Pre-debut
Revealed as part of SM Rookies
Revealed as part of SM Rookies, SM Entertainment’s pre-debut trainee team.
Source 24 · Topstar News (Korean) · Doors concert and second album announced · opens in a new tabThe year he turned 20, he debuted in the NCT unit NCT U. The debut song was “The 7th Sense,” and the next day he also released “Without You,” sung with Taeil and Jaehyun. In 2017, he joined NCT 127 with Johnny, making it a nine-member group. The new album reached No. 1 on the Billboard World Albums chart for the first time, and from February he was an MC of SBS’s Inkigayo.
In 2018, he sang “Yestoday” on a project album with 18 NCT members, and NCT 127’s first full-length album, released that fall, entered the Billboard 200 for the first time. In June 2019, the mini album We Are Superhuman reached No. 11 on the Billboard 200.
In 2020, he took his first acting role, the lead in the web drama Midnight Cafe Season 3. That year NCT 127’s second full-length album reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200, the group’s first top 10. In 2021, he made his first stage appearance in the musical Marie Antoinette. The third full-length album Sticker, released that fall, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 3, became a triple million-seller and won Album of the Year at the Asia Artist Awards.
In 2022, the fourth full-length album 2 Baddies reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and in October he performed with NCT 127 at Olympic Stadium in Jamsil for the first time. In 2023, he debuted in the unit NCT DoJaeJung with Jaehyun and Jungwoo. The debut song “Perfume” also made the UK music outlet NME’s list of the 50 best songs of 2023.
The breakthrough yearIn April 2024, the year he turned 28, he appeared on MBC’s I Live Alone for the first time. The Korea Economic Daily wrote that the show made his face widely known to the general public beyond his fandom. The same month he released his first solo album Youth, becoming a solo singer eight years after his debut, and the public came to know the name of the singer Doyoung. His older brother, the actor Gong Myung, appeared in the album’s highlight medley. In May, he held his first solo concert, Dear Youth,, at the Grand Peace Palace of Kyung Hee University in Seoul.
In January 2025, he joined the fourth season of the musical The Man Who Laughs in a new cast. In June, he released his second solo album Soar and held the solo concert Doors. On Dec. 8, he enlisted in the Army with Jungwoo, and the next day he released the single Promise. Its title track reached No. 1 in Circle Chart weekly downloads and BGM.
Doyoung (born Feb 1, 1996) debuted in the NCT unit NCT U on Apr 9, 2016, the year he turned 20, and became known in 2024, the year he turned 28, with his first solo album Youth. He enlisted in the Army on Dec 8, 2025, the year he turned 29.
Ages are by calendar year (the year minus the birth year), birthdays aside.