Meet The 13-Year-Old Singing Prodigy Who Could Be SM Entertainment’s Next Big Boy Group Vocalist
This year, TV Chosun‘s singing contest Mr. Trot became Korea’s highest-rated cable TV show—and one of the most popular contestants was 13-year-old trot prodigy Jung Dong Won. But as if his unwavering success on the show wasn’t enough, rumor has it he could be debuting in an SM Entertainment boy group in the future.
Back in March this year, Jung Dong Won ranked 5th in the Mr. Trot finale, beating out almost 100 contestants with impressive scores and almost 700,000 votes. Currently, he’s continuing to steal hearts with his charming voice and adorable looks on follow-up series Romantic Call Center.
Considered a vocal prodigy, Jung Dong Won has been making waves in Korea’s music industry since before he even became a teenager. At the age of 11, he won an Excellence Award at the National Singing Contest. Since then, he’s guest starred on shows like JTBC‘s Knowing Bros, opened his own YouTube channel (with almost 400,000 subscribers), and even appeared in CFs for brands like McDonald’s.
My favorite idols are BTS and TWICE.
— Jung Dong Won
Given how popular and talented Jung Dong Won is, it’s no surprise that Korean netizens are already picturing him as a future idol singer. And, where better for him to go than SM Entertainment, home to some of K-Pop’s best vocalists?
But it’s not just wishful thinking. According to netizens, Jung Dong Won has actually already received a casting offer from SM Entertainment! As of right now, nothing has been verified by the agency, but it’s not hard to believe they’d want to snap up this budding star.
After all, not only is he an amazing singer, he also has the SM Entertainment vibe. Netizens say his tween visuals are the perfect combination of dinosaur and puppy—a look that the agency seems to love.
In fact, there’s even a trio of idols who have been nicknamed “SM’s Dinosaur Line” for the better half of the last decade: Super Junior‘s Donghae,
SHINee‘s Jonghyun,
and f(x)‘s Amber.
Recently, fans have added WayV‘s Xiaojun and NCT‘s Jeno to the line, too.
Jung Dong Won would certainly make the perfect 6th member of the talented and handsome “Dinosaur Line”.
“I think of Jeno every time I see him…”
“He reminds me of Jeno when he was younger and Donghae…”
“He looks like Jeno during SM Rookies days…”
“This makes me realise that he has the type of visual that SM Ent. likes…”
— Netizens’ comments on TheQoo
So, don’t be surprised if you see Jung Dong Won joining SM Rookies in the near future—or even debuting as a main vocalist in the company’s upcoming 2021 boy group! Check out his talent for yourself here:
