So very cool.’ and ‘Their brotherly love is very cool. Really impressed.’
Latest News
Recently, Starship Entertainment’s artists, dubbed Starship Planet, released their annual Christmas single, featuring Boyfriend and other Starship artists such as So-you, Monsta X, WJSN and more. Check out the single down below!
Aside from the agency activities, currently Kwang-min and Young-min are more active promoting in Japan, since Boyfriend, as a group, hasn’t made a comeback in Korea since 2016. The group’s most recent release was their Japanese single, titled Call Me. Check out the single down below!
So what do you think of the twins Kwang-min and Young-min? Are you interested in their reverse charms? Will you be following their activities from now on? Comment your thoughts and opinion down below!
