3 Years Later — Where Are The 16 Eliminated “I-LAND” Contestants Now?
Can you believe it’s already been three years since I-LAND first premiered on Mnet? These days, the winning contestants—Jungwon, Heeseung, Ni-Ki, Jake, Jay, Sunghoon, and Sunoo—are all promoting together as ENHYPEN, but what happened to the rest of the contestants? From new group debuts to acting, here’s what all 16 of the eliminated trainees are up to these days.
1. Geonu
Geonu made it into I-LAND‘s final 12, but was unable to score a place in the final lineup. Thankfully, his journey to stardom didn’t stop there. In fact, in June 2021, Geonu made his debut as the lead vocalist of JUST B, a new boy group under Bluedot Entertainment.
Made up of contestants from I-LAND and Under Nineteen, JUST B’s latest release is their single “Camellia” which is a touching ballad hoping to bring hope to its listeners.
Meanwhile, Geonu also has a personal Twitter account with over 140,000 followers.
보너스 거누 등장😃🕶
Bonus Geonu😎 pic.twitter.com/kXn7XVWI3Y— 이건우 (@geonu___) May 13, 2021
2. Hanbin
Popular Vietnamese contestant Hanbin made it to episode 11 of I-LAND before he was sadly eliminated. Many weren’t sure whether the 23-year-old would stay training at BE:LIFT LAB long enough to debut in a future boy group, but his foray onto the K-Pop stage continued on as Hanbin terminated his contract to sign with Yuehua Entertainment, the company behind EVERGLOW and WJSN.
In 2020 his online fan event trended worldwide, and his performance at HYBE Labels‘s 2021 New Year’s Eve Live has racked up 3.4 million views on YouTube.
In March 2022, Hanbin officially made his debut as a member of Yuehua Entertainment’s boy group Tempest.
Tempest’s latest comeback was back in April with their fourth mini-album The Calm Before the Storm and their title track “Dangerous,” which has over 12 million views.
On top of that, Hanbin also has his own official Twitter account with over 780,000 followers to date.
Hi! 💇🏼🙅🏼
히히 안녕하세요 여러분~✌🏻
오늘은 월요일입니다! 이번주도 우리 같이 힘냅시다! 여러분~ 화이팅 💪~ ^❤️^Xin chào mọi người ^^
Và lại một tuần mới bắt đầu rồi chúng ta hãy cùng nhau cố gắng nhaaa ❤️
Fighting ~ 🥰#HANBIN #HANBIN_BELIFT #한빈 #빌리프랩 pic.twitter.com/otULbfoVIp— HANBIN (@HANBIN_twt_) April 26, 2021
3. Daniel
Sadly for fans, it’s been a while since Daniel was last spotted. After making it to the final 12, the young trainee was eliminated from I-LAND in the show’s last episode. Following his elimination from the show, it is rumored that Daniel left Belift Lab and joined Pledis Entertainment. In addition, fellow classmates have posted clips of Daniel attending class at Hanlim Arts School.
4. K
K is another I-LAND trainee who made it all the way up to the show’s finale before he was eliminated from the final ENHYPEN lineup. Luckily, this is far from the end for him. After training for over three years, K was one of the members confirmed for HYBE Labels Japan‘s boy group &Team, which debuted in December 2022.
Until then, fans got a glimpse of K when he had a cameo in ENHYPEN’s recent “Drunk-Dazed” music video.
5. Taki
16-year-old Taki was eliminated from I-LAND in episode 10, just a few weeks before the lineup was chosen. He too was one of the members confirmed for HYBE Labels Japan‘s boy group &Team, which debuted in December 2022.
6. EJ
Eliminated in episode seven, EJ was one of the members confirmed for HYBE Labels Japan‘s boy group &Team, which debuted in December 2022. He is also the leader of the group.
Like K, EJ also appeared in ENHYPEN’s “Drunk-Dazed” music video; the pair’s werewolf roles may have been a hint as to the new boy group’s concept.
7. Nicholas
Finally, Nicholas was the last confirmed member HYBE Labels Japan‘s boy group &Team, which debuted in December 2022. &Team was joined by five additional members who were selected from the survival show &Audition — The Howling.
8. Kyungmin
Originally, Kyungmin was also announced as a member of HYBE Labels Japan’s new boy group.
However, in June, it was announced that Kyungmin left HYBE after failing to agree on his career direction with the company. Since then, Kyungmin has opened his own Instagram account with 129,000 followers to date. However, he has since privated his account, hinting at that time he may have returned to the trainee life.
And he did! Kyungmin debuted as a member of 8TURN under MNH Entertainment. 8TURN’s most recent release was back in June 2023 with their second mini-album Uncharted Drift. The music video “Excel” has over 10 million views.
9. Echan (Jaebeom)
Rather than continuing on with his idol aspirations, Jaebeom (who legally changed his name to Echan) decided to pursue another talent: songwriting. Now, he’s part of the music writing and production group YOUTH. He co-wrote and co-composed GHOST9‘s “Runaway” and “Dreaming” as well as Park Jihoon’s “Love Glass.”
He has also debuted as a soloist in June 2022, releasing his first digital single “Eternal Summer.”
At the end of 2022, under his real name Jeong I Chan, he competed in Boy’s Planet, but was eliminated in episode 8, ranking 49th.
Just under two months ago, he released his second digital single “Stranger.”
10. JM (Jimin)
Alongside Geonu, Jimin also debuted in Bluedot Entertainment’s JUST B. Now known as JM, he’s one of the group’s vocalists.
11. Sungchul
Fans were worried for a while since there wasn’t a lot of news about Sungchul following his elimination from I-LAND. They had hope he was continuing in the idol lifestyle since he did not open any social media accounts.
And their patience was rewarded! In June 2023, Sungchul made his debut under the stage name Ian in Fantagio‘s new boy group LUN8. Their music video for their title track “Wild Heart” has over 10 million views.
12. Jaeho
Currently, it’s unclear whether Jaeho is still a trainee under BE:LIFT LAB or whether he’s left the company to grow his career elsewhere.
He does have an Instagram account, but unfortunately hasn’t posted since June 2022.
13. Taeyong
Before joining I-LAND, Taeyong got his start in the entertainment industry with acting roles in Shuttlecock and KBS2‘s Abiding Love Dandelion. He also played a role in OCN‘s Voice 2. Now, he’s set to return; in a YouTube video with his twin brother, Taeyong revealed he’s preparing to return to acting, but he has not been active since then.
He also had his own Instagram account now with almost 190,000 followers, but has since deactivated it.
14. Seon
Following his elimination from the show, Seon became a member of producing team CIELOGROOVE under the name ON. Through CIELOGROOVE, he has worked on Sung Si Kyung’s OST “If You’re With Me” for Snowdrop as well as TAN’s “Dream of You.”
He also debuted as a soloist in November 2022 with his digital single “24/7.”
Fans can also see him through his Instagram account, where he has over 131,000 followers.
15. Yoonwon
Sadly, Yoonwon left I-LAND before he could even make it to episode seven due to a leg injury which left him barely able to walk. Thankfully, he’s doing much better these days.
After making a recovery, he worked with THE J — a popular dance cover group with over 745,000 YouTube subscribers. He covered Lady Gaga’s “Fun Tonight” after choreographing the dance himself.
However, he hasn’t been seen in THE J’s videos for years. As such, many believe he may be in training to become an idol again.
16. Youngbin
Following I-LAND, Youngbin was largely unseen by the public until he debuted with BLANK2Y in May 2022.
However, it was revealed in February 2023 that he was accused of dating violence and he was removed from the group.
Keystone Entertainment Announces Youngbin Will Leave BLANK2Y Following Physical Abuse Allegations
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