KNK (band)

Pre-debut

All five members of KNK were trainees of different companies before joining YNB Entertainment. They had a long training period, with an average of 5 years. As trainees, the members appeared in music videos of their label mate, Bestie. They also performed as backup dancers for the girl group.

On December 15, 2015, a teaser video of the boys was uploaded on KNK's official YouTube channel. The following day, it was revealed that the group would perform at 2015 SBS Awards Festival (SAF) alongside Noel, Bestie and Almeng. On December 26, KNK performed for the first time to the public at SAF where they performed the two songs on their debut single album. On December 30, the band's first reality show, My Keunakeun Television, premiered on Naver TV Cast.

YNB Entertainment opened their official Naver V app channel for the company's artists, including KNK, on January 8, 2016. Beginning on the first day of February, KNK had real-time broadcasts for almost every day via Naver V app as a countdown to their upcoming debut. The boys showed their daily rehearsals and preparations, as well as their album jacket photo shoot and the filming for their first music video. On February 22, the company announced via SNS that the group would debut with their first single album on March 3, 2016. On February 23 to 26, the band performed in several universities' freshman orientations.

2016–present: Debut with "Knock", Awake and Remain

On February 26, 2016, teaser for the music video of KNK's debut single "Knock" was released. The song was composed by production team ButterFly, led by Hwang Seong-je who composed BoA's "Atlantis Princess", Lee Soo-young's "Whistle to Me" and more, while the rap part was written by member Youjin. Furthermore, their choreography was helmed by Prepix’s Ha Woo-shin and the music video was directed by Lee Ki-baek. Three days later, the band had their debut showcase at Ilchi Art Hall, Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, where they performed their songs "Knock" and "Angel Heart" as well as TVXQ's "Love in the Ice" and Kim Kwang-seok's "On the Street".

On March 1, 2016, KNK made their debut on The Show, the band's first performance on a television music show. Their single album and music video for "Knock" was officially released on the 3rd of March.

The group had their first schedule outside of South Korea, and performed their debut single "Knock" at the 20th China Music Awards in Macau on April 15, 2016.

KNK released their first digital single "I Remember" on May 16, 2016. The medium tempo R&B track was composed by Kim Tae-joo, who also produced Beast's "Good Luck", "12:30", and more.

On May 23, 2016, YNB Entertainment announced the comeback of the group with their first EP entitled Awake through KNK's official SNS. A group image teaser and individual photos for the EP was unveiled on May 24 and 25 respectively. Awake and the music video for title track "Back Again" was released at noon on June 2, 2016. All tracks were produced by Kim Tae-joo. The choreography for the house tempo dance track "Back Again" was arranged by Prepix’s Ha Woo-shin while the choreography for the album's first track "Gone" was arranged by KNK's leader, Jihun. Awake peaked at number 14 on Billboard's World Album chart and the group was recognized by Billboard as one of the most promising K-pop debuts from the first half of 2016.

On November 7, 2016, KNK's comeback with their second EP entitled Remain was announced through their official SNS. The track list was also released on the 10th, revealing that Kim Tae-joo once again worked with KNK as the executive producer of the EP, while tracks "Goodbye" and "Tonight" were composed and written by members Youjin and Heejun respectively. On November 15th, the music video teaser for the title track entitled "U" was released, however it was announced the next day that the agency decided to dispose the music video due to quality issues. A representative stated that there were no plans to film it again. Remain was released on November 17, 2016, and KNK held their live comeback show the same day through Naver V Live, where they performed TVXQ's "Love in the Ice", as well as their new songs "I Know" and "U". On December 21, 2016, KNK has been included on Billboard's '10 Best New K-Pop Groups in 2016' list.

Youjin

Kim You-jin (Hangul: 김유진) was born on (1993-02-10) February 10, 1993 in South Korea. He is a former TS Entertainment trainee and trained with the members of boy group B.A.P. He appeared in the music video for Bestie's "Zzang Christmas", and was included as a backup dancer for the live performances of the song.

Seungjun

Park Seung-jun (Hangul: 박승준) was born on (1993-10-28) October 28, 1993 in South Korea. He is a former Big Hit Entertainment trainee where he trained with BTS. He then moved to JYP Entertainment after winning 2nd place at the company's 10th Open Audition on February 19, 2013 and became an actor trainee. He appeared in the music videos of his label mate Bestie, including "Zzang Christmas" and "Excuse Me". He was also one of the backup dancers for the live performances of Bestie’s "Zzang Christmas" and "I Need You".

Inseong

Jeong In-seong (Hangul: 정인성) was born on (1994-07-01) July 1, 1994 in South Korea. He is a former Big Hit Entertainment trainee with Seungjun, then moved to FNC Entertainment. He appeared on the reality show Cheongdam-dong 111 in 2013. Inseong was a backup dancer for the live performances of Bestie's "I Need You". He also appeared with Seungjun in the music video for Bestie’s "Excuse Me".

Jihun

Kim Ji-hun (Hangul: 김지훈) was born on (1995-02-20) February 20, 1995 in South Korea. He is the leader of the group. Jihun is a former Nega Network trainee. He appeared with Youjin and Seungjun in the music video for Bestie's "Zzang Christmas", and was included as a backup dancer for the live performances of the song. Like Seungjun, Inseong, and Heejun, he was also a backup dancer for the live performances of Bestie's "I Need You".

Heejun

Oh Hee-jun (Hangul: 오희준) was born on (1996-05-08) May 8, 1996 in South Korea. He is a former FNC Entertainment trainee. He appeared with Inseong on the reality show Cheongdam-dong 111 in 2013. He was the vocalist and guitarist of Kokoma Band (꼬꼬마 밴드) that was established three months before filming the show.