Proudly Pinoy: 4 Male Korean Singers You May Not Know Are From The Philippines
Though they’re a minority, there are several singers in the Korean music scene who are from the Philippines. Whether they have a Filipino parent or citizenship, they can proudly call the Southeast Asian country their own.
Check them out below!
1. Dok2
First up, the name “Dok2” is synonymous to the Korean hip hop scene. He was born Lee Joon Kyung in March 1990 to a Korean mother and half-Spanish, half-Filipino father.
He entered the music scene when he was only 12 years old, appearing in the track “FEVER” with Jo PD and Hype at the 2002 Mnet Music Video Festival.
Dok2 is known as one of the two men behind Illionaire Records, an influential hip hop label which he formed alongside The Quiett. Together, they became mentors on Mnet‘s rap survival program Show Me The Money.
Dok2 teamed up with Jay Park to mentor contestants in the sixth season of the show.
2. LOUD’s Youn Dongyeon
Youn Dongyeon is a K-Pop idol aspirant. He gained fans on SBS‘s LOUD, a survival program that pitted 75 contestants to form two boy groups—one under Psy‘s P Nation and the other under JYP Entertainment.
He was unfortunately eliminated in Episode 13.
Dongyeon is half-Filipino—his father is from South Korea while his mother is from Negros Occidental, the Philippines.
3. MBLAQ’s Thunder
Older K-Pop fans may recognize the group MBLAQ. One of their members was none other than Thunder who was also popular for being the brother of 2NE1‘s Dara.
The duo moved with the rest of their family to the Philippines in 1994 in pursuit of a better life. While Thunder is technically fully Korean, he became a Pinoy in other important ways. He is fluent not only in Korean but also in English and Filipino, the country’s two national languages. He even studied in the Philippines from his kindergarten days until high school.
Thunder debuted in 2009 with MBLAQ. They released memorable tracks such as “Oh Yeah,” “Y,” “Stay,” and “This is War.”
He left the group in 2014 to focus on individual activities after the expiration of his contract.
4. Anthonny
Anthonny (Anthony Iinuma) is the youngest on this list. Born in February 2004, he’s the son of a Japanese father and Filipino mother. His multicultural background meant he is capable of speaking several languages: Tagalog, Japanese, Korean, and English.
Though he was born in Davao, the Philippines, he was raised in Nagano, Japan. He entered the entertainment industry in 2019 as a participant in the Japanese version of Produce X 101 where he ranked 18th overall.
In 2023, he gained even more fans after joining the Mnet survival program Boys Planet. Anthonny stole hearts with his cute personality and natural talent.
Special Mention: iKON’s Jinhwan
As a special mention, iKON’s Jinhwan also has roots in the Philippines. He lived in Davao, a province in Mindanao, for seven months.
Jinhwan’s smile after saying that he’s popular in Davao.😍 #iKONCONTINUETOURinManila pic.twitter.com/NXd1PAmkkN
— jm (@jmhanbinnie) November 13, 2018
The renowned vocalist was once a high school student who moved in order to learn foreign languages. He is thankful to his Filipinos classmates who built his confidence with their friendliness and compliments.
"Filipinos liked me. At that time, I dressed like Korean idols. That's how I gained confidence." Aww and that pushes him more to become singer 🥺♥️
THE MIND OF JAY OF iKON #JAY_Mindset #JINHWAN @iKON_gnani_____ @YG_iKONIC pic.twitter.com/PymbEIBWhA
— STELLA / STREAM PARADISE (@aeternumikonic) September 16, 2022
To get to know the female K-Pop idols who are also Filipino, check out the article below!
Proudly Pinay: 4 Female K-Pop Idols Who Hail From The Philippines
